If there's one universal truth about productivity, it's that not everything works for everyone.
Maybe
you like to wake up at 5 a.m., go through your entire email inbox,
organize your desk, and get cracking on your to-do list.
Or, maybe
you prefer to wake up at 8 a.m., hit the gym, scan your emails without
responding to any, and eat a leisurely breakfast while brainstorming
before getting started on "real" work.
te, and get a head start on the workday. But you might also be really tired — and unproductive.
Chris
Bailey learned that the hard way when he spent a year experimenting
with different productivity strategies, which he documented in his book,
"
The Productivity Project."
Bailey tried waking up every weekday at 5:30 a.m. and going to bed by 9:30 p.m.
But
since Bailey's a self-proclaimed night owl, that meant he often had to
stop and get ready for bed right when he had the most energy, focus, and
creativity.
It all comes down to
your chronotype
— some people are night owls; some people are early birds; and others
are somewhere in between. The point is that not everyone is suited to
working or working out at the crack of dawn.
2. Not emptying your email inbox
Everyone
approaches their email inbox differently — maybe you're the kind of person who absolutely
must deal with every email the minute it comes in, or maybe you couldn't care less that you've got 1,532 unread messages.
According to Laura Vanderkam,
the author of several bestselling books on productivity and
time-management, organizing and emptying your inbox isn't necessarily
the best use of your time.
That's not to say that you shouldn't send or respond to
any
emails — that would be almost impossible in today's workplace. But
Vanderkam advises against treating your inbox as a task list, so that
other people's demands are controlling what you work on every day.
In
fact, she writes: "Better to realize that anything you haven't gotten
to after a week or so will have either gone away or been thrust back
upon you by follow-up messages or calls."
3. Working shorter hours than your coworkers
Harvard professor Robin Ely co-authored a study that suggests much of the time people spent working
isn't necessarily productive. Instead, it's more about giving the
impression that you're conscientious.
Ely's study focused on a global consulting firm. She
told Business Insider
that, at many consulting firms (not just the one she studied), Ely
said, "the belief is that clients need to have consultants available
24/7."
"There is something almost appealing to being available
24/7," she added. "Being in demand is a symbol of status. It suggests
you're important and influential."
I personally
experimented with cutting my work hours
by 17% (from nine hours a day to eight hours) and found that I was just
as productive as before. By far the hardest part was the guilt I felt
when I left earlier than all my coworkers.
4. Keeping a messy work space
A
2015 study suggests that people can be
more productive in disorderly environments.
That's
likely because we're hardwired to seek order in our lives whenever
possible. So when we're faced with physical chaos, we're motivated to
create a more abstract sense of organization by pursuing clear,
well-defined goals.
This isn't an excuse to keep such a disgusting
desk that your coworker reports you to human resources. But if it
helps, keep a few stacks of papers lying around for motivation.
5. Leaving unfinished items on your to-do list
According to productivity company iDoneThis, about 41% of items on a to-do list never get completed.
And according to psychologist Art Markman, that's probably fine.
Writing for
Fast Company, Markman said that to-do lists can be helpful
even if you never complete everything on them.
That's because simply writing down what you need to do can prompt you
to think about all the steps necessary to do it — and to start working
on that task.
So, as soon as you put "write project report" on
your list, for example, you'll realize all the tasks that goal actually
entails. As a result, maybe you block out more time in your schedule for
the report, or at least mentally prepare yourself for a busy day.
6. Feeling stressed
Stress gets a bad rap — it's seemingly something we should avoid at all costs.
But if you ask health psychologist Kelly McGonigal, she'll tell you that stress
can in fact be good for you.
When you're freaking out about a work project or a family issue, it
suggests that you really care about your work or your family.
And if you can internalize that idea —
I'm stressed because this thing is important to me — you'll be
better equipped to handle the physiological symptoms of stress.
7. Procrastinating
In
some cases, procrastination really can hurt your productivity — like if
you're, say, browsing Facebook while you're supposed to be writing an
article due in an hour.
But in other circumstances, putting things off can lead to your best work.
Business Insider's Rachel Gillett read Wharton professor Adam Grant's book "
Originals"
and reported that Steve Jobs was a major procrastinator. Obviously, he
was wildly successful, too — and Grant argues that there's a link
between the two.
Grant told Business Insider: "The time Steve Jobs
was putting things off and noodling on possibilities was time well
spent in letting more divergent ideas come to the table, as opposed to
diving right in with the most conventional, the most obvious, the most
familiar."
Meanwhile, Stanford professor John Perry
told Business Insider about "structured procrastination," which means you do something else important while you're avoiding one particular task.
Perry said: "You're embracing your love of procrastination, but remaining productive."
