1 Really Bad Habit You Need to Break

I tell members of my career mentoring site that habits (both good and bad) are like muscles; the more you exercise them, the stronger they get.  That’s why breaking a bad habit can be so difficult.  My friends at The Muse recently published an article listing seven habits that contribute to a lack of productivity.  Check it out…

https://www.themuse.com/advice/7-super-common-habits-that-productive-people-ditch-because-who-has-time-for-that?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7%20Super%20Common%20Habits%20That%20Productive%20People%20Ditch&utm_term=Daily%20Email%20List

All of these habits can really hurt your productivity, but the third one — Multitasking — is a real productivity killer.  Multitasking destroys your ability to concentrate.  As the article says, “Your brain can focus on only one thing at a time, and constantly switching tasks actually retrains your brain to not really focus at all. If you find yourself toggling between tasks and can’t settle on one thing, understand that you’re hurting your performance and wasting time. Instead, focus on one task for a specific period of time before moving on to the next one.”  This is true.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t focus on and accomplish a variety of different tasks every day.  It does mean that you need to work on tasks sequentially, not concurrently.  I see it all the time in my MBA classroom.  Unlike a lot of instructors I don’t ask students to turn off the electronic devices when they are in class.  Consequently, a lot of laptops are open during my lectures.  I know that some students are taking notes while others are getting caught up on the news or shopping.  The students who fall into the latter category tell me that they can multitask — listen to what I’m saying and do something else at the same time.

I sometimes play a little game with the students, I’ll ask a question and then say, “What do you think, John (or Jane)?  Usually I get a startled look in response.  The fair way to do this would be to say, “John (or Jane) what do you think about this?”  That way they won’t be caught completely unawares.  The point is while my students — and most of us, including me on occasion — think that we can multitask; in reality we can’t.

I schedule my time in blocks.  I give my complete attention to the task scheduled for an individual time block.  When the time is up, I move on to the next task and give it my complete attention.  I suggest you do the same.  You’ll see the result in improved personal productivity.

Your career mentor,

Bud

PS: I write this blog to help people create the life and career success they want and deserve. Now I’m going one step further. I’ve created a membership site in which I’ve pulled together my best thoughts on success. And, as a reader of this blog, you can become a member for free. Just go to https://budbilanich.com/join to claim your free membership. You’ll be joining a vibrant and growing community of success minded professionals. I hope to see you there.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
FREE CAREER SUCCESS BOOKS FOR VISITORSDOWNLOAD

Speak Your Mind

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.