Written by: Leah Tomlin, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“When you waste a moment, you have killed it in a sense, squandering an irreplaceable opportunity. But when you use the moment properly, filling it with purpose and productivity, it lives on forever.” ‒ Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Leader.
We all desire productivity. We all want to gain more from our time on Earth and focus our time wisely on what matters. But why is there a gap between what we desire and what we actually manage to achieve? It’s all down to our repeated negative behaviours and poor decision-making. Knowing what NOT TO DO is as important as knowing what TO DO.
These are the 10 biggest productivity pains preventing your productivity gains:
1. Perfectionism
Delaying or neglecting your plans because they aren’t yet perfect means they are likely to never happen. Of course, every die-hard perfectionist can recall times when the trait has served them well. They can look back proudly on a completed project and see its worth. This can confirm to a perfectionist that their plight for perfection is a worthy one. However, persistent perfectionism wastes time, is exhausting and causes irrational over-learning or preparation prior to starting a task. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction any day. Create your MVP (minimal viable product) whilst relevant and get it out there. Today!
2. Limiting beliefs
Most people are blissfully ignorant of their limiting beliefs. But it is these beliefs that block us from success. Ask yourself why you haven’t yet completed that report, presented that talk, dived into that network group... When you really dig deep, what is the actual big fear or doubt that’s holding you back? Excellent coaching unveils hidden limiting beliefs, shines a light on them and helps people tackle their deep-seated and sabotaging fears. Deal with that fear and watch your path light up.
3. Procrastination
We humans avoid tasks that we find difficult, unpleasant, anxiety-inducing or just plain tedious. It means we waste hours, days, months even, feeling dread about doing a particular activity. Of course, significant creativity can lie within the walls of procrastination, as we spend our hours over-thinking, but it generally leads to inaction and frustration. The state of procrastination occurs when the emotional limbic system of our brain overrides the logical pre-frontal cortex. We lose our sense of logic and allow ourselves to become immersed in less important tasks or passive thoughts. Don’t be a victim of analysis paralysis. 20 minutes of action is better than 20 hours of thinking about that action. Instead of allowing another hour of stress-induced thought, dive straight in and get started. Getting started is a procrastination killer.
4. Weak goals
Every leader knows they need big goals, but few have them, remember them or act on them. Don’t waste your time with meaningless goals. The more meaningful your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them. Create them wisely, with ambition and desire. Spend time crafting your personal life and leadership goals. Have them somewhere visible so your eyes are on the prize. Be clear on what the goals will mean for your future. How will you feel when you achieve the ultimate success in your life and leadership? Allow those thoughts and feelings to spur you on in your mission to achieve your goals.
5. Poor planning & preparation
Your planning system is vital to your productivity. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Think of your end goal and reverse-engineer your success, setting dates and timescales to guarantee targeted daily action. Use this free 90-Day Productivity Planner to help you get focussed, condense more into each quarterly period and ensure all of your daily actions are those that matter. Get an accountability partner to help you stick to dates and to make sure your plan is carried out.
6. Twisted priorities
The mathematical Pareto Principle tells us that 20% of our actions account for 80% of our success. Think carefully to determine which are your 20% activities and focus more time and energy on them. Prioritising these jobs is where your success lies. Create boundaried times for these impactful activities and make sure nobody (including you) is allowed to sabotage your success with distractions or less-important work. Disable all digital distractions at times when you need to focus on your priorities.
7. Reflection rejection
Reflecting is so incredibly important in helping us to process, learn and inform our next steps. However, so few people habitually do it. Five minutes of reflection at the end of the day, on what worked well and what could be done better, is a great way to help us analyse the day and inform tomorrow’s actions.
8. Long to-do lists
Discard those long to-do lists that merely serve to pre-empt your failure. Nobody can get 30 significant actions done in one day, and if they are attempting to, they really need to question who or what is missing in their lives. Download the spinning ideas and thoughts in your head and keep them in one place (eg. at the back of your planner). Use your reflections to inform 5 daily actions only. This number of actions is achievable. Any not achieved can be reflected on at the end of the day and moved to the next day. Small steps taken each day are a one-way road to success.
9. Flakey boundaries
Your life and leadership need definition with clear boundaries. Create a clear boundary at the end of the working day by writing your 5 actions for tomorrow. This helps you to switch off from work, create a clear transition and be truly present in your life. Walking away from work is much simpler when our actions for the next day have already been determined. This switch-off is essential for work-life balance. Within your work hours, define clear, non-negotiable boundaries around your times for deep and focussed activities. In this sense, switch off distractions and be truly present in your work.
10. Bad habits
Your habits are so tough to kick because you are human and your brain is wired to keep you in your comfort zone. Getting out of your comfort zone is where your true success lies! Kicking habits takes incremental steps. It is also tough to do alone, so realise that and put in place some accountability and easy steps to help you succeed. Self-awareness is the first step to knowing which habits are actively holding you back.
Use a Productivity Assessment Tool to discover your strengths and areas for development. Kicking unhelpful habits and adopting positive productivity habits takes time and patience for it to become automatic. But know that you CAN and WILL propel your productivity with the right mindset, action and support.
Leah Tomlin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Leah coaches professional women for transformation in leadership and life. She holds an exceptional range of qualifications and skills as a certified Executive Coach, business owner, published Neuroscientist and qualified Head Teacher. Her understanding of the brain, and how people learn, ensures she inspires transformational, life-long positive impact for leaders and their organisations. Her scientific background allows her to employ evidence-based brain and coaching methodologies that achieve success. Leah is passionate about gender equality, helping propel more women to the top and seeing them succeed as incredible leaders. She empowers women to understand how their brains can help and hinder them, enabling them to develop greater self-awareness, confidence and a dare-to-dream vision. Her clients love the way she coaches with emotional intelligence and warmth, focused on improving their leadership competency and helping them develop new and effective professional behaviours and habits. Working with Leah, leaders achieve greater success for themselves and their teams, as well as creating supportive cultures of excellence in their workplaces. Leah lives in Bristol, England, as a single mum to her three young children. She is passionate about wellbeing and takes time to enjoy her hobbies, including music, film, reading, art and design, yoga and dog-walking.
