7 Productivity Killers You Should Avoid [INFOGRAPHIC]

The internet is rife with tips about productivity tools, techniques and hacks. So many of us are searching for ways to improve our productivity, get the most out of our time and find great tools to help us. Implementing techniques and tools is great, but we can’t ignore the “silent productivity killers.”

A study from the University of London found that people who multi-tasked while doing a cognitive task had a decline in IQ by 15 points – that’s like staying up all night drinking coffee and then returning to work in the morning – you’re not going to have an all-star day. Multitasking was found to reduce the IQ score of men to a score of an 8-year old child. Whoa!

If that doesn’t make you think twice about the usual constantly checking each notification that comes in from social media to emails then what will?

To increase our returns from our investments of energy, mental focus, and emotional attention we need to stop:

• Checking our emails every 2 minutes
• Working in a cluttered workspace
• Multitasking
• Having un-ergonomically work-station
• Creating impossible task lists
• Having an open-door policy 24/7
• Setting notifications for all activities on all devices

If you’re guilty of any 2 of the silent productivity killers above, then it’s time to get serious about making changes in how you work. Maybe challenge yourself to start this year off on a new trend.

A daily or weekly goal-challenge can help you stay focused. This may involve challenging yourself to complete a task on your to do list before checking your notifications regardless of how many times it pings, or set specific times during the day when to check emails.

Are Productivity Killers Killing Your  – How to Destroy Your Productivity

Killing time or falling into an analysis paralysis state where action is delayed doesn’t always leave a positive feeling. Reduce stress and anxiety for you and your team by avoiding these 7 productivity killers in the infographic below.

Knowing these 7 productivity killers, you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a break every once in a while. How do you get over these distractions to stay on task?

Leave a comment below and help out your fellow professionals reach that same level of productivity.