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May 4 - May 8, 2020
3. Commit to finishing the task at hand before addressing the next item on your to-do list.
4. Create simple to-do lists.
5. Minimize interruptions.
6. Declutter your desk.
Refusing to take responsibility for our choices weakens our ability to work efficiently and effectively in five ways.
First, as noted above, it dampens our motivation and enthusiasm to make changes.
Second, it causes us to relegate ourselves to being just a cog or pawn, impotent and vulnerable to our environment and others’ whims.
Third, we lose the inspiration to produce high-quality work.
Fourth, we’re less motivated to take on challenging projects.
Fifth, our aversion to taking responsibility ultimately causes our careers to stall and our income to decline.
Action Steps
1. Assess how your workflow affects your goals.
2. Ask yourself why you’re inclined to avoid taking responsibility.
3. Reframe mistakes as feedback.
4. Identify how fear affects you.
5. Admit your mistakes with the intention of making improvements to your work habits.
First, you become less likely to take risks.
Second, waiting until you’re 100% ready - which is to say, never taking action - prevents you from expanding your areas of competency.
A third way this habit affects your productivity is that it encourages you to procrastinate.
Fourth, staying in your comfort zone robs you of opportunities to impress influencers.
Fifth, constantly telling yourself you’re not ready gradually erodes your self-confidence and morale.
Action Steps
1. Audit your current skill set.
2. Focus on your desired outcomes rather than the things that might go wrong along the way.
3. Look for opportunities to learn new skills.
4. Remind yourself that you’ll never be 100% ready.
5. Abandon the fear of others’ criticism.
6. Remind yourself that undesired outcomes are merely feedback.
7. Develop the habit of taking action, even when tasks and projects are not completely planned out.
Disorganization, in all its many forms, may seem harmless in the moment, especially if you’ve grown accustomed to it.
being disorganized lessens your productivity in seven ways.
First, it hampers your ability to focus.
Second, you become more prone to distractions.
Third, being disorganized makes you more receptive to interruptions.
Fourth, distractions and interruptions carry a switching cost.
Fifth, when you’re disorganized and prone to distractions, you’re unable to achieve a flow state.
Sixth, disorganization robs you of control over your day.
Seventh, you experience more stress.
Action Steps
1. Create simple, goal-oriented to-do lists.
2. Use time blocks or the Pomodoro Technique to schedule work sessions and breaks.
3. Create time blocks for addressing others’ demands.
4. Schedule your work sessions and breaks according to the times of day you have the most energy.
5. Track your time.
6. Say “no” to impromptu meetings.
7. Limit meetings to 10 minutes.
A victim mentality - the tendency to feel sorry for yourself - hinders your productivity in four ways.
First, when you view everything through the lens of how life is unfair, you learn to never take responsibility for your actions and decisions.
Second, wallowing in self-pity sets the stage for discouragement and depression.
Third, it stunts your self-confidence.
