7 Time Wasting Activities To Kick Out To Become More Successful

Habits are something which we have become good at over the years. When these habits turn out to be time & energy drainers, then it’s time to work around it to change it or better replace it with a new behavior.

If you are someone who is looking at becoming successful in your life, then it’s time to focus on your core habits and do a rethink.More often than not you will realize, that you are also guilty of falling into the trap of fueling bad habits.

Over the years working with Sr executives and large business owners I have realized that most struggle to identify what is draining them or making them unproductive.Here I have picked the 7 top habits which more often than not derails one from being successful.

Learn to relinquish Control:

More often than not I do come across many people who want to do everything themselves. They have over the years developed the habit of doing the tasks and are not ready internally to hand over the reins.Remember it’s always a waste of time to do the things which someone else can do in some cases more efficiently.

Take some time out to identify 2-3 daily activities which you can delegate it to others. You will be surprised how people rise up to the occasion when you believe in them and allow them to make mistakes to learn. The human mind always works better, when we create space for learning & growth.

Learn to say No:

Yes, this may sound simple, but you will be surprised as to how many people have a huge mental block in saying No to people & tasks around them.

Most do not realize, that by not saying No to time-sucking activities, they are putting themselves on the back foot.One of the key aspects when you are driving large teams or organization is to set firm boundaries and stick within it.

There are more ways than one to inculcate the habit of saying “No” without alienating your professional or personal network.I found this difficult myself in my earlier days, but have over the years strived to become good at this one particular response.

Learn to Eliminate distractions:

If you are someone who does work in an environment where distraction is the norm, then it’s next to impossible to get anything done worthwhile.You will be surprised to know that I do come across more people who call upon distractions themselves.

If you are someone who invite people to interrupt you regularly then it’s time to get a grip on this one habit which can drain your energy sooner than later.I have noticed over the years that just reducing this one behavior will help you drastically improve your focus and help you learn to eliminate distractions to a bare minimum.

Over the years I have developed some time during the day, when no one can distract me. This is the “Me Time” I have created during which I focus on the task at hand.Try blocking some time during the day and letting others know that you are doing something important and you will be available during other time if required.

As with anything, begin small & you can step up as you progress.

Learn to Not Multitask:

Yes, you did read it right. Learning not to Multitask is the “latest productive tool” with many of the executives I do work with.Multitasking is the number 1 productivity drainer and it’s important to know the why behind it.

Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time, and constantly switching tasks, actually retrains your brain to not really focus at all. If you are more often than not caught Multitasking, then it’s time to work on it right away.

Remember that you are hurting your own performance and wasting double the time in actually Multitasking. One of the easiest things to do right now is to focus on one thing at a time and give it your 100 percent attention.You will surprise yourself as to how much ground you can cover.

Learn to be organized:

The more disorganized you are, the more energy one tends to take during the day. Being organized is something one cannot develop overnight. This is something one needs to work consciously at.Exposing oneself to more of chaos and confusion on a daily basis is sure to make one low in energy for important things during the most productive time.

Learning to be organized is an art, which according to me does begin from the time one opens the eyes at the crack of dawn.There are always opportunities around each one of us to become more organized and you will be one on the losing side, if you let go of it.

Learn to not be perfect:

No one is perfect and trying to perfect things, before you complete the task is where many waste a tremendous amount of time. If you wait for the perfect time or situation in your life to take, you will more often than not end up not doing it at all.

Most research are pointing towards the fact that “Spending large amount of time perfecting a task could actually be a sign of procrastinating”.I follow the logic of not waiting to be perfect but getting along and developing perfection along the way. It has saved me countless hours of going through the learning curve and I do not see as to why it should not help you.

Learn to not respond faster:

Do you respond to mails, notifications or any other non-voice messages within 10-15 minutes of receiving it? Well then you might have to do a rethink about this.Is it really helpful to respond to all of these within the time window or can it wait for some other time when you are not as productive?

Faster response is not necessarily better, is what I have come to realize. It might not work in all the cases, but believe me that it does in most of the cases.When you give yourself more time to think through a response you will come up with something better.

Constantly checking emails/messages/social media & responding does waste a ton of productive time which can be always used for a better work.When you develop an empowering habit to not respond faster, you will eventually save more time and get much more done in the same period of time.

If you’ve tried everything that you possibly can, but find yourself still being weighed down with disempowering habits, then go here right now

                           Yes, I Want To Improve My Performance & become Successful

Working with a professional coach who can listen to your frustrations non-judgmentally and support you will help you get results faster.

Besides working with clients 1 on 1, I also engage with corporate teams through my Group Coaching Sessions.

Through these sessions, your team will learn to make powerful changes to their current engagement and improve performance. In my personal Intervention, I will teach them how to…

1.Develop a die-hard attitude for achieving their personal and professional goals
2.Create a powerful Road-map in their lives which ultimately results in success
3.Double, triple or even quintuple their productivity by teaching them to break dis empowering habits.

Are you an executive who’s looking to increase your team’s overall productivity? Then mail me on enquiry@satishrao.in to bring in the much needed change within your team.

Thank you for reading my post. I regularly write about Leadership, Peak Performance & Wellness.

If you would like to read my regular posts then feel free to also connect with me through Social Media via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn