Break These Bad Habits to Be More Productive

It’s easy to get in the bad habit rut. Bad habits usually develop over time which makes them difficult to notice until you’re already hooked. Some habits form without you even realizing that they’re considered “bad.”  Exchanging your bad work habits for good ones will result in a more efficient and productive work environment. 

The first step towards change is analyzing your current work habits and considering what impression you’re making at the office. Certain bad work habits can prevent you from getting promotions or from being taken seriously at work. 

Change a Bad Habit; Change Your Life

Before getting into which habits to change and why, let’s be clear, habit changing takes patience and perseverance. Depending on which source you read, it can take between 21 and 200+ days to form a new habit. Just take the first step.

 

 

Break Some Mindsets to Break These Bad Habits

1. Multitasking: Multitasking is one of those things people often mistake as a skill, but it’s indeed a bad habit. Since it takes time to refocus, people who multitask tend to perform worse than people who do one thing at a time. Remaining flexible can be a good thing, but multitasking adds stress and can lead to overworking and burnout.  For the best results, try and focus on one thing at a time.
2. Procrastination: Otherwise known as “putting it off until tomorrow,” this one can catch a person off guard. This can suddenly happen if a deadline shortens, or the job’s scope expands. Overall, it’s much better to generate a quality product by working on it progressively than doing it at the last minute. By giving yourself more time to work on a project, you can gather others’ input which can improve productivity along the way.
3. Tech Attachment: Responding to emails immediately sets up the expectation you will do so consistently and can create pitfalls when you cannot. This bad habit distracts from tasks at hand as regaining focus takes time. Going back to our first point, if you receive an email that’s not urgent, remain focused on what you’re currently working on. Wrap up your current task and when you feel it’s a good time, revisit the email.
4. Not Listening: Well-developed listening skills take some work. Many people drift off into their own thoughts when people are speaking or just wait to speak without really listening. This is called passive listening. Not only can passive listening cost you time and understanding, but this can be embarrassing when called out. Strive to be an active listener. Active listening enriches workplace relationships and productivity. The idea of actively listening is to build a summary of what is being said in your head and repeat or paraphrase it back to the person. This forces you to listen more closely and allows for information to better stick in your head.

Get Ready For a New Challenge

Beating these bad habits can be tough but doing so will help you develop a positive workplace routine and help you become marketable when looking for a new opportunity.

Are you ready for a new challenge? Addison Group has more than 20 years of experience connecting candidates with opportunities that align with their career goals. Chat with us today for a new job!