Stop Being Busy And Start Being Productive

December 23, 2016 Haruna Magaji HEADLINES

I have a colleague who always complains of being busy. He is so obsessed with busyness that the office work that needs to be done are left unattended to. Engaging in needless conversation and unsolicited activities in other departments. This characterizes most of our lives as students and businessman.

Personally, I am not left out; from checking emails, face book, twitter, hours are wasted and at the end mental exhaustion with no achievable goals. We are all in it; but the good thing is we can mindfully take control of our time and stop being busy.

Our insistence on staying busy can have damaging effects on our mental well-being: more stress, exhaustion, burnout, and an inability to focus on the present.

To get more done and stop being busy, do the following:

Stop Talking About Being Busy

Discarding the compulsion to frequently insist that you’re busy will actually make you feel less busy (and, as the Americans’ Use of Time Survey has shown, we’re not nearly as busy as we think).

Do not Take Up Every Task

Taking every task makes you less efficient because the energy that ought to have been used in completing a task successfully will be divided among different activities, the consequence: inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

3. Stop Multi-tasking During Leisure Time

Being overwhelmed is not a function of doing many things in a day but doing so many that the day has no distinct phase.

The only relief from the time pressure comes from cordoning off genuine stretches of free or leisure time, creating a sense of what Schulte calls ‘time serenity’ or ‘flow.

You should acknowledge that you’re on leisure. Don’t multitask—enjoy the free time, and mentally label it as such.

Prioritize

Try classifying your tasks for the day as necessary and unnecessary; or as you deem fit. Ensure spending more time on the necessary tasks. Do not spend time constantly checking your email and social media accounts. You cannot do everything at once!

5. Do not let others distract you

Do not let your co-workers distract you; make sure you concentrate on completing the task at hand. If you give all your energy only into the task that you are working on, you will see that it will take you less time to complete.

6. Get enough sleep and schedule breaks

People who don’t sleep well at night tend to be more forgetful than people who sleep soundly. Therefore, try to sleep early and get at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night.

Refresh your mind by setting breaks and staying away from your desk

Written By Ibrahim Lateef Abiola, he can be reached on @IbnIbrahim111

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About Haruna Magaji 2484 Articles

Haruna Magaji is a journalist, foreign policy expert and closet musician. He is a graduate of ABU Zaria and a member of the Nigerian union of journalists. JSA, as he is fondly called, resides in Suleja, Abuja. email him at - harunamagaji@financialwatchngr.com