People who want to succeed in their professional careers take on a lot of habits that they think make them more productive. However, some of your first impulses for being better at your job might actually make you worse at it. Here are four habits that are sapping you of energy and momentum during your work day:
1. Checking Email First
If the first thing you do when you log in to work is check your email, you're doing yourself a disservice. When you begin your day, you start off with lots of momentum and energy, and you probably have a good idea of what needs to be done first. Unless you work in a job where emergencies come up overnight, there's probably nothing in your email that can't be addressed after your first to-do. When you check your email, you're basically taking the energy you already had and redirecting it to what other people want you to do. Instead, follow your gut and get your priorities sorted first.
The same problem comes from checking your email too often. You feel like you're being productive because you have your eye on communications coming to you. However, you're really just distracting yourself and disrupting the flow of your work. Limit yourself to checking email once an hour – that's the length of a typical lunch break, so people generally won't expect you to respond quicker than that over the Web.
2. Never Taking Vacation
Another mistake many workers make is not taking vacations. The idea is that if you stop working for a week, you'll lose five whole days' worth of productivity. You'll either have to put in more before or after vacation, or you'll fall behind and end up in hot water. According to The Atlantic, however, workers are actually much more productive after taking breaks. This doesn't actually just apply to vacations: Even short breaks are productive, provided they're not taking up the majority of your time. This means you're in the clear to check Facebook once in a while, and it will actually make you better at your job (emphasis on "once in a while").
3. Multi-Tasking
Even if you think you're awesome at multi-tasking, you're probably not. For most people, trying to do multiple things at once just leads to doing all of the tasks badly. Instead of trying to write a report while you listen to an informational video, dedicate the appropriate time and effort to each. You'll probably spend less time on tasks overall this way, since you won't have to go back and re-do unsatisfactory work.
The same rule goes for working through lunch. Even though eating doesn't take up too much of your brain power, you're still not going to be as productive as you'd be if you just took the break and ate your food away from your desk.
4. Drinking Coffee
Caffeine is the ultimate productivity gamble. On one hand, it does give you a quick boost of energy that might carry you through one difficult project. On the other, you're going to crash. If you drink caffeinated beverages regularly, you might even get to the point where you're tolerant to it. If it's not giving you a boost, then you're just drinking caffeine to get through a regular day.
Instead, save coffee and soda for when you really need a boost and know you'll be able to deal with the crash afterward. That way you'll get all the benefits from it, and you'll be prepared for the possibility of feeling exhausted when you're done.
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