20 Dangerous Habits That Are Making You Much less Productive

There are a bunch of unhealthy habits many people do every single day, and analysis reveals these habits actually harm our productiveness, particularly at work. The extra conscious we’re of how this stuff are affecting our productiveness, the extra proactive we will be at taking accountability for our selections.

On this listing, I will break down a number of the commonest examples of unhealthy habits that stifle productiveness and a few methods you’ll be able to break them.

Desk of Contents

Dangerous Habits Examples Checklist

How one can Break a Dangerous Behavior

Attempt the free app Headspace to begin: It offers you 10 free guided meditation classes, with the choice of signing up for a month-to-month subscription.

2. Skipping breakfast.

Whether or not you blame it on being too rushed (see #1) or simply not feeling hungry, consuming a well-rounded breakfast simply is not a precedence for lots of people.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

While you’re sleeping, you are fasting — which means you get up with low blood sugar. That low blood sugar is strictly why many people really feel drained, apathetic, and even a bit of irritable very first thing within the morning. It is not you; it is your inherent want for the sustenance that, you already know, retains you up and operating as a human.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

What about changing meals with espresso? Positive, the caffeine rush out of your morning espresso can assist cover the signs of low blood sugar — nevertheless it will not fulfill your want for meals. The truth is, it will possible trigger you to crash later within the day, which may actually hurt your productiveness.

Prioritizing a wholesome breakfast is a key to boosting productiveness for the remainder of your day.

Attempt wholesome breakfast meals which have the fiber, protein, nutritional vitamins, and minerals that’ll offer you power. Keep away from breakfast meals with added sugar like sugary cereal and pastries.

3. Tackling the straightforward stuff first.

It may be very tempting to get all the straightforward duties out of the way in which first earlier than tackling the robust stuff. That is very true whenever you’re dreading that difficult process.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Tackling probably the most troublesome duties in your to-do listing early on within the day is definitely higher to your total productiveness. Researchers have discovered that willpower is a finite useful resource that steadily decreases all through the day, based on the e-book The Willpower Intuition. So your mind is significantly better at dealing with the toughest duties at the start of the day whenever you’re extra targeted.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

Mornings additionally are inclined to lend fewer distractions, making it simpler so that you can get issues completed. My colleague James Gilbert suggests that folk “reap the benefits of morning hours to crank via meaty tasks with out distractions, and save any calls or digital conferences for the afternoon.”

Making a to-do listing is the best option to prioritize duties successfully. Everybody has their very own to-do listing fashion, so take a look at this listing of the very best to-do listing instruments and apps on the market and see which of them work finest for you.

4. Checking and responding to emails as they arrive in.

E mail is meant to assist us do our work, not distract us from our work. So why does it at all times really feel like a productiveness suck?

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

In an effort to remain on prime of a continuously overflowing inbox, it may be tempting to test and reply to each e mail as quickly because it is available in. Receiving e mail notifications in actual time definitely would not assist. However continuously switching duties between work and e mail can actually harm your productiveness.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

That can assist you focus in chunks of time, flip off these pesky e mail alerts and restrict checking your e mail to specified breaks.

If you happen to’re anxious about lacking an necessary e mail, attempt deciding on “Vital mail notifications on” and Gmail will notify you for emails it thinks are necessary to you primarily based on previous exercise.

To show off alerts in Outlook: On the “Instruments” menu, click on “Choices.” Open the “Preferences” tab and click on “E-mail Choices,” then “Superior E-mail Choices.” Underneath “When new objects arrive in my Inbox,” clear the “Show a New Mail Desktop Alert (default Inbox solely) test field.

5. Checking social feeds.

The entire “simply distracted” factor goes for social media notifications, too. The urge to test for social media notifications makes it laborious to test our Information Feeds “simply this as soon as” — and often leads to plenty of senseless searching.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

As my colleague Scott Tousley says, “We’re head over heels in love with distracting ourselves.”

My colleague Alec Biedrzycki solves this downside by eradicating all social networks from his toolbar bookmarks. “Even when I do not imply to browse them, some uncontrollable impulse subconsciously clicks on them after I expertise downtime,” he says. “You will get sucked in with out understanding it (and even meaning to), so eliminating the gateway to these networks retains me on monitor.”

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

To show off notifications for social media so that you just’re in charge of whenever you test these apps. You are able to do this within the apps themselves or within the settings of your smartphone.

