5 Signs Your Productivity Is Lacking
Productivity seems like such a relative term. If the person next to you is more productive than you, does that mean that you are unproductive, or not productive enough?
This article is going to discuss five signs that your productivity is lacking, including situational, comparative, and absolute signs that you might need to make some changes to the way that you get things done.
1. Frequent Breaks
If you have trouble completing tasks in one go, or completing short tasks back-to-back, your productivity might be lacking.
A lot of us have little things that we do between tasks – play games on the internet, take a short walk, check social media, whatever – and these little breaks can actually help productivity by keeping us from burning out and helping our minds to switch between tasks. However, if you feel like it’s time for a break after responding to a single email or filing a single bill, you’re probably taking that philosophy too far.
Some productivity experts say that organizing your tasks by doing similar work in blocks can help you to stay organized, so consider trying to reply to all your emails before you take one of those little breaks, even if the emails aren’t related to one another.
2. Easy Exhaustion
If you find yourself physically exhausted by tasks that aren’t physically demanding, your productivity might be lacking.
Mental work still requires energy, and it still requires nutrients. A long day at work can leave you physically exhausted, even if you work behind a desk. However, if your non-physically demanding job has you drained before lunchtime, it could be a productivity problem. It could even be a symptom of depression, so if this is regular for you or it recently started and doesn’t go away soon, consider talking to your healthcare provider.
3. Job Stagnation
If you’ve been in the same place for a while and keep needing to learn the names of new colleagues, your productivity might be lacking.
Unless you’re already at the top of the ladder in your profession, you should be suspicious of your productivity if the people that you started with – and people since then – have gotten promoted and you’re still where you started.
4. Other People Are Leaving You Behind
If you have trouble keeping professional pace with your friends or partner, your productivity might be lacking.
When people start out in relationships, they are often in similar professional spaces. The gap between your standings can grow as years go by, however, and if your partner gets too far ahead of you in terms of job-status it can put strain on the relationship and be a sign that your productivity is lacking.
While it’s not necessarily good to be in competition with your partner, keeping track of where the other is and trying to keep up might be a good way to keep your productivity up and your relationship strong.
5. Not Finishing Projects On Time
If you get into trouble for not meeting deadlines on projects, your productivity might be lacking.
This might also be a sign that your productivity is too high.
If you don’t have much on your plate and you can’t get things in on time it’s likely due to procrastination, inability, or just moving slowly – all signs of low productivity.
However, if you do have a lot going on and you have trouble meeting deadlines because you just have too much going on, this can hurt your productivity as well. Managing your productivity means doing as much as your capable of but it also means not moving past that line. If you try to do more than you are able to because you want to impress your boss or just get extra projects done, you are likely to reach a point where you will be able to be more productive by doing less.