Chika Uwazie’s TalentBase: 5 Productivity Killers You Need To Get Rid Of

Although working hard is a good thing, I think we can all agree that working ‘smarter’ is even better.

It’s all about how you manage your time. But time management isn’t easy when we face a lot of obstacles that hinder our productivity at work.

Here are some productivity killers you absolutely need to get rid of.

Messy Desks
Declutter; if your desk is a mess, your mind is a mess. Messy desks/ work spaces are major productivity killers. Instead of digging through piles of documents each and every time, invest a moment of your time into organizing and prioritizing paper work in the work space. This also applies to your email clutter too. There are a number of apps that could help organize and place emails into categories.

Imagine all the time you could save by no longer looking for those emails that take forever to find. Alright, let’s roll those long sleeves up and get to it.

Multitasking
You probably think eating chin chin with one hand and typing an email with the other, while thinking about content for the next blog post is a sure way to save a lot of time. Killing two birds with one chin chin (or chin lol; what is the singular for chin chin damit?!). But no, recent studies have shown that multitasking kills productivity along with creativity. Doing a number of tasks may ensure quantity, but not quality. People who try to do two or more activities all at once end up being distracted, and the quality of their work suffers.

Focus on one task at a time, do it to your best abilities and move on to the next task.

Unnecessary Meetings
Meetings are really time consuming. They are a waste of time and human resources. Just say no to them, but if you absolutely must, having ‘stand up meetings’ (meeting held while standing up) are the way to go. Not only does this technique save time, it also results in increased group arousal and performance.

Procrastination
Finding other things to do, or making up excuses just so you can put off a project you don’t want to work on will only end in more precious time being wasted.

Take Breaks
Whenever you are feeling mentally drained, a little break is advised. Short breaks from work have been shown to increase productivity by getting your blood flowing which in turn allows you to return to work with a fresh mind and even fresher perspective.

So go ahead, take a little 5-10 minute break. Be it a walk down the street to get that donut, or a walk across the hall to the water cooler, or if you’re in the ‘zone’, you could do a little exercise, like jumping jacks or light yoga stretches.
So that’s it! No more excuses, identify those pesky productivity killers and eliminate them immediately.

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