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May 4 - May 8, 2020
2. Set rules for yourself.
3. Schedule breaks.
5. Use a site-blocking app.
6. Have a specific reason to check in.
Working without taking occasional recesses makes you less efficient in six ways.
First, you’re more likely to experience boredom as the day progresses.
Second, you’re less likely to reflect on the headway you’re making through your to-do list, and how it affects your goals.
Third, your brain doesn’t get a chance to rest and relax.
Fourth, neglecting to take breaks hampers your ability to commit important information to memory.
The fifth way ignoring breaks hurts your productivity involves a psychological effect called vigilance decrement. At its simplest, it states that the brain’s ability to focus deteriorates with each passing moment of continued attention.
Sixth, working sans breaks increases the likelihood you’ll “run out of juice” - both mentally and physically.
Action Steps
1. Schedule your breaks.
2. Create a list of things to do on your breaks.
3. Create a list of things to refrain from doing on your breaks.
4. Shed your guilt.
5. Set an alarm.
Watching television rivals social media as the biggest time-waster of our generation.
Binge-watching has a negative effect on your mood and motivation.
Here’s another reason binge-watching TV impairs your productivity: it’s highly addictive.
Action Steps
1. Identify your reasons for binge-watching television.
2. Track how many hours per day you watch TV.
your fingers. 3. Create a list of fun, rewarding activities you’re unable to enjoy while watching TV.
4. Select three shows.
6. Limit the number of hours you allow yourself to watch TV each night.
7. Get rid of your televisions.
8. Reward your productivity with an hour of television.
9. Cut your cable.
Without systems to streamline them, tasks that recur waste your time and mental energy.
First, repetition leads to boredom.
Second, when you address recurring tasks on an individual basis, you increase the degree of variability in your workflow.
Third, you’re more likely to make mistakes.
Fourth, not having systems in place to handle repetitive tasks forces you to spend too much time on them.
Action Steps
1. Create a list of tasks that recur on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
2. Track how much time you spend performing monotonous tasks.
3. Batch recurring tasks that cannot be systematized.
4. Look for software that can help you to address recurring tasks.
5. Use Todoist to schedule recurring tasks.
6. Perform a monthly audit of your recurring tasks.
The harm multitasking does to your productivity stems from this switching cost.
First, it obliterates your ability to concentrate.
Second, evidence suggests multitasking has an adverse effect on your brain.
Third, you’re more vulnerable to distractions while multitasking.
Fourth, switching costs (mentioned above) impede our progress, requiring us to take more time to complete tasks.
Fifth, when we multitask, we’re more inclined to cut corners in our work.
Action Steps
1. Focus on performing one task at a time for short periods.
2. Set aside your gadgets.
