To be more productive in 2016, you should
break these bad habits.
Joseph Rutakangwa
Being more productive is about working smarter, not harder, and making the most of
each day.
While this is no easy feat, getting more done in less time is a much more attainable
goal if you're not sabotaging yourself with bad habits.
Here are 13 things you should stop doing right now to become more productive:
Rachel Gillett contributed to an earlier version of this article.
1. Hasty web browsing
Since most of us have access to the internet, it's easy to get
side-tracked looking up the answer to a random question
that just popped into your head.
That's why Quora user Suresh Rathinam recommends
writing down these thoughts on a notepad. This way, you
can look up the information you want later, when you're
not trying to get work done.
2. Multi-tasking
While many people believe they are great at doing two things
at once, scientific research has found that just 2% of the
population is capable of multitasking effectively.
For the rest of us, multi-tasking is a bad habit that
decreases our attention span and makes us less productive in
the long run.
3. Checking email throughout the day
Constant internet access can also lead people to check
email throughout the day. Sadly, each time you do this,
you lose up to 25 minutes of work time.
Instead, Strategy Consultant Ron Friedman suggests
quitting Outlook, closing email tabs, and turning off your
phone for 30-minute chunks of deep-diving work