We usually come across tips that help you scale your business and hacks that you can implement to benefit your venture. But we seldom realise that we are draining ourselves of time and energy by little, apparently harmless activities that we do on a regular basis.
Add this up, and you’d have wasted enough time on nothing. Which is why we have brought to you 6 unproductive habits in business that waste your time, and how you can avoid them. If you are guilty of doing one or more of these activities, know that you need to make amends and change for the betterment of yourself and your career.
1. Reading self-help material:
Yes, you read it right! Reading self-help material does little to improve your lifestyle even the slightest bit. What works its magic, though, is if you put those lessons to work. When it comes to self-help material, follow the 1:3 rule. For every 1 hour you spend reading such motivating books and self-help articles, spend 3 hours implementing them. In this way, you will have made a tremendous progress on a personal and professional level.
Recognising your priorities will later compound into multiple benefits in the long run. Also, read only those books that are extremely relevant to the current scenario that you are in. For example, if you are looking to grow your business, read only those books that teach you how to do it, and not those which tell you how to be happy. Steer clear of the unproductive habits in business and make a start with this one.
2. Waking up early:
If you are one of those people that function exceptionally well in the wee hours of the morning, then go for it. But if you can’t, then don’t force yourself into building up that habit. Just because a successful businessman you know wakes up at 4 am and does yoga, doesn’t mean you need to follow suit. On the other hand, there are plenty of successful people out there who don’t wake up until its 9 in the morning.
This is one of the many ways of keeping your business habits in check. It’s not about what time you wake up at. It’s about what you do with the time while you are up. Give your mind and body that time to rest. If your mind is at its creative best in the late mornings or late nights, then so be it. Function according to your personal needs, and you will see tremendous growth and apparent good results in the long run.
3. Working too hard:
Sure, you do need to work hard as far as your business is concerned, and you must. However, working hard and working too hard are entirely different aspects altogether. In business, you need to learn how to leverage your tasks at hand so that you are only left with organising and managing, and not doing the mundane tasks yourself. This will help you mainly in recognising your priorities. Make outsourcing and leveraging your habit and expand your boundaries.
But this will only be possible if you enhance your vision by ceasing to do all the hard work singlehandedly. This is one of the most unproductive habits in business that you can have. Yes, you may need to do this while your business is still in its initial stages. But once it surpasses a certain limit, know that it is the right time to build a team. Instead, use your extra free time to polish your skills and work on your personal relations.
4. Drinking and smoking:
This goes without saying. Many people consider drinking as a good recreational activity to unwind after a hectic week of work. However, there is no fun in getting sloshed and not being in your sane mind until the next morning only to wake up with a hurting head. Moreover, you need to pay money for it. Not only that, in a phase where you must be keeping your business habits in check, a regular drinking habit may cost you heavily your time and good health.
You’ll be doing it at the expense of both these important things that you desperately need to build and sustain a successful business. The same can be said for smoking too. Giving up these habits will also aid in preventing time wastage at work. Instead of smoking and drinking alcohol, which count as unproductive habits in business, find other recreational activities to do that won’t just freshen you up but will even add to your learning process. Like solving a puzzle, watching a movie, reading a book, listening to a podcast, or visiting a zoo.
5. Watching news:
You won’t ever find a single highly super successful businessman that keeps themselves updated by watching the news daily. They don’t watch news, they make news. Watching news does nothing to add to your awareness about current affairs. If there is ever an issue that raises worldwide concern, you won’t need a news channel to bring it to you.
If you must, you can read headlines on your news app at the end of the day but do nothing more than that. Watching news is nothing but a waste of time. This is one of those unproductive habits in business that will only be channelling your productive energy, time, and effort in the wrong direction. If you are into this habit, get rid of it immediately and use this time to benefit yourself and improve your business.
6. Not having a plan:
‘What gets measured, improves.’ This is, by far, the most practical and useful advice one can get as far as business is concerned. In other words, if you are not keeping a track of where your time, effort, and money is being spent, you are in for a long-term loss. You need to have a plan and keep a close tab on the direction you are heading in for preventing time wastage at work.
If you are a self-employed person or a businessman, you need to monitor every little bit and piece of your progress. Understand where you are going wrong with the unproductive habits in business and polish the skills that are working in your favour. Only then will you be able to scale great heights in your business.
Summing it up:
These above-mentioned unproductive habits in business may seem harmless and trivial, but they really add up to a good chunk of your productive time which you are flushing down the drain. Get rid of them today, and watch your business grow!
