The Habits That Can Make Us Less Productive

This week, I wanted to explore some of the common habits that can make us less productive. Habits, good and bad, are powerful; and it’s important that we remain aware of both kinds of habits — the ones that support our goals and the ones that keep us from reaching those goals. Here are a few of habits that we need to be aware of if we want to function at top efficiency:?

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Social-Media

Checking your social media regularly can be a big time drain. Even if it’s only a few minutes here and there, it’s not uncommon to look up and find that an hour (or more) has gone by. Those hours accumulate over time and can lead to serious losses in productivity. The main problem with social media is that it’s a fundamental marketing tool for many loan officers. Scheduling time for social media during the workday will certainly help. If you give yourself twenty minutes to log in and complete specific tasks for work, you’re less likely to find yourself scrolling indefinitely.

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Multitasking

This can be one of the hardest habits for ambitious professionals to break. When you’re committed to your goals and eager to grow your business, it can feel like there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. When we turn to multitasking, it feels as though we’re maximizing those hours. Unfortunately, most of the time, we’re slowing ourselves down. Pay attention to your workflow and notice when this habit comes up. Then, commit to ‘single tasking’ and see how it goes. While it might feel counter intuitive, it will likely help you to work through your list more efficiently.

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Notifications

We’re surrounded by technology, and it intrudes on our focus throughout the day with a constant stream of notifications — emails, texts, Facebook and LinkedIn messages, Tweets — the list goes on. Each time you stop in the middle of a task to tend to one of these notifications, you break your concentration on the task at hand. Returning to that same level of concentration after engaging with the notification can sometimes take many minutes. Though notifications are designed to make us feel as though we need to react instantly, we almost never need to. This doesn’t need to mean checking your inboxes twice a day. Many professionals find it useful to silence notifications, at least for a significant portion of their day, and check their messages at planned intervals. Maybe you pause every half hour if you’re concerned that someone might need an urgent reply. Putting yourself in control and not having your focus at the mercy of notifications is very helpful.

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These are just a few of the most common habits that slow productivity, but it’s certainly not an exhaustive list. Things like skipping breakfast and overfilling your schedule can be just as detrimental. If professionals want to boost their productivity, it’s worth taking inventory of their own habits. Then working to cut out the ones that keep you being as productive as you can be.

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If you’d like to talk more about any of these habits, or if there’s something else I can be of assistance with, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always happy to set aside some time to connect.?