Building good habits is so important to developing daily routines that improve your productivity. But breaking bad habits are just as important! Getting out of inefficient and bad habits can held you turn things around so that you are using your hours in the day to efficiently work towards your goals. Which is why it’s so important to talk about these 5 habits that ruin your daily productivity.
When you allow bad habits that are hurting your productivity to continue they will become increasingly difficult to break. Which is why I do recommend working on breaking any of these habits that ruin productivity that you believe you may be guilty of. That way you also have ultimately more time in your life without them which means more time in your life that you can be more productive and working towards your dreams.
If you prefer to hear about these habits and have me explain them a little more than head over to my YouTube channel here where I have a video about these habits that stop productivity.
Now let’s jump into the post so we can chat about the 5 habits that ruin your productivity and how to address them so that you can truly learn to be productive. It can be a bit overwhelming but it is never too late to start and it’s so important to break these habits!
*** This article may contain affiliate links that I receive a small commission off of. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I always appreciate any support to keep this site running! Thank you!***
5 Habits That Ruin Your Daily Productivity
What is stopping you from being more productive!
So here is what you need to do to break those habits and live your most productive life. And then you can reach for your dreams!
Excessive social media time
We have all fallen down the social media time hole. You jump on Instagram to just check for a couple new posts for a minute and suddenly it’s 2 hours later and you are on a friend of a friends ex-boyfriend’s sisters Instagram. I am far from saying don’t go on social media… I am saying to watch how much time you are spending on it!
Spending hours on social media isn’t a productive use of time. Instead, use social media as your breaks from being productive to reward yourself. Social media can be awesome for growing your business, staying connected, etc. but don’t let it control your entire day.
Going on your phone in general can be a large time wasting activity that can really hold you back from being more productive. If you are struggling with stopping your social media time and phone usage in general I recommend setting a timer on your phone. And until that timer goes off don’t allow yourself to look at your phone.
If you have an iPhone you can use the screen time report each week to look at your progress and try to get a better idea of your screen time. As well as getting an idea of what websites/apps are distracting you the most. Knowing that information can be the firs type to stopping this habit that is ruining your productivity.
I also have a helpful post that you can read here about learning to unplug from your phone every day. Not only does less phone time generally help you with being more productive but it can also have other benefits. Such as helping your relationships and sometimes even bettering your mental wellness. A lot of these habits are not only bad for your productivity but they also can have other negative impacts in your life.
Not making daily to-do lists
For a complete guide on making daily to do lists check this out: How to Make an “Every Day Goals” List. Daily to-do lists allow you to see everything you need to accomplish that day in one place. It also allows you to make sure that you are prioritizing what needs to get done each day.
Daily to do lists are one of the most wonderful tools you can easily start using to be more productive.
So if you are in the daily habit of just immediately starting your day without a plan and without a to do list then you need to shake that bad habit!
To truly start being more productive it is important to start making your daily to do lists. To get you started with this I do recommend getting a simple to do list notepad like this one. Keeping a daily to do list notepad somewhere very visible on your desk can help you break the productivity ruining habit of not having to do lists.
Remember that keeping things visible is a great way to remind yourself so that you can make things into new habits. New better habits that will ultimately help you be more productive!
A poor before bed routine
The next of the habits that ruin your productivity is one that is often overlooked.
The time before bed is so important to the success of your next day. Figure out what is the most important for you to accomplish. For me it’s important to plan out my outfit for the next day, do a quick clean up of the house, and do my full skin/hair care routine.
Everyone has different priorities but figuring out what those are and making and sticking to that routine will help you get into positive habits that lead to increased productivity.
I shared my healthy and productive night time routine here: How To Make A Healthy Night Time Routine. This can give you some inspiration for making your night time routine.
Not using a planner/schedule
I swear by the importance of using a planner or a digital calendar. (You gotta actually use it though! To read on why your planner isn’t working for you click here). Planners are so helpful for not forgetting things that you need to do and helping you set daily habits that will increase how efficiently you use your time. Planners are what you make of them and if you take time each week to plan out your week it can ensure you don’t run into chaos that can make you quickly lose your entire day.
I have started using the Erin Condren life planner (check it out here) and it is so helpful for being more productive and efficient every day. This is a productivity habit/skill that I truly recommend everyone start using.
But remember that just getting a planner is only half the battle. If you actually want your planner to help you be more productive you need to check it and use it every single day.
Saying yes to everything
The last but certainly not least of the habits that ruin your productivity is saying yes to everything. Or at least saying yes to far too many things. Too many things so that you aren’t able to be productive or have the time to work towards your dreams.
This is more of a big picture habit but if you are guilty of it you are going to need to stop if you want to use your days to accomplish your goals. It’s so easy to say yes to things when they are initially asked but then when the time comes and it’s your day off and you have to spend it working towards other people’s goals you will be kicking yourself.
It takes time but learning what is truly important to you and what isn’t will help you regain your own time and establish a habit of prioritizing what is the most important to you.
My best advice would be to take a long look at how you spend your time and how you could be better utilizing the 24 hours you get every day. Figure out what bad habits are impacting you the most and kick them in the butt!
Becoming more productive can be an overwhelming process but it is a journey that in the long run is worth it. When you make it a commitment to be more productive you will usually find yourself with more time in the day to work towards bettering yourself and creating the life of your dreams.
Which is why it is so important to learn about these habits that ruin your productivity so you can address each of them. And then in turn become your most productive self!
If you have found these tips and tricks for boosting productivity helpful then I recommend continuing to scroll so we can stay connected and in touch. That way you can always know about my new freebies, helpful posts, and content in general!
Korra-Shay
Let’s get social
If you liked this post on this habits that ruin productivity then you probably (hopefully!) will like these too:
- How Positivity Can Actually Boost Productivity
- 5 Simple Daily Habits For Better Productivity
- Productive Things To Do During Winter Break: 65 Ideas
- 11 Quick Productive Tasks To Do When You Feel Lazy
- My Self Improvement Morning Routine
Let’s really stay in touch!
Below is a quick form to subscribe to my weekly roundup! It’s just one email a week with my 3 newest posts, email exclusive freebies, weekly finds and favorites, and so much more. I would love to stay in touch moving forward!
This is a great list! Organizing the day, utilizing all of these tips, the greatest stumbling block is fatigue. Even just starting these one by one, probably gets rid of the fatigue slowly, just by using energy little by little. Thank you for posting these great ideas! 🙂