Although I agree with Benjamin Franklin, it is a fact that most of us procrastinate on most of our tasks and not only procrastinate but we spend most of our time working on things that do not produce even 20% of the results.

The Pareto principle states that 80% of the outcome comes from focusing on 20% of the most important stuff, yet most of us, unknowingly get stuck with the time-wasting activities which drain our time and energy.

Here are 7 Ways to eliminate time wasters and boost your productivity.

1. Replace the “To Do” List With a “NOT To Doing” List

We all know about the To-Do list but still, we end up wasting our time on futile stuff that doesn't serve us and we keep doing it again and again! Hence by creating a NOT To-Do list you keep a check on yourself not to focus on work or patterns that don't serve you.

2. Excessive Breaks

It’s a good idea to get the mind (and the eyes) off the computer for brief times during the workday. It helps reestablish focus and reduce stress. But checking your phone every 15-20 minutes is not productive; it simply wastes a lot of time. So keep a check on a timer, set a reminder for 10 minutes break so you don't lose track of time, and get back to work as soon as possible.

3. Constantly Checking Your Emails

Checking email is Necessary. After all, you’re catching up on relevant information, such as office memos, urgent projects, etc. While you can’t escape emails, you also shouldn’t keep your inbox open constantly. Every time you get a new email, it will distract you away from what you’re doing. Hence, set a specific time in your day when you check your inbox, this way you will stay up to date without losing your train of thoughts and getting distracted.

4. Multitasking

Multitasking is disastrous. It gives off the appearance that you’re doing a lot of work, but in actuality, you’re not increasing your productivity, you’re limiting it. The human brain can only focus on one task at a time. When you constantly switch between tasks your mind gets confused and it takes you longer to process new information and make new decisions!

5. PING Your Smartphone

Smartphones enable us to be more connected than ever. However, all know, this connectivity comes with a cost in productivity. With all the notifications and sounds you get distracted easily, you open your phone just to check your inbox for 2 minutes, and magically 45 mins have passed and you find yourself scrolling through cat pictures on Instagram. To avoid this mute all notifications of distracting apps and try using your PC instead.

6. Excessive meetings and “quick meetups”

Meetings tend to be huge time sinks. (It’s probably safe to say you’ve been to at least one this week you didn’t need to be in.) If you feel that a lot of your time is wasted on unimportant or unnecessary meetings it may be time to seriously bring it up. Do a calendar audit and check which meetings need to be attended and which are just legacy bookings that can be killed!

7. Decision Fatigue

Do you know why billionaires like Steve Jobs and Mark Zukerberg only wore one kind of clothes every single day? Because they know that a human mind can only take a limited number of decisions in a day! When you spend your energy making too many decisions before your important work, you're bound to feel distressed and less motivated. Eliminate the number of unnecessary decisions you take in a day or plan your day, that way you will have much more energy and power to take Important work decisions when it's needed the most!

Now, let's get the BEST out of this day!

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