The 30-Day Productivity Boost (Vol. 1): 30 Bad Habits That Are Sabotaging Your Time Management (And How To Fix Them!)

by Damon Zahariades

Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” If you give yourself 2 hours to finish a task, you’ll take 2 hours to finish it.

good to remember for teaching/homework

Ignore email, social media, texts and phone calls. Ignoring distractions is always important when you’re trying to work productively, but doubly so when you’re working under challenging time limits.

i need to get better at this

Commit to ending your workday at 5:00 p.m. Doing so will give you the impetus to meet your task-specific time limits.

need to be better at this--especially during the school year-- make 430/530 gym appts--and keep them

Create an eating schedule. Routines bring order

this is a good idea--i could theoretically log all my food for the day/week at once…

Eating at the same times each day lessens the likelihood that you’ll grab whatever is within reach when you’re hungry.

might be a good idea to try-- might be hard to stick to on weekends?

Stop Procrastinating

lol k

Identify a reason for each task or project. Knowing why something needs to be done often provides the motivation needed to take action. Even habitual procrastinators can be prompted to take action when they assign meaning to projects they dread. 6. Seek accountability. Many people are more inclined to act when they know others are expecting them to do so. If you’re similarly motivated, you’ll benefit from having an accountability partner. This person is there to hold your feet to the fire. If you fail to do what you pledged to do, your accountability partner will ask the reason. The prospect of having to admit failure may be enough to spur you to action.

maybe c coud br my accountability personen

Every interruption carries a switching cost. It takes at least 20 minutes to regain your momentum. That’s the reason checking social media every hour (or even more frequently) prevents you from completing tasks.

this makes sense-- & i never thought about momentum and switching--not to mention the emotional toil of seeing sokmething you cant shake

The truth is, you’ll rarely be 100% ready for anything life throws at you.

truth

First, you become less likely to take risks.

or even get srarted in the first place

You’ll start to spend an inordinate amount of time planning and preparing.

this is so me tbh

Define the activities you’ll use your phone to perform. Limit the list to five items.

-texting -fitness logging -social media -email --8-9pm?

Take small steps. There’s no rush. Give yourself time to acclimate to each new routine. If you’re consistent and diligent, you’ll eventually effect your desired outcome.

need to remember this--especially for long term goals

Reward yourself for success.

i need some good non-fodbased rewards-- but maybe clothes not fitting would make me buy new things?

When you fail, don’t ignore it. Review the reasons. Try to identify the triggers for unhealthy or unproductive routines. Then, remove them.

this is important--why am i overeating? why am i skipping workouts?