We all have bad habits. However, some bad habits destroy our productivity, preventing us from completing essential tasks.
While scrolling through a productivity community on Reddit, I found a fantastic question asking users to share the worst habits that destroy productivity.
If you want to do more, consider dropping some of these bad habits.
Phone Time
We all love our smartphones, but they wreak havoc on our productivity and minds.
“It not only wastes time, but constant dopamine hits rewire your brain, decreasing your focus, energy, and overall motivation to complete any longer-term task,” said one user of the constant scrolling.
They added that they saw a 10x increase in productivity upon breaking their phone habit.
Others agreed. “I have ruined my life because of my phone/YT/Reddit/googling addiction.” admitted another user. “This is all I do when I am home & at work. I don’t see friends.” The user said their phone addiction renders them useless.
Reddit is a fantastic way to waste time. However, users can quickly get lost with so many communities and content to consume.
“I’m a fairly new Reddit user, and I’m regretting signing up sometimes because of how much time I spend here nowadays,” shared one user.
Another explained why it’s so much easier to get lost in Reddit than on other social media channels.
“I don’t use any other social media apps primarily because I don’t want to be subjected to whatever nonsense posted by friends or family. Ha. But with Reddit, we’re able to choose which rabbit hole we run down.”
“The problem is that the rabbit holes never end!” they exclaimed.
Read Next: 10 New Habits that Will Make a Massive Impact on Your Life
Drinking Alcohol
Even when indulged on occasion, alcohol can destroy productivity.
“I don’t drink that often, but I go way too hard every time I do. If I go hard on a Saturday, I’m a scrolly pollie until Wednesday,” shared one user, adding that “all the time killing habits stem from a heavy night out for me.”
Another agreed, saying, “Alcohol for me is like the evil twin of a keystone habit.”
Lack of Hydration
Instead of drinking alcohol, increase your water intake to improve productivity. Many users shared that they found themselves more productive when they drank enough water.
“Not drinking enough water top the list for me,” replied one user, while another shared that their worst productivity days are the days they only drink coffee.
Also Read: 11 Essential Tips for Boosting Your Productivity
Not Getting Enough Sleep
Though some productivity experts claim you should only sleep a few hours per day, rising early to get more done and working until the wee hours of morn, lack of sleep can actually harm your productivity.
Lack of sleep decreases your job performance, hurts your focus, and makes you irritable. It’s tough to get things done when you can’t focus.
Too Busy Planning
Though many of the bad habits on the list revolve around procrastination, one user added a subversive productivity killer.
They said a hyper-focus on planning, writing to-do lists, decorating bullet journals, and coming up with the best outline seems productive but often hinders task accomplishment.
“It’s easy to fall into a spiral obsessing over the best To To lists, mind map, personal knowledge management, latest new self-help technique instead of just…doing the tasks,” they said.
Another saw themselves in the comment. “I want to track everything and do everything because it’s ALL important! Then barely anything gets done because I overwhelm myself,” they admitted.
Read Next: 48 Inspiring Bullet Journal Ideas You’ll Want to Copy
Not Planning Enough
On the flip side, if you don’t have a plan at all, it’s easy not to do anything.
“Everyone talks about planning your work hours but not the free one,” replied one user, implying that if you want to be productive outside work, you should plan your free hours the way you plan your work hours.
Procrastination
Putting things off until later is a horrible habit that greatly hinders productivity.
“There’s nothing more discouraging than rolling things over and realizing one day it’s so far behind that there’s no point of keeping anything up,” shared one user.
They added that incorporating a daily routine into your schedule can prevent procrastination. “Sounds trivial, but just with these daily routines, I feel organized and perform better with these things in place.”
Start with a morning routine to help plan your day, and watch your productivity soar!
Perfectionism
Perfection is the enemy of progress. Sometimes we obsess over getting every detail perfect to the point where we don’t actually do anything.
“Instead of thinking you are going to accomplish so much over the course of the day, tell yourself you need to accomplish about a third of that, maybe a quarter. Lower your expectations, and you’ll be happier with what you did get done,” advised one user for fighting the desire for perfection.
We as a society have to learn that it’s okay for everything not to be right the first time. It’s okay if your first draft isn’t very good, your first idea goes nowhere, or your first painting leaves much to be desired.
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth practicing and not getting right the first time.
Fear and Self Sabotage
Some of us can’t get things done because we’re afraid of failure. The negative self-talk gets to us, and we sabotage our attempts at productivity.
According to one Redditor, self-sabotage “Leads to low self-esteem, leads to doubt and fear, which then leads to procrastination.”
Failure as unfavorable is another society needs to rethink. It’s okay to fail. Failure helps us learn, grow, and discover who we really are and what we’re capable of. It shouldn’t be a bad thing.
No one is successful without a few failures under their belts. Let go of the fear and accept that some things fail. You’ll be surprised at how failure leads to success.
Also Read: 10 Simple Ways to Beat the Overwhelm and Get More Done
Bad Habits Destroy Productivity
Plenty of bad habits can hinder productivity. The Reddit thread did a great job of identifying some of the top culprits, don’t you agree?