7 Things You Need To Stop Doing To Be More Productive, Backed By Science

In 1926, Henry Ford shocked industry leaders around the world when he announced a five-day workweek for his Ford employees. “Just as the eight-hour day opened our way to prosperity in America, so the five-day workweek will open our way to still greater prosperity…it is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure for workmen is either lost time or a class privilege,” Ford wrote then.

To his probable surprise, Ford found, though, that knocking a day off of the work week actually improved productivity in his factories. It turned out,workers got more done in five days than they had in six.

conclusion: Working more hours with more intensity doesn’t make your work better—it makes your work worse.

Produce 10x More Productivity:-

Many people think that being busy and being productive are one and the same thing. This is absolutely not the case. In fact, unfocused “busy-ness” can significantly hinder our ability to be productive. Working for long hours doesn’t mean you are productive. There are only a limited number of hours in a work day, and an infinite number of tasks your team has to complete. Think of the 80/20 rule, which means that 80% of your results comes from 20% of your work. That means recognizing which work will offer the biggest impact. That’s being productive, instead of keeping busy and losing productivity. What it means is saving time, money and energy, while doing work more efficiently.

Microsoft Corp. conducted an experiment  in Japan. In a country where people put in long hours, the U.S. software company gave its employees five consecutive three-day weekends. Astonishingly, Microsoft’s sales per employee soared by 40% from the previous year. The company also saved money on electricity bills and paper-copying costs.
Let’s take a quick look at the basic dictionary definitions of these two common words.

Busy – “having a great deal to do.”

Productive – “able to produce large amount

For example Employee with high computers knowledge may be more productive than those with less knowledge.

Seven Things One Should Stop Doing To Be More Productive

• Stop working overtime:-

This 1960s-era workplace scene seems almost utopian in 2015. A recent Gallup poll found that the average American workweek, which has traditionally been 40 hours, is now more than 47. According to Workfront CMO Joe Staples:

“That means each week, on average, we end up clocking an entire extra day of work. Salaried workers are hit the hardest, with a full 25 percent saying they log a grueling 60 hours per week, which equals working 12-hour days from Monday to Friday, or slightly shorter weekdays with much of the weekend also on the clock.”

It’s not hard to think of some reasons this would be the case. Long hours cause fatigue, both physical and mental. That fatigue affects not just the last few hours of a workday, but all the hours of the next day. An employee who drags back to work after only a few hours’ rest isn’t going to be very productive in the morning. Then the next long day tires them out even more, and the punishing cycle begins again. Eventually the worker starts making little errors, slowing down and failing to take initiative to fix problems and exploit new opportunities.

Did you know?

Leonardo da Vinci took multiple naps a day and slept less at night.

President John F. Kennedy ate his lunch in bed and then settled in for a nap—every day!

Winston Churchill’s afternoon nap was a non-negotiable. He believed it helped him get twice as much done each day.

President Lyndon B. Johnson took a nap every afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in order to break his day up into “two shifts.”

• Saying “No” can Help You Increase Productivity

Though it can be difficult to say no, as it can affect your relationships, now the question is that “did you ever feel like somebody or something is coming in and stealing precious time from you?” Chances are you do not perceive things rightly.

Staying productive demands that you should stay focused on things that really improve your output.

Using the word “no” can empower you to concentrate on the thing that matters most instead of giving your time to something else less important.

If you experience any difficulties or are shy to say “no,” there are some graceful ways

Do not make use of any bogus excuses, because they’re not going to help you in softening any blows. Respect the asker by being direct, keeping it simple, and explaining that you don’t have the capacity to help. After the situation is handled, most people can handle a negative response, too.

While you’re planning to say “no,” consider the situation, e.g., think about what’s being asked and who’s asking for something. Moreover, remember to thank the person for consideration instead of making an apology for not participating.

• Delegate Properly

Delegation is to productivity as a nail gun is to driving nails. Once you’ve started using it, you’ll be amazed at just how much faster and easier your job is. If you do it right, that is. For many managers and business people, delegating is like a polar bear swim; they plunge in enthusiastically but jump out just as fast.

