Response Magic 
5 Fake Productive Things
You Are Doing That Are A Waste Of Time
You are not as busy as you
make out, chances are you're wasting your time with these behaviours. Here's
how to reclaim your day
Most of us want to squeeze
more time out of each day. But once you’ve organized, listed, time-blocked and
eliminated distractions, what else is there to do?
Plenty, says productivity
coach Hillary Rettig,
author of The 7 Secrets of the
Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism and
Writer’s Block.
Often, the biggest
time-wasters aren’t specific tasks, but behaviors that we get drawn into, she
says.
Once you learn to
recognize them, you can stop them from eating minutes or hours that could
better be used elsewhere. Here are five of the most common.
1. PUTTING
OUT FIRES
If you’re moving from one
crisis to another, you’re not making the best use of your time, Rettig says.
Too often, people get
swept up in drama, and situations that aren’t urgent or don't need your
immediate attention begin to feel like they do.
That’s a time-suck that is
based in illusion, she says.
Instead, look at the root
causes of these "emergencies." Are they caused by procrastination,
poor management, miscommunication or something else?
Once you understand why
situations are escalating to the point where they’re in need of
all-hands-on-deck attention, you can stem the tide—and begin to draw boundaries
if you find you’re spending too much time rescuing someone else on the team.
2. PERFECTIONISM
News flash: You’re not
perfect. No one is. So stop trying to pretend otherwise in your day-to-day
tasks, says organizational expert Alison Kero, founder
of ACK! Organizing in Brooklyn.
When you get caught up in
perfectionism, you typically waste time procrastinating, "because you’re
afraid you’re never going to get it done right, so why even bother," she
says.
Then, it can be tough to
complete or hand off your project or task because you never feel it’s good
enough.
When you let go of trying
to be perfect, you feel prepared to meet the challenge and know when the work
is good enough to move on to the next phase. It makes you more efficient and
productive, she says.
3. FEEL
GUILTY ABOUT PROCRASTINATING
Spending time on Facebook
isn’t a bad thing. Playing Trivia Crack on your phone isn’t, either.
They only become
problematic when you’re using them as a procrastination tool or they make you
feel bad.
If you feel guilty about
the amount of time you spend on social media, or using apps or looking at
friends’ photos online makes you feel bad about yourself, then it’s time to look
at cutting back or cutting them out altogether.
If you’re a small-business
owner who uses social media to connect with customers, or it provides you with
the opportunity to interact with people in a positive way, then it’s not a
time-waster.
Kero says understanding
how you feel about your daily activities is a clue to whether they’re helpful
or time-sucks.
4. FORCED
NEATNESS
If having a lot of email
in your inbox doesn’t bother you, then why spend hours each week trying to get
to inbox zero?
If you are fine with a
messy desk, then don’t sweat having a few piles here and there.
Kero says these things are
only problems when they distract you or inhibit your productivity.
"If you are the kind
of person where you look at your desk and somebody says, ‘Hey I need this
paper’ and you can, within 30 seconds to a minute, find that paper very easily,
then whatever system you’ve got going on is working for you.
If you lose things all the
time, your desk makes you feel like you’re in chaos and overwhelmed, and you’re
spending more time hunting for things than actually being productive, that’s
when it’s not working for you," she says.
But don’t spend time on
tasks just because you think you should.
5. TRYING TO
FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT ALONE
When you encounter a
roadblock, setback or unfamiliar territory, you’re much more likely to waste
time trying to figure it all out yourself than if you reach out for help,
Rettig says.
Sometimes, we think we can manage everything
ourselves, but getting advice or a helping hand can save time and provide
valuable insight and lessons.
Seek out a colleague,
mentor or other trusted source of knowledge or solutions instead of trying to
do everything on your own.
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