The funny thing about habits is that they tend to get dismissed. A habit is dismissed if it’s such a small quirk that it can be condoned. For example, you may have heard people say, “She’s nice but she has a habit of being flaky.” How about this one, “He’s a cool guy but he has a habit of not having a filter when he talks at times.” Some habits, while minor in nature, can be damaging in the long run. Who wants a fair weathered friend or an inconsiderate talker in mixed company?

What about our personal habits that we dismiss nonchalantly? What are our habits that are getting in the way of our success? In this post, I discuss seven damaging habits I have noticed over my eight years of being an entrepreneur. My goal is that if we become more conscious of the things we’ve been dismissing, then we can find the loopholes that are causing delays in our lives and in our businesses. Read on to learn more about 7 Habits to Break to Boost Productivity.

7 Habits to Break to Boost Productivity.

1. Delayed reactions

As the saying goes, “It’s on the back burner.” In other words, you’re working on it but it doesn’t have your immediate attention. You start something but don’t finish it, and you really should finish it. What’s the cause of the delay in reacting to the situations that you need to wrap up?

Some delayed reactions can be due to money, time, and other resource constraints. Other times, a delayed reaction can be due to a lack of support and confidence. As long as you have a game plan, such as to save money, make time, and gain other resources to accomplish your goal, you’re fine. However, if you are constantly saying that you don’t have money, time, and resources, and you’re not finding ways to change that, then you’re having a delay reaction.

This isn’t about being a procrastinator. By the way, I don’t believe in procrastination. I believe it’s either you’re not that interested or it’s your intuition telling you to wait. This is about acknowledging when you’re not being fully committed to yourself and asking yourself “why?”.

2. Overthinking

When people work with me or when I hire someone, I tell them that I overthink often. While I’m more conscious of it and learn to relax, I have to remain diligent because it’s super easy for me to slip back into overthinking mode. And, that’s my point about overthinking. It’s so easy to let your imagination run wild about how crazy big a task is to accomplish, how long it’ll take to do something, or some imaginary issue that never comes to fruition.

Get to know your style of work and you’ll be able to better understand your thought process. Maybe you’re someone who is into details. Maybe people have dropped the ball on you multiple times and you’re worried that it’ll happen again. Maybe you’re just trying to avoid the worst-case scenario.

Nevertheless, take a few deep breaths and a few steps back to look at the bigger picture. Think about what you can delegate, who you can delegate responsibility to, and when it’s time to stop micromanaging.

3. Being productive in one area to avoid being productive in another

Have you ever thought about washing your hair but you’re not mentally prepared to do that so you just do the laundry instead? Ha! You basically swap one productive action for another. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been there. Just make sure that you aren’t putting off the urgent stuff for too long, yes, even if you do have dry shampoo!

4. Helping others before helping yourself

Sometimes, it’s easier to help others before we help ourselves. A reason for this is because we have an objective view that we can offer others. Since you’re reading this blog post, I know you’re the type of person who wants to see people succeed and want to be part of that process based on your capabilities. Just remember that you have to take care of numero uno first or you’ll become burnt out from helping others.

5. Online use in overdrive

You receive a notification. You watch a video. You look at a meme. Next thing you know three hours passed by when you finally raise your head and rest your eyes. Surfing the internet can send you in a time warp! According to eMarketer, adults in the US spend 12.7 hours on media consumption. That’s practically half the day! Do we really need to be consuming that much media a day?

6. Not minding your thoughts

Sometimes when I’m having a conversation with myself, some thoughts pop up of other people and their issues. Then I would think about how I can help them. I need to pump the breaks. I’m having a personal conversation with myself about my personal growth and my goals. I need to focus on me at that moment. And, so, I reel myself back and concentrate on yours truly.

What are some thoughts that are consuming your mind but it’s not your drama or it really doesn’t concern you?

7. Letting distractions take over

Similar to #5, this point is about any distraction outside of social media. For example, it can be having the television on or allowing someone to talk to you when you’re trying to concentrate on something. It’s okay to turn the TV off or go to the next room. It’s okay to tell someone now isn’t a good time. We just have to be aware that our time is precious and the distractions can be simple but time-consuming.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• • • You’ll be constantly reminding yourself to be conscious of your time. Because some of our habits came naturally to us and others we picked up along the way, we tend to be comfortable with some habits. This is why we have to be conscious of our actions and reel ourselves in at the first sign we are going off track.
    • Some people will think that you don’t have time for them. You’re changing your habits but some of the people around you aren’t ready to change theirs or they don’t want you to change. They will try to make you feel bad and crave your attention. You don’t have time for it and that’s okay. Think about all the free time you’ll have!
    • Track yourself. Want to know exactly how long it takes you to do something? Start timing yourself. You’ll be amazed at the time you spend. You may also discover ways to cut down on the lead-time of your actions.