Why? The most common complaint is that delegating work gives the manager or leader even more to do; now they have to supervise someone else’s work on top of doing their own. But If you assign a task to someone and then supervise them closely while they’re doing it, you’re micromanaging, not delegating.

When you delegate properly, you have more time to spend on your own work. The key is to assign the right task to the right person—a person you know has the skills to do the job and that you can trust to get it done—and then leave them to it. It takes some getting used to, but you’ll be surprised how productive you can be when you really let go.

• Perfection:-

There are different types of perfectionism that people struggle with, and different reasons people might fall into the perfectionism trap. But the end result is always the same: A major hit to productivity.

Perfectionism and productivity just don’t go hand-in-hand; having impossible standards makes it pretty much impossible to get things done. But what does that actually look like? What are some of the concrete ways perfectionism hinders productivity?

“People who are concerned about perfection often have a hard time getting started with their work,” says Baker. They’re so worried about doing things perfectly, they feel paralyzed to get started, and their work suffers as a result.

“Their paralysis can often lead to procrastination, missed deadlines, and work that ultimately is even lower quality than had they taken the leap and gotten started on-time,” says Baker.

Even if you do overcome your perfectionistic tendencies to get the ball rolling on a project, chances are it’s going to hold you back from doing your best work.

“Productivity is not just about quantity of work, it’s also about quality of work and having unreasonably high expectations for yourself absolutely can limit your ability to do your best work,” says Hamill.  

And why is that? Hamill explains: “Because perfectionism can get in the way of trying new things, taking risks, and can stifle our ability to innovate.”

Great work—the kind of work that can change the game in your industry or take you and your business to the next level—requires a certain amount of risk. But if you’re caught up in the need to be “perfect,” those are likely risks you’re not going to be willing to take and, as a result, it’s nearly impossible to reach your full potential.

• Take regular breaks.

It sounds counterintuitive, but taking scheduled breaks can actually help improve concentration. Some research has shown that taking short breaks during long tasks helps you to maintain a constant level of performance; while working at a task without breaks leads to a steady decline in performance.

We might think working longer hours means we’re getting more done, but we never work as well when we’re burned out. Studies show taking regular breaks helps concentration and boosts your mood. Take a five-minute walk around the office, or spend 15 minutes grabbing that mid-afternoon coffee.

One effective way of boosting your productivity at work is by taking small breaks.

At a minimum aim to take at least two small breaks during the day excluding lunch break i.e. one short break in the morning and another one in the afternoon.

Short breaks help to recharge you, re energize you, increase your concentration, relax you, break monotony, reduce boredom, boost motivation and productivity and help to reduce errors from fatigue or burnout.

Things to do during breaks include taking a walk, walking up and down a flight of stairs, taking coffee or tea, chatting with a colleague, looking outside, listening to music, stretching, catching up on news, thinking, calling a friend, reading personal email and taking bathroom breaks.

When you work on a task continuously, it’s easy to lose focus and get lost in the weeds. In contrast, following a brief intermission, picking up where you left off forces you to take a few seconds to think globally about what you’re ultimately trying to achieve. It’s a practice that encourages us to stay mindful of our objectives

• Prepare a to-do list

At the end of each day, take a few minutes to prepare a list of specific items to work on the following day. This practice lays out a road map for what you want to do or accomplish on a daily basis.

Mentally note or estimate how long each task should take and by what time you want the task to be done.

Writing down everything that you need to do helps you to manage your time and safeguards against an activity being forgotten.

A to-do list can be either electronic or a paper list.

At the beginning of each day, go over your list to refresh your memory. In addition, look at your list at specific intervals throughout the day to ensure that nothing is skipped.

Check off, cross out or delete items when you complete them.

At the end of the day, rebalance your to-do list by removing completed items and adding new items.

If you are unable to prepare your to-do list at the end of the day, you can also prepare it first thing in the morning when you get to work.