5 Bad Habits To Quit So You Can Be More Productive

Do your bad habits block your business and momming? Check this post to find out! You are a mompreneur on a mission. You want to rock your business results in between rocking your baby to sleep…

However, you may have some habits that stand in your way of being productive. If you are missing deadlines, items and your ‘pre-mommy’ self, it’s time to take a look at some of the bad habits you’ve developed along Mommy Lane.

A habit is defined as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, esp. one that is hard to give up.

Are your bad productivity habits in your way? Check yourself against this list:

How Bad Habits Lead to Bad Productivity

Habits are formed from patterned behaviors. Worse yet, you realize that you are the one taking the steps. Your bad productivity habits are holding you back from getting work done and moving forward.

[Tweet “For every step forward, your bad productivity habits take you two back.”]

Any mompreneur must “concentrate on your strengths.” Yet, your bad habits will win, if you let them.

5 Bad Habits That Block Moms’ Productivity

Bad Habit #1 – You Put Things Off

Putting It Off – If you have a habit of putting things off but have real goals that you are determined to realize, is important for you to uncover the root cause of procrastination. If you are very honest with yourself, you may realize that the true reason for procrastinating is due to a gap in either your knowledge, skills, or desire. To figure out your root cause of procrastination, ask yourself three important questions:

1. Do I know what to do to attain my goal? (Your answer might indicate a Knowledge Gap.  If this is your root cause you probably need a mentor or coach.)
2. Do I know how to do what I need to, to realize my goal? (Your answer might indicate a Skills Gap. If this is your root cause you probably need skills training, or to delegate this task to someone with more proficient technical skills.)
3. Do I really want to achieve this goal?  (Your answer might indicate a Desire Gap.  If this is your case it’s probably time for some more reflection to determine if you are reaching for goals that are truly yours.)No matter what your gap is, it may help to get into alignment. The Life-Balance Wheel is a great exercise for you to help you get a read on where you are now. (Download yours here.)

Bad Habit #2 – You Prioritize Too Many Things At One Time

Prioritizing Too Many Things At One Time – A classic overachiever creates an extraordinarily long to do list.  While a long task list may be impressive to some,  it’s a unique person who can remain alert, focused and functional in the face of a long to-do list. Typically a long to-do list just leads to feeling overwhelmed and incomplete.  If this is your bad habit, consider this shift.  Each morning, identify the top three things you like to accomplish before the close of business that day.  Write your top 3 tasks down daily and post them prominently. Do this for one week and see if it helps you stay focused and accomplish more.

Bad Habit #3 – You Multi-Task Too Often

Multi-Tasking – If ever there was a classic mompreneur move, it is to Multi-task. Multi-tasking is when you start something, get triggered and move onto the next thing, and then the next, and so on… without completing any of the tasks! While some may argue that this is the only way to get things done, most feel overwhelmed in the sea of incomplete tasks they leave behind. Remember, multitasking feels great because when you skip to the next task, you ride a wave of adrenaline that comes from starting something new, however, it’s not important how many tasks you start rather how many you are able to finish. If you want to ride a real wave of adrenaline – it’s time to re-program your habits and complete things rather than just starting. If your bad habit is multitasking my advice to you is: push to complete tasks you start before beginning another.

Bad Habit #4 – You Ignore Your Personal Needs

Ignoring Personal Needs – If I had a nickel for every mom that talks to me about putting their needs last on the list I’d be a billionaire… Once and for all moms – if you are not happy and healthy, HOW can you give so much to everyone else on your list of friends and family? If this is your bad habit it’s time to put yourself as the first thing on your list daily.

Bad Habit #5 – You’re A Yes Woman…

Saying Yes (especially when you really want to say no!) – How many times have you caught yourself saying yes to someone else’s request, and then facing the regret of committing your precious time to something you really don’t care about.  I’m sorry to say that this is typically a female problem. Throughout all the years of evolving as a species, the tendency to say yes (especially when you want to say no) is uniquely feminine. If you are a yes woman, it’s time to tighten up your boundaries.  But saying yes does not equate to being nice. In fact, for most this is just a very bad habit.

So, if you say yes too often, you’ll find yourself unfocused, unbridled, and over-scheduled. Those who are ‘extreme’ yes people, will likely experience resentment and sometimes even hostility. Imagine how it will feel when you free yourself from things you are not interested in? If saying yes is your bad habit, your remedy is to say NO to every request for one entire week. YES, EVERYTHING. Starting with this extreme response will help you de-program this bad habit. After one week, see how it feels and what happens when you only commit to things you REALLY want.

Don’t Be Held Back by Your Bad Habits

In conclusion, don’t hold yourself back with bad habits! To increase your productivity it’s okay to take baby steps. Each day this week, replace one bad habit with a more productive behavior, then see how you feel at the end of the week!

Which of these 5 bad productivity habits are in your way? Which baby step will you focus on to make a change for the better? Please share in the comments below!

If you’d like to increase your productivity, take the quiz that defines your Productivity Profile – the TSSI.