6. Holding your telephone with you at work.

Elevate your hand in the event you panic whenever you understand you do not have your telephone with you—whether or not you are sitting at your desk, attending a gathering, grabbing espresso, or heck—even going to the toilet. (I am responsible of this, too.)

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Smartphones are one of the outstanding distractions on the planet. And whenever you preserve your telephone with you at work, you are placing your productiveness ranges in danger.

A examine within the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Notion and Efficiency discovered that when individuals who have been performing a process that required intense focus acquired a textual content or name on their telephone, that they had extra incorrect solutions and have been extra prone to make fast guesses. Individuals who acquired notification of a name — even when they didn’t decide it up — have been 3X extra prone to make errors. The truth is, error charges have been about the identical whether or not or not individuals answered that decision or textual content.

Why does receiving that textual content or name harm our productiveness a lot? Researchers from that examine say that, though the precise second of interruption is short-lived, our ideas are disrupted for a significantly longer interval, making it robust to refocus.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

There are plenty of alternative ways to curb your telephone habit. The best is to show your telephone on silent and put it away when you’re at work. If that is not reducing it, attempt an app like Forest. This app will immediate you to plant a digital tree whenever you begin working, which “grows” over the course of half-hour. The extra 30-minute durations you do not use your telephone, the bigger your forest will develop; however in the event you go away the app, you may have to begin another time.

7. Black gap searching.

You understand the sensation whenever you seek for one thing work-related, then click on on a associated video, and earlier than you already know it, you are knee-deep into TikToks about constructing a tiny home in the course of a distant forest?

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

It is a harmful facet impact of getting a job that requires web analysis. It is one factor to mindlessly browse the online outdoors of labor or whenever you’re on a break. (The truth is, I’ve an ideal listing of the very best websites and apps for losing time on the web for occasions like these.) Nevertheless it’s one other fully whenever you’re speculated to be doing precise work.

That is what Tousley likes to name “black gap searching,” and it is change into one of the productivity-sucking psychological addictions on the market.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

You would possibly really feel like getting misplaced within the black gap is inevitable, however there are instruments on the market that may show you how to stop it from occurring. For instance, StayFocusd is a Google Chrome extension that breaks the black gap searching cycle by blocking distracting web sites after a set period of time.

8. Working via your lunch break.

Consuming at your desk would not simply make you delinquent. In keeping with HBR, it is also “unhealthy for pondering, unhealthy for creativity, unhealthy for productiveness, [and] unhealthy to your physique.”

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

To be honest, in the event you’re amongst these individuals who take lunch at your desk as a substitute of taking a break, it is probably not your fault. Maybe it is not constructed into your workplace tradition, or perhaps you have got a deadline that is pressuring you to squeeze each waking second out of your day.

However taking the noon break will be mentally rejuvenating — and, in some ways, extra productive than plugging away at your desk between mouthfuls.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

The easiest way to take a lunch break is to take away your self out of your desk or workspace and eat elsewhere — like a cafeteria, restaurant, or public park. Higher but, construct your community at work by consuming with a colleague. (Listed below are some extra concepts for what to do throughout your lunch break.

9. Not energetic listening.

One of many unhappy penalties of being continuously distracted is the epidemic of solely half paying consideration — and pondering that is OK. You would possibly suppose that any time another person is speaking and you are not, meaning you are listening. However, as my colleague Andrew Quinn wrote in his publish on unhealthy conversational habits, it would not. “The true query is who’re you listening to when [someone else] is speaking,” he wrote. “I am keen to wager an excellent portion of the time, you are truly listening to the voice in your head.”

That, otherwise you’re studying that e mail that simply got here in. Or checking to see why your telephone buzzed. While you’re in a gathering, how a lot can you actually be paying consideration when your laptop computer is open?

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Not solely cannot listening fastidiously value you relationships, it may possibly additionally value you within the time it takes to make up for no matter data you missed.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

Turning into an energetic listener is a important a part of changing into extra emotionally clever. This implies actually, actually listening to what individuals are saying — and it is a ability that’ll set you aside in each your skilled and private life.

