One of the things I’m obsessed with is getting the most out of myself. While it’s unreasonable to think that anyone can operate at 100% efficiency, I believe striving for that level of productivity is the essence of success.
Now, there are two sides to getting as close as possible to maximum efficiency – what to do and what not to do.
Let’s start here: these are the 4 things you must stop doing in order to become the successful version of yourself…
1. Stop winging it
A lesson that I had to learn the hard way is that I could never produce a better effort or end product by winging it than I could when I took the time to plan and prepare.
Winging it leads to disorganization, confusion, lack of direction, and time wasting.
That’s something you simply cannot afford while you attempt to reach a certain level of success. It’s time to start being proactive, to start preparing, to start practicing, and to start making every effort your best effort.
2. Stop micromanaging
I get it – you want everything to be both perfect and done your way. Yet allowing this urge to take over your actions will always keep you from being as productive as possible.
Micromanaging slows the process, disallows good ideas from others, has the potential to make people feel smothered and irrelevant, and (most importantly) keeps you from freeing yourself up for the bigger picture.
Put a system in place and allow some of the decision-making power to go elsewhere. Focus on the next step or the next big idea instead.
3. Stop doing everything at once
In this column, I’ve mentioned the downfalls of multitasking many times. It bogs you down and prevents you from doing your best at any single thing.
Instead, put your whole focus into one task at a time. Do one thing to the best of your ability and then move on to the next one. Remember, not everything is equally important.
4. Stop skipping meals and sleep
I used to convince myself that skipping lunch or only sleeping for 5 hours at night was a sign of my work ethic and drive. I now know that’s a horrible attitude.
Even if you’re the most motivated and hard-working person in the world, trading healthy nutrition and sleep for a few more hours of work is a terrible deal. On top of feeling bad, your concentration level will certainly drop without giving yourself enough time to eat enough and get quality sleep.
And when you stop all of the above bad habits, you’ll open the door to success through productivity.
