How to Stop Online Habits from Killing Your Productivity
People have different definitions and understanding of productivity. Some believe they are productive because they do what they set their minds out to do daily. Others believe they are productive because they spend most of their time doing what they love to do. The truth: It is possible to do what you have planned and also what you are passionate about, still coming up as less productive. Productivity is not inclined towards doing something but rather on your efficiency or effectiveness while doing something. It takes time to develop a productive culture as and use one’s time productively and efficiently.
Everyone has some bad habits or behaviors and practices they want to drop because they know their productivity or even focus is less when they engage. Example, the internet is a great addition to the world but it has also negatively impacted or affected our focus as well as productivity. While online, there are many things we can do alongside our planned activities which could be slowly killing our productivity. Hence, it is essential that we monitor our online behavior to ensure our productivity is not reduced.
As a student, it is essential to find and completely eliminate ways which kill productivity. Being social is an efficient way of ensuring one is involved in their friends’ lives. However, it could also be among the things that kill productive. If you are one of those people who believe their productivity could be better, here are some ways to kick the bad habits and improve your daily productivity.
Stop Browsing without a particular purpose or goal
Whenever you find yourself browsing without a particular reason, then you lack purpose or a goal for your actions. The internet is loaded with distractions and there are many advertisements and videos you can watch. The packaging is done perfectly and you can easily fall for even the silliest of content. This habit is common among students and unknowingly to a majority of them, they waste a time and also greatly reduce or kill their productivity whenever they allow themselves to fall into this internet trap.
Every time you click on a video you had not planned to watch or read an article you had not included in your schedule, you kill your focus and reduce your chances of completing your tasks in time. The solution is to start monitoring your online activity and create a schedule. You can also start ignoring or avoiding the websites which you frequent while you are doing your assignments.
Don’t Regularly checking and refresh your email
It is not wrong to check your email but this can become one of the dangerous habits that kills your productivity. As a student, checking your email regularly is essential for important notifications about school or assignments. Although you should regularly check your email, it can kill your productivity. People often check for new mails in the morning after they wake up and periodically during the day. Having a routine is crucial so you don’t get into the habit of randomly checking your email, you can, for example, say you will be checking your email three times a day: in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening. This will help you be disciplined and take control of your time, productive throughout the day.
Avoid multitasking or working while using social media platforms
You may have heard the phrase “multitasking does not kill productivity; it is great for productivity” several times. Many people believe this is true and some even seek to learn multitasking because they believe it will help to improve their productivity. The truth: when you are multitasking, you are giving partial focus on your activities.
Our brains are not wired or designed to distribute or share focus. So when we multitask, we are draining ourselves and reducing our overall productivity. We cannot function or give our best to every task we undertake. The brain is not designed that way and whenever we distribute our thoughts, we are draining ourselves of important energy. Yes, we cannot do our tasks or assignments while chatting with our friends online. One activity will eventually take precedence and the other will suffer. Allocate time for social media and build up your discipline by sticking to your plan.
Don’t Lack a plan
Lacking a plan is planning to fail. This statement is not a cliché and people who lack plans for their day often end up doing things they had not included in their daily schedule. While you are online, you need a plan which you can follow to help reduce the time you spend on social media and other websites which will reduce your daily productivity and induce laziness. You need to know when you can view the latest gossip or watch the latest episode of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. Switching between YouTube, social media and your assignments is dangerous and will kill your productivity. The quality of your work will also reduce since you will not be giving your best to every assignment.
Stop Being online 24/7 without breaks
Being online 24/7 does not mean you are productive or that you are the most informed individual. The internet is big and you can never be able to visit everything you wish to see in one day or even a week. Everyone needs a break and spending your entire day online will reduce or even kill your productivity because you will end up sleeping late.
Sleeping late while on your computer or phone will likely lead to lack of sleep and counter-productive for performance as well as energy levels. Instead, take breaks and schedule enough sleep to maintain high productivity levels throughout the day.
Avoid Opening many tabs
While conducting research, some people open multiple tabs and skim through each one as they search for relevant information. The issue is not about opening many tabs but reading one after the other without taking time to internalize the information you have read. While writing an essay, you can boost your creativity by finding some essay samples to get an idea of how to write your own papers. Opening many tabs will, on the other hand, reduce your productivity by increasing your workload.
Remember: doing the most work is not equivalent to being productive. Productivity is developed and nurtured and even the slightest change in one’s routine can help kill productivity. The habits listed above are just snippets of the activities people engage in that kill their productivity. Examine yourself and if you fit in either of the above or any other bad online habits, consider revising your online activity.
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