10. Saying “sure” to each assembly.

Being “within the zone” is whenever you lose your self in no matter you are doing — a lot so that you just lose monitor of time. It is one of many keys to each happiness and productiveness at work.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Nothing disrupts that circulate like a gathering. Particularly an pointless one. It seems that the common particular person wastes 31 hours in unproductive conferences monthly. These pointless conferences are ones the place you or the organizer is not ready, you did not actually should be there, and so forth.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

Wish to get these 31 hours again? Listed below are a couple of ideas:

• Make sure you are solely attending conferences you truly must attend. If you happen to do not see your self actively contributing to the group, politely let the assembly requester know that you just will not be capable of attend.
• If you happen to’re the one calling the assembly, ship invitees a be aware, description, or some type of heads up alongside along with your calendar invites. This’ll give them an concept of why they have been invited or should be there. Attempt an app like Do or Stable to assist preserve your conferences organized and actionable.
• Schedule conferences in bulk in the event you can. It is a strategic approach to make sure the time you do have outdoors of conferences is spent as productively as potential, because it takes individuals a median of 23 minutes to refocus after switching duties.

Talking of which …

11. Multitasking.

Multitasking can appear inevitable in our fashionable, ever-connected existence. However it may possibly make us much less productive and improve errors and stress.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Keep in mind that unhealthy behavior of not listening? Folks try this so much throughout conferences once they attempt to multitask — whether or not it is studying and responding to emails and messages, scrolling via their Twitter feeds, or one thing else.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

Getting out of the behavior of multitasking is troublesome, however definitely doable. Eradicating notifications out of your work laptop (see #5) and placing away your cellphone (see #6) are two nice methods to begin. Different concepts embrace establishing a no-laptop rule for conferences, utilizing the Pomodoro Method (the place you’re employed in sprints in a approach that enhances the physique’s pure ultradian rhythm), and planning your day in blocks that embrace built-in breaks.

12. Enjoying along with your telephone earlier than mattress.

Have you ever ever lay in mattress with the lights off and spent a couple of minutes scrolling via your telephone to reply to last-minute texts and emails, test Instagram, or scroll via TikTok? Now, elevate your hand if these jiffy have ever become half an hour, forty-five minutes, and even an hour.

Think about how far more sleep you may’ve gotten that evening in the event you’d merely gone to mattress whenever you first turned the lights off.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Nevertheless it’s not simply in regards to the quantity of sleep — it is also in regards to the high quality of sleep. Research have proven that individuals who stare upon a backlit display proper earlier than mattress truly report having lower-quality sleep — even once they get simply as a lot sleep as somebody who did not take a look at their electronics earlier than mattress. It is because presence and absence of sunshine inform our brains whether or not or not they need to launch the sleep hormone melatonin that makes you drained. As a result of the LED lighting emitted by the screens on our digital gadgets is so much like daylight, it may possibly trick our brains into pondering it is daytime, inflicting us to remain awake for longer.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

The easiest way to interrupt this behavior? Purchase an alarm clock that is not your telephone, and cost your telephone in a separate room so that you keep away from the temptation of checking it altogether. If you happen to’re anxious about lacking an emergency name, then attempt sending these last-minute texts 30-60 minutes earlier than you hit the hay. It will imply you get extra sleep and better high quality sleep, main you to function at peak productiveness the next day. (Learn this weblog publish for tips about getting probably the most out of your sleep.)

13. Ethical Licensing

Ethical licensing is a standard indicator of decrease productiveness at finest and a quick monitor to a efficiency enchancment plan at worst. Utilizing an excellent deed to cowl up a nasty one is morally improper and may change into a nasty behavior earlier than you already know it.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

As soon as developed, such a unhealthy behavior may cause you to procrastinate in your work, take shortcuts, miss deadlines, and go away your staff in a lurch. It might sound far-fetched to start with to chop corners when no one is watching, however after it is change into a behavior, it may possibly wreak havoc in your productiveness and work life steadiness.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

As an alternative of banking good actions to compensate for a poor motion each every now and then, decide to doing what you say you’ll and following the principles set out by your office. If you happen to really feel as if the rules go towards your individual morals, deliver this up along with your supervisor or contemplate searching for a brand new alternative.

14. Sitting down too typically.

If you happen to work a sedentary job, it could be troublesome to recollect to face up infrequently. That is very true in the event you take part in plenty of conferences and calls

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Sitting for too lengthy is said to a number of well being points like hypertension, excessive blood sugar, and different metabolic points. All of this cannot solely result in a decrease high quality of life, however doubtlessly demise.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

Standing up for a couple of minutes every hour can do wonders to your psychological and bodily well being in the course of the workday. For one, you interact extra muscle tissue whenever you stand which is nice for sustaining correct posture and mobility. Along with that, you may flow into blood circulate which can assist you suppose extra clearly.

Use a software like a health watch to remind you to face all through the day. Or, use a free timer in your desktop or cellphone to warn you when it is time to arise for a second.

