5 Productivity Mistakes You Are Making Without Knowing.

There are things we do that have the best intention, but the impact often results in anxiety, overwhelm and inefficiency. In the words of Leadership guru Peter Drucker:

“Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.”

Here are five common mistakes people make in the hope of gaining ownership over their days.

You plan for tomorrow.

This sounds completely logical; of course, one should plan for tomorrow; the problem is that you need to think further ahead.

I had a client working on a master’s thesis and had a three-week time horizon until her final paper was due. She was incredibly anxious and complaining of writer’s block, but when we unpacked her dilemma, she only planned her study schedule one day ahead.

To create true efficiency, you must see the steps through to completion to give you clarity, calm and confidence. A finite amount can be accomplished in one day, but if you can plan to the deadline and see in your calendar when, where and what you will tackle, you can see the plan coming together.

This level of foresight manages your anxiety because you have a tangible plan that reveals you have more than enough time to complete your task.

Maybe you don’t have a thesis due, but are you also planning one day ahead rather than planning your entire week before you’re in it? Take a Friday afternoon or even Sunday and begin planning your time where it cannot go — this includes all pre-scheduled meetings, family lifts and responsibilities, and any existing commitments.

Now you have a realistic snapshot of the week ahead and can begin to plan around this blocking out space for work, planning, self-care, focus time and whatever else you need to include. Knowing what’s ahead allows you to plan, reflect and mentally prepare for the upcoming week.

Why does planning ahead matter? This skill becomes critical as you advance in your career; the more senior you become, the further out you need to be able to plan for.

You use a to-do list.

A to-do list is a guilt list; it reminds you of everything you haven’t done and gets longer as you navigate your day. Most likely, the first thing on the list is not the most important item but the first one you thought about.

What about replacing your to-do list with a success list? A success list is short and should only have three big tasks to do in a day. Of course, you have more than three things listed but are these other items busy work or your life’s work?

Your success list items should be concise and contribute forward motion to your goals. For example, is spending time on the presentation freeing up mental bandwidth rather than avoiding it with low-hanging fruit but making you feel good to tick off more trivial items?

A success list keeps you focused on the main thing; the few items that will have the most impact, even if they’re the ones that bring up insecurity, uncertainty and all your fears. Use fear as a compass; if you’re thinking of avoiding the task, you know it’s the one to focus on.

You don’t plan your recovery.

If you’re booking your leave because you’re exhausted or on the brink of burnout, it’s too late. Plan your recovery before you need it! The power of this practice is that the anticipation of the break is as powerful as the break itself.

If you’ve had your leave and still feel drained, how about planning interesting weekends or taking some time on a Friday for an activity that completely energises you?

One of my clients said gardening was her recovery time and never made space for herself during the week. Now she takes at least half an hour daily to spend time in the garden to rejuvenate, relax and recharge. The little things often bring us the most joy; however, you must permit yourself to schedule them without guilt.

Planning your recovery also means consistently recharging throughout the day by standing, getting lunch, and moving. Drop the mindset that you must grind all day to earn some downtime.

You need to be more specific.

If your goal is to become more mindful, it can get lost between intention and execution. But if you said every time I walk through a door, I will think of one thing to be grateful for, you begin to turn intention into habit and action.

The same is true of how you label the slots in your calendar. If you see ‘admin’ or ‘study leave’ allocated, are you clear on what needs to happen in that block of time? Instead, specify precisely what admin you will do and what project or chapter you will study.

The more deliberate you can be with your time, the more focus and efficiency you can bring to the task.

You don’t have clarity.

Productivity is creating the most efficient output with the least wasted effort. As you can see in the image, productivity is created by what you don’t see, which is purpose and priority.

I don't mean the purpose for why you are on the planet but getting clear on why you are doing the task in the first place. What's the reason for the meeting, proposal, and presentation? What do you want people to think, feel and know due to it?

The clearer you are about why you are doing it, the clearer you will be on how to do it.

Priority drives the direction of this energy and what you focus on first. If you have too many priorities, you have none.

Consider this question: I won't sleep tonight if I don't finish _____________today.

What is that thing?

Now add that item to your success list and ensure this is where your energy and attention goes.

Final thoughts.

Productivity is not about creating more hours but better hours. The way to do this is to be aware of the things that move you further away from your goals and replace them with better habits: