11 unproductive habits youre going to want to quit

11 unproductive habits youre going to want to quit11 unproductive habits youre going to want to quitThe reason I study productivity is because Im an unproductive person. I truly am.I sleep too much. I talk too much. I read too much. I listen to music all day. I watch movies. I buy gadgets that turn me into a zombie.If it wasnt for my productivity ordnungsprinzip, I wouldnt get anything done. I wouldnt even write this article. But if you browse social media, all you see is super productive, healthy, and wealthy people. Is that really the case?I dont know. I just know this You cant be productive 24/7. And a big part of being productive is about getting rid of unproductive habits we all have.What follows is a list of eleven unproductive habits that I learned to do less, or eliminate. Do you have a few of these habits? Dont worry, were all unproductive at times. But if you have five or mora, it might be time to change.Lets start.OverworkingSome days I can work 12 or 13 hours straight. I just take a break for exercising and eating. And I can keep that up for a few days. But after a few days, there always comes a crash. Big time. I struggle. I cant get stuff done. I dont even want to get stuff done. Its not good. So I learned to be more calculated with how much I work. Like Ernest Hemingway,stop working at the height of your day.WorryingWhat if I go broke? What if I lose my job? What if she doesnt love me? What if I get krebs? What if this plane crashes? What if I lose my sight? What if I? You got your head so far in the sand like an ostrich that you cant see how self-absorbed that way of thinking is. Heres the thing YOURE NOT GOING TO DIE RIGHT THIS SECOND. Get over yourself. Stop worrying. And do something useful.StubbornnessWe deal with people all the time. Do you ever think Why should I listen to this guy? Or What does she know? I dont know. Maybe more than you do? We just dont know until we listen to others. When youre always cynical and stubborn, youre actually sabotagingyourself.Ignoring your healthThe way you feel determines the quality of your work. If youre always tired and feel bad, how do you expect to do great work? When youre in good shape and eat well, your work will reflect that.Checking thingsWhat are you doing? We often say something like I was just checking Instagram, or something like that. But checking is not a useful activity. It might be a verb, but its not a real action. When I started blogging, I always checked my stats for no reason. Then I thought Whats the outcome of checking? Nothing. So stop doing it.Not having goalsEvery time successful people say, I dont have goals, I know they are full of shit. Who can be successful at anything without aiming for it. Dont believe the stories. People just want to make you believe they became successful without effort.Set a goal, and then work towards it.Saying yesMost people are afraid to say no. Maybe you dont want to let people down. Maybe you are uncomfortable with the word no . I dont know. Doesnt matter, really. What matters is this If you keep saying yes, youre living someone elses life. Think about it. Deep down, we all know that its true. Were not even in control of our own time. Want to be in full control of your life? Say no to a million things and yes to a few things that matter.Relying on your memoryNot writing down your thoughts, ideas, tasks, etc, is insane. Why? Because youre wasting a lot of brain power when you rely on your memory. When you write everything down, you can use your brainpower for other things. Like solving problems. Thats actually useful and advances your career.Neglecting your personal educationWoohoo I finished college. Goodbye lame old books Who learns one thing and stops forever? I dont even know why we have that idea planted in our brain. I always thought that learning stops when you get out of school. But the truth is Yourlifestops when learning stops. Invest in yourself. Learn something. Read books. Get courses. Watch v ideos. Do it from home or go places. It doesnt matter. Just learn new things. Youll be more productive and more excited about life.ComplainingWe all know, and yet, we alldo it. Complaining is one of those habits we always try to quit. But it never lasts. Im no different. Thats why I always remind myself that complaining is a waste of effort. Just the awareness of that will help you to stop.Lack of focusMany successful people say that theability to focusis the number one reason theyve made it big. And its no surprise. The people who are all over the place never seem to get anywhere.Often, people dont understand why I focus on whatnotto do. The reason is that I like to learn by inverting. Its the same strategy Warren Buffett andCharlie Mungerused to become the most well-known investors of the world.When you want to become successful or productive, look at how you become the opposite. Turn things upside down. Thats what weve done in this article too.By simply avoiding these unproductiv e habits, youll automatically become more productive. When you combine this with a handful of productivity tips (see here), you have a reliable system.And I always rely on my system to work smarter, better, happier, and effectively. It took me years to figure out that having a system is a good thing, and a few more years to create one, but it was worth it.Because now, I get to be a productive person.Not bad for an unproductive person, right?This article first appeared onDariusForoux.com.