Ashley Hanson

9 Unproductive Habits You Want to Kick Photo by​ ​Andreas Klassen​ on​ ​Unsplash The reason I’m so fascinated by productivity is that I am an unproductive person for the most part. I read too much. I sleep too much. I listen to music constantly. I buy the small gadgets that slowly turn me into a zombie. If it wasn’t for having a productivity system, I would never get anything done. But if you take a look at social media, isn’t everyone healthy, super productive, and wealthy? The truth is, I don’t know. But I do know that it’s impossible to be productive 24/7. A huge part of actually being productive is simply kicking unproductive habits. I’ve compiled a list of nine unproductive habits that I’ve taught myself to do less or eliminated altogether. Do you recognize any of these habits? If you find you have five or more, it could be time to make a change. 1 — Overworking Some days, it’s easy for me to work 12 or 13 hours at a clip. I take a break to eat and walk around, and I can keep this pace up for a few days without a problem. But, after those few days, the crash comes barreling down. I can’t get anything done. I struggle. I don’t even want to do anything. So, I set boundaries on how long I work each day, and I stick to it. 2 — Checking Things If someone asks what you’re doing, how often do you just say you were “just checking something?” FOMO is real. Checking things isn’t useful. Although it’s a verb, just “checking things” isn’t a real action. When I started writing, I obsessively check my stats for no reason other than I could. What good came of it? Absolutely nothing. Stop doing it. 3 — Worrying What if I lose my job? What if I don’t make enough this month to cover my bills? What if I go broke? What if I get hit by a bus when I step outside my door? What if? What if? What if? It’s exhausting thinking like this, but anxiety is very real. Here’s the thing, you’re not going to drop dead right this very minute. The sky isn’t going to fall (even though it may feel like it). Do something useful. 4 — Being a Yes Person The majority of people are terrified to say no. It’s uncomfortable to say no, and you feel like you have to justify yourself. It feels icky to let people down. The why doesn’t really matter. What matters is that if you keep saying yes, you’re going to end up living someone else’s life. Saying yes all the time takes control away. Start saying no more often and yes less. 5 — Not Writing Things Down Your mind goes in a million directions every day. Not making a habit of writing your ideas, thoughts, or tasks down is insanity. You’re devoting a lot of your brainpower simply trying to remember things. When you start writing everything down, you can redirect this power to useful things like solving problems. 6 — Ignoring Your Health A lot of people, myself included, has the nasty habit of ignoring our health. Yes, you’ve had that cough for two weeks now, and it’s not getting any better, but ignoring it should make it go away. When you don’t feel your best, how do you expect to perform at your best? You can’t. Start paying attention to your health. 7 — Being Too Stubborn No matter the job, interacting with people on an almost daily basis is just something you deal with. Do you ever catch yourself wondering, “Why should I listen to what they tell me?” or “What could they possibly teach me?” Maybe they know more than you. We have no idea until we take the time to listen to other people. When you make it a habit to be stubborn and cynical all of the time, you’re sabotaging yourself. 8 — Stopping Actively Learning You finally finished college or graduate school. Goodbye books! Who stops learning? I have no idea where this idea came from. I always assumed learning stopped when you finish schooling. The truth is, you should never stop trying to actively learn. Take courses. Read books. Watch videos. You can do it from home, or you can take in-person classes. It’ll make you more excited about life and productive overall. 9 — Not Setting Goals Every time someone successful claims that they don’t have goals, I know full well they’re totally full of crap. Who can manage to be successful without having anything to aim at? Don’t believe them. They want you to believe that they got to their successful place with no effort. Start setting goals and actively working toward it. Why do I focus on what not to do? I learn by inverting. It’s the same thing Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet use to become top-notch investors. When you’re trying to be productive or successful, look at what you’d have to do to be the opposite. You can build a solid productivity system simply by avoiding the nine things I mentioned above. I get to be productive now. Not bad for someone who was always unproductive, right?