15. Poor prioritization.

Have you ever ever woken up and instantly felt like duties, occasions, and requests have been occurring to you relatively than you selecting to take part in them? This may be the results of poor prioritization.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

While you’re not in charge of your priorities every day, it is not going that you’re going to get to the duties and actions that you just needed to. You will be in response mode—prioritizing every little thing for everybody else.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

To enhance your prioritization, there are a couple of strategies you’ll be able to attempt. Creating an inventory is a well-liked option to give attention to what you propose to get completed every day. Some individuals schedule every hour of their day in a digital calendar—outfitted with reminders and alarms to maintain them on schedule. Whether or not you go the handbook or digital route, prioritizing your day very first thing within the morning can break the unhealthy behavior of poor prioritization.

16. Over-planning

Simply as we talked about above, prioritizing your day is a good behavior to begin doing to change into extra productive. However over-planning can result in some unhealthy habits as effectively.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Planning each second of your day with out room for private issues, pressing duties, journey time, and a second for reflection can result in burnout—particularly in the event you’re mindlessly following a script you’ve got created for your self.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

As an alternative, get comfy with the thought of flexibility in your day. Goal for not more than 5 to seven must-do duties per day and go away a couple of hours open. That approach, you may be ok with prioritizing what it’s good to do whereas nonetheless having time (and a transparent thoughts) to assist others, or just relaxation and recharge for the following day.

17. Being late.

Higher late than by no means, however by no means late is best. Punctuality is a ability that’s not innate in most individuals, it’s one thing all of us should be taught as kids and observe continuously as adults. The important thing to not growing the unhealthy behavior of being late within the first place is to worth your individual time and the time of others.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

While you’re late, you not directly inform the opposite individual that your time is extra invaluable than theirs. And I get it—generally issues come up and being late is unavoidable. That is the place immediate communication comes into play to rectify the scenario. However in the event you’re at all times operating out of time, dashing via the door, or becoming a member of a gathering a minute or two not on time, this could possibly be a nasty behavior within the making.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

Time administration finest practices are prevalent, and nearly anybody you ask may have a tip or trick so that you can attempt. One tip particularly that works effectively to extend productiveness is including buffers to your digital calendar. For instance, when you’ve got a gathering from 2:00 to three:00 and one other from 3:00 to three:30, add a 5 minute buffer between the 2 by both scheduling the primary assembly to finish 5 minutes early or begin the second assembly 5 minutes late. Doing this upfront when sending your assembly invites is vital—everybody will perceive what time the assembly begins and ends, even when it is an unconventional scheduling observe.

18. Gossipping.

Gossipping is a nasty behavior that many people disguise as venting, however there’s a distinction between the 2. Venting is dialog with a starting and finish—often completed in a secure house— that’s usually outdoors of labor with individuals who might provide assist or recommendation. Gossipping, alternatively, is a poisonous unhealthy behavior with the aim of being distracting and unkind.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Gossipping is understood to tank the productiveness of everybody who engages with it. Even in the event you’re solely listening, you are spending time and power consuming unhelpful data when you may be targeted on work.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

If you happen to’re the deliverer of the gossip, take a second to replicate in your priorities. Are you content along with your profession? Are there areas of your life the place you’d prefer to see change? If sure, then discuss to a trusted mentor, good friend, or advisor relatively than gossip about others. If you happen to’re surrounded by gossip however wish to keep productive, take away your self from the atmosphere by taking a stroll, shifting your lunch break to a unique time, or assembly new individuals in the course of the lulls within the day.

19. Not reflecting on objectives for the week.

Going from week to week with no time in between for reflection and purpose setting is a positive option to see a productiveness dip sooner or later.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

With out reflection, it may be troublesome to see the place your progress alternatives are, predict roadblocks, and be proactive in your work. If you happen to’ve ever heard of individuals feeling as if they’re on a hamster wheel, not reflecting on their objectives every week is a contributing issue.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

A easy 15-minute check-in on the finish of the work week will be all it’s good to develop a wholesome behavior of reflection and purpose setting. Right here are some things to contemplate throughout this weekly evaluation:

• Did I obtain my objectives for the week?
• What made me glad?
• What went improper?
• Who did I assist/who helped me?
• What am I grateful for this week?
• What are my objectives for subsequent week?

20. Poor Communication

After we talk clearly and well timed, productiveness improves because of this. However poor communication can change into a nasty behavior for a lot of causes which not solely impacts you and your work however these you work together with, too.

