You only have so many hours in a day. Despite this, we have plenty of time to accomplish things if we prioritize them correctly. There are also things that hinder our productivity. Certain things may be unavoidable, but some receive the attention we should apply elsewhere.
Years have gone by, and I slowly became aware of the things I do that suck away my focus. I know better, because these are unproductive behaviors that don’t lead to any positive outcomes. Yet I keep doing them, and they keep taking time out of my day.
Like most things, we need to understand these behaviors before we do anything to solve them. It’s human nature to let your minds wander and shift our attention to more interesting daydreams. When this come at the expense of your usefulness or self-esteem, you need to cut it out!
Your Past Mistakes
More than anything else, I spend way too much time thinking about areas in my past where I made poor decisions. I know I didn’t want to deliberately self-sabotage, but I can also see that many of the past decisions could have been handled differently. Still, I dwell on these mistakes. I think about how much better my life would be if I had taken an alternate approach.
I would never tell anyone to completely ignore their past mistakes. We can learn a great deal from these instances and use them to inform our future development. At some point, we’ve probably pulled all the meaning out of these mistakes. Then, you’re just making yourself depressed and reminding yourself of your imperfections.
When you tell yourself “things would be different if I did this…” you’re living in a fantasy. It’s OK to acknowledge past mistakes, but you need to remember they don’t define your future. Accept that you’re not always perfect, but you have no control over your past. You can control your future, and if you focus on improvement you’re less likely to view your past with regrets.
Other People’s Lives
One of the biggest distractions and burdens we have in the modern era is social media. It’s a window into the lives of friends, family, people we once knew, and all the other people Facebook recommends to us. As we scroll, we begin to compare ourselves to these people. Some are getting married, going on vacation, buying homes, getting promoted… you name it.
While it’s nice when you feel genuine happiness for others’ successes, it can become overwhelming to see them making progress while you feel stagnant. After all, most of the time their stories have nothing to do with you and their successes aren’t preventing you from improving. At that point, their lives are nothing but distractions and sources of sadness.
Unless you’re talking to someone you really care about, you don’t need to be involved in other people’s lives. Disconnect yourself from them, and don’t engage in conversations that serve no purpose beyond bragging. Most importantly, know that people hide their struggles and highlight their successes. A happy photo could be posted by someone who’s depressed, and you’re comparing yourself to a fraction of a person.
Worrying About Possible Problems
I work to manage my anxiety, but there are still many times when I find myself worried about potential problems or struggles in the future. The worst thing, they haven’t even happened yet. A lot of the time I prepare for outcomes that never happen. While it’s a relief to avoid the worst outcomes, it’s also annoying to waste time focusing on them.
It can be a difficult task to get these thoughts out of your head, but a good starting point is having a plan of attack. Know what you need to accomplish and focus on getting those things done. This will establish control and convert your snowball of anxiety into a snowball of productivity.
You may also need to work to identify behaviors that cause anxiety. Sometimes this requires you to talk to coworkers or turn off notifications. These things can break your concentration or turn you attention away from more important tasks.
Someone Else’s Shortcomings
Are you a manager? No? Then you don’t need to be picking up the slack for everyone else. Above all, you need to be focused on your own responsibilities. Take care of your personal needs before you help anyone else. This may require you to set boundaries, but it will be worth it if you want to avoid being overwhelmed.
There are times when you’re going to want to help others, and this is OK. Every so often you’re going to need help too, and you want to reciprocate the favors. This become an issue once you’re dealing with a chronic slacker. It’s not your duty to enable their laziness, and it’s become exhausting after a while.
At some point, you’re going to need to let other people take responsibility. Don’t feel bad for people who aren’t putting in the same effort as you. People usually do this with the best of intentions, but you it can can also consume a lot of your attention. There are times when you ought to help others, but don’t let them consume the bulk of your days.
Books, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, etc.
I love watching TV, listening to music and podcasts, and the occasional read. For every episode or book I love, there are two that I hate. Yet it’s human nature to want to fishing things, so you stick with a TV show that lost your interest a long time ago.
In the end, these are just time sucks. You’re trying to be entertained and relax while interacting with media. If you feel this is just a chore, then you’re probably wasting time that could be used more effectively elsewhere.
Learn to let go of these things. Use your logical mind and cut your losses once your interest has decreased. It’s OK if you don’t want to finish a mystery novel or the latest true crime podcast. So long as you’re consuming this media strictly for entertainment, your life gains nothing when you keep watching a show after your interest has subsided.
Stay Focused
It’s important to feel productive. If you’re constantly putting your attention in the wrong areas, you’ll never be able to get things done.
By identifying areas where we spend too much time wasting mental energy, we free ourselves to be more focused in the right areas. This doesn’t mean you need to be 100% work all the time. It does mean you should feel you are in control over your ability to pay attention to being productive.
We live in a world that wants to break your attention. All of our technology is designed to make noises so your eyes are moving from screen to screen. Fortunately, we can silence these things. A few minutes of intentional modifications to your routine can result in better control and more time spent productively.