Ever feel like you are running full speed ahead into a brick wall? That’s because it is easy to do! Many of us make choices every day that undermine our productivity, exhaust us, and make us feel unworthy. Furthermore, when these poor choices sabotage our success, we have the tendency to cast blame on our background, circumstances, and/or other people. Yes, there is a lot in life that we cannot control. Still, our mindset and habits do make a difference. If you are frustrated with your progress, or feel like you are spinning your wheels, you may be guilty of self-sabotaging. What does this look like? In no particular order, but with a touch of humor, Here are “Ten Easy Ways to Sabotage Your Productivity.”
10 Easy Ways to Sabotage Your Productivity
| Simply Do This... | Which Sounds Like... |
|---|---|
| #10 Just Remember It | "I don’t need to write this down." "I can remember things." "I’ll get it all done." |
| #9 Wing It | "I don’t have time to plan." "I’ll just do what I feel like." "The first thing I'll do is check my messages." "Somehow, it’ll all get done." |
| #8 Do Everything Yourself | "No one does this as well as I do." "I can’t trust anyone else with this." "I’ll get it all done myself." |
| #7 Put Things “Down” | "I don’t have time to put this away." "I’ll just put it down here for now." "I’ll have time to put it away later." "I’ll get it all done if it’s out where I can see it." |
| #6 Procrastinate | "I don’t have time to work on this now." "I’ve got plenty of time to get this done." "I’ve got more important things to do." "I’m just going to check the internet." "I work best under pressure." "I need a nap." "I’ll get it all done in time" |
| #5 Underestimate Time | "I can get this all done in 10 minutes." "I’ve got time to check Facebook." "I can hop in the car and be there in no time." "No one cares if I’m late." "I have plenty of time to get it all done in time." |
| #4 Multi-task | "I can do two things at once." "I don’t have time to do only one thing at a time." "I can read and watch TV at the same time." "Checking my messages doesn’t hurt my productivity." "I’ll get it done faster this way." |
| #3 “Clean Up” | "Someone’s coming over. Quick, stash it here!" "I need to make everything look nice." "I don’t have time to put things away properly." "It's easier to just put it all in one big pile." "I’ll sort through this later and get it all done." |
| #2 Work Constantly | "I don’t have time to take a day off." "I’ll just sleep a bit less." "If I take a break, everything will fall apart." "I need to be available 24/7." "I’ll get it all done, then I’ll take time off." |
| #1 Make Everyone Happy | "My children/husband/clients are my top priority." "If I get it all done, everyone will appreciate me." |
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At one time or another, most of us have said or done things like these that make us sabotage our productivity. There is neither judgment nor criticism from me, nor am I saying that anyone is capable of thinking and performing perfectly at all times. We are human. At the same time, it is good to be aware of patterns we’ve adopted that may ultimately be hurting our ability to reach our goals. Acknowledging where we may be off track is always the first step in turning things around and moving in a new direction.
Can you relate to any of these? What ways do you self-sabotage?
Each of these sabotages plays out in many ways throughout the day. Being aware of how this happens and taking action on a single sabotage would make a big difference in what can get done in a day.
Yes, just selecting one to work on can be huge. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy and don’t even realize it!
These are great, Seana! I’m guilty of the “I can’t take a day off” syndrome. I have sometimes said in the morning that I’d like to spend a little time at the pool in the afternoon and then in the afternoon find one more thing to do that MUST be done. Just yesterday, I decided I deserved a little relaxation time so I took myself and my book to the pool, sat in the shade, and read for an hour. It was bliss! And, of course, you know my work was still there waiting. The benefit was that I was fresh. I had a new perspective to bring to the work I wanted to do. It was all good. Thanks for these great reminders.
I’ve experienced a similar sensation: I promise myself a reward, and then when the time comes, I don’t take it. Kind of weird. Maybe I feel heroic by powering on, but in the end, it backfires. We all need to restore and refresh. So glad you enjoyed the pool. Sounds delightful!
I can relate to pretty well all of these! When I read “underestimate time” I thought that doesn’t apply to me, because I’m more apt to procrastinate on something, thinking it will take too long, only to find when I do get around to it that it took far less time than I expected. Then I remembered, just the other day, I had 20 minutes until my friend was picking me up, so I decided to do something while I was waiting. Which would have been fine if I was actually ready to walk out the door, but instead, I had to scramble when I received her message that she was leaving, and wasn’t even able to complete the task I started.
Time and tasks are funny things! I’ve poorly estimated required time before. In my case, I usually have plenty of time, and then I lose it going onto the internet. Something at screen time is hard to estimate. I really need to set a timer to keep from going down the rabbit hole!
Awesome quote statements! I have some of these and have heard others from clients. It’s incredible how we stop ourselves from finishing tasks.
Sometimes we need to look at what we are saying with “fresh eyes” to see what we are really doing to ourselves.
I’m guilty of thinking that I have to do it myself. EVERYTHING! It’s just not possible. So I guess delegating is my challenge.
I think delegating is hard, because you know others won’t do things exactly as you would. This may work out well, but it could go poorly. I think there could be a course on “how to delegate without negative results” taught in school!
Every single one of your ideas comes down to having a system and sticking to it (and including a contingency plan IN your system). I know that I have a good memory, but that doesn’t always mean I’ll remember everything at the most convenient time, and when I’m in the shower or falling asleep is definitely not convenient. I write EVERYTHING down, immediately, in a dedicated planning space, and then do my planning at a dedicated time. I’ve learned that multi-tasking is useless (so no listening to webinars while trying to reply to emails, as the audio will become white noise).
This doesn’t mean I never procrastinate; of course I do. But the system prevents me from procrastinating too long and risking throwing everything out of whack. But #8 is sometimes my downfall. It’s not that I’m not willing to delegate so much that I’m not always willing to pay to delicate. 😉 But I’m getting better.
All of your points are absolutely accurate, Seana! Not recognizing that these are pitfalls, and not planning one’s way out of them, really does seem like a brick wall collision waiting to happen!
I think our approaches are very similar. I write down every thought because I know I won’t remember. I just won’t. Too much swimming around up there LOL! Delegating has risks, it surrenders a measure of control, which is why it is hard. We don’t want something to go poorly because we have delegated. At the same time, sometimes we learn and get better results, so there are potential upsides!
So much to think about. While I rarely fall prey to #10 or #9, I certainly see it in clients. # 8 used to be huge but I am much better at delegating now – especially when it comes to household chores as opposed to work tasks.
#7 has actually become worse. Things start to pile up and I am completely out of time or energy to deal with it now. I do know that if I leave it out, I will get to it at my first opportunity because it drives me crazy.
#1 and # 2 are the ones I really need to work on.
Thanks for the reminder.
Leaving things out really works for me as well, because the visual clutter is really annoying. However, even I can get to the point where I become habituated to seeing something, and then it doesn’t motivate me anymore.
These are great excuses. I love the chart form. It was quick and easy to read. It reminds me of someone who doesn’t have time to read a blog on productivity and so wants points not paragraphs. lol.
I have heard all of these excuses at one time or another from my clients. “I’ll wing it” is the one I hear most at meetings.
I try to avoid “winging it” whenever I can. Sometimes it is necessary, but it is never my choice.
I think everything is easier to digest in a matrix/chart.