5 Habits You Must Give-Up to be Productive

I have this friend who visited me once. Since I was busy at work and rarely stayed at home, I always left bottles of water stocked in the fridge for weeks. After hours of catching up, my friend asked for cold water. She took a bottle and drank from it. Just after her first gulp, she noticed that the water tasted different. So I decided to go out and buy her a drink instead.

Why am I telling this story? Because sometimes, we are like these bottles of water, the longer stocked, the more the bacteria will live inside. We are filled with bad habits that make us not usable at all. Those that we don’t even notice are preventing us from finish the things that we are supposed to do. So here are five simple must give up habits in order to achieve a more productive life!

1. Watching Too Much TV

Most of us are fond of watching television. But if we spend too much time sitting comfortably on the couch watching movies, cartoons, series, and others, what else do we achieve during the day?

It is given that there are a lot of great shows that are surely informative, but too much of everything is bad. Limit yourself from watching TV and do something that is more productive.

2. Starting and Not Finishing

Have you ever felt that your time is not enough to finish all the things you need to do? Wondering what’s the only way to fulfil it? Do it one at a time!

Aim to complete one task first before moving to the next one. Have a list of your to-dos from the one needing the most priority to the least. If you cannot even finish three tasks in a day, how come you add more? Try to have the “finisher mentality”, stop adding more work without finishing everything that is on the table!

3. Having Too Much of Sleep

According to Dalai Lama “Sleep is the best meditation.” Indeed, sleeping is one of the best things to do! It is my favourite hobby too, as I am able to refresh my mind and body after. But do you know that successful people have lesser time of sleep compared to the ordinary ones?

Sleeping is actually good for our health, but just give yourself an ample time to get quality sleep that your body needs. If you have nine or more hours of sleep per day, maybe you can cut it down and use some of those time to be more productive.

4. Getting distracted most of the time

Updating social media, texting, hanging out with friends, and much more. Most of us usually fall into this trap. If you have a task to do within the day, then do not allow these things to distract you. If your friends are inviting you to come over, learn to say “NO” and explain that you are not free at the moment. Focus on more important things than getting distracted without accomplishing anything.

5. Rescheduling

Was there a time when you snooze your alarm clock in the morning? Maybe it is just a simple act we are used to, but truth is, it is as a bad habit.

Set your mind to be punctual. Schedule things and try your best to follow them on time. If you cannot finish the task within the deadline, at least take an effort to accomplish it within the day it was scheduled. Do not reschedule one task and move the other deadlines on your list. If you do, then you might end up not finishing anything at all.