Why this behavior is unhealthy:

Poor communication as a nasty behavior is fairly clear: sending last-minute emails or Slack messages, asking unclear questions, or leaving stakeholders out of the loop are all examples of poor communication that when completed ceaselessly or together with each other, can change into a nasty behavior.

How one can break this unhealthy behavior:

To interrupt the behavior of poor communication, preserve two phrases in thoughts: be proactive.

If you happen to’re estimating {that a} venture will likely be later than anticipated, even by only a few days, talk it as early as you understand. Your staff will recognize you taking accountability, however they recognize the truth that they’ll plan round this inconvenience effectively upfront.

1. Analysis the unhealthy behavior.

Earlier than you’ll be able to start breaking a nasty behavior, you need to perceive why the behavior exists to start with. Virtually all habits serve a necessity and have a set off. However these two issues could also be troublesome to uncover on the floor stage.

As an example, when you’ve got a nasty behavior of being late, the necessity just isn’t that you’ve extra time in your day. It is possible that it’s good to prioritize your day higher. With a bit of extra planning, you’ll see your time-bound commitments approaching and provides your self sufficient time to fulfill them.

2. Set a sensible purpose.

When you perceive the necessity your unhealthy behavior serves, you’ll be able to set a sensible purpose round breaking the behavior. Breaking unhealthy habits doesn’t occur in a single day, and it could not even occur within the first week of the strictest behavior administration practices. The important thing right here is the phrase “life like.”

A typical purpose for individuals who wish to break unhealthy habits is to do it inside three weeks. However as soon as these three weeks are up, you may want a sustained sense of motivation to maintain up the nice behavior. So set a purpose round the way you’d prefer to really feel when you drop the unhealthy behavior. Sustaining this sense will show you how to keep the course and kick the unhealthy behavior for good.

3. Change your routine.

Routine is likely one of the largest influences of a nasty behavior. This alone could make or break your probabilities of success in kicking a nasty behavior.

If you already know your thoughts goes on autopilot round 3pm at work, you may wish to interrupt that routine earlier than it begins. You are able to do this by setting an alarm, scheduling a espresso chat with a coworker, or taking a stroll to redirect your thoughts away from the unhealthy behavior.

Though altering your routine alone will not cease the behavior in its tracks, it should make it tougher so that you can keep the behavior which provides you the house to exchange these destructive actions with constructive ones.

4. Restrict alternatives to try unhealthy habits.

The environments we spend probably the most time in can affect each good and unhealthy habits. To mitigate advert habits, it is necessary to restrict the alternatives the place we might interact in them. This will imply altering your environment extra typically or limiting contact with individuals who encourage unhealthy habits.

And this tip goes for each distant staff and in-office of us. Dangerous habits can develop in each environments, so it is your accountability to be sincere with your self about when and the place unhealthy habits usually happen in an effort to enhance your productiveness.

5. Ask for assist.

Nipping unhealthy habits within the bud is tough sufficient, however going via it alone could make it far more troublesome. Teaming up with a assist community or an accountability associate can assist you ease into the change with out judgment or grand expectations.

Somewhat than relying by yourself willpower, you’ll be able to lean in your community for assist as you get used to the modifications you make in your worklife to be extra productive. And whereas all of us try to be on our A-game, everybody has a nasty behavior or two to interrupt, so make sure you return the favor to them when the time comes.

6. Implement a rewards system.

Breaking unhealthy habits doesn’t suggest we should not be rewarded for our progress. The truth is, utilizing rewards can assist you keep on the nice behavior wagon for much longer than in the event you relied on sheer willpower alone.

Make be aware of small niceties that you just get pleasure from (and which might be acceptable in relation to the behavior you are breaking) to deal with your self whenever you surpass a milestone. Simply make sure that you do not develop new unhealthy habits within the strategy of breaking an previous one, like spending outdoors of your finances, growing unhealthy wellness habits, or imposing in your family and friends that can assist you rejoice too-frequent milestones.

7. Be affected person.

Final however not least, be affected person with your self. Since unhealthy habits can have an effect on productiveness, it is sensible that productiveness might not improve immediately and even after you’ve got hit your first milestones towards growing good habits. Improved productiveness comes with time, repetition, and incorporating a number of good habits persistently at scale.

Relating to ending advert habits and starting good ones, benefit from the journey. You will possible be taught so much about your self, your work ethic, and the atmosphere round you so that you could stop unhealthy habits earlier than they type sooner or later.

This publish was initially revealed in March 2016 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.