Productivity Mistakes

I love this post at http://www.dumblittleman.com/2011/12/are-you-making-these-7-productivity.html

"You want to get things done. You're keen to be efficient and effective. "Productivity" is your favorite word – and you're working really hard at it. The problem is, if you're going about being productive the wrong way, you might just be setting yourself up to fail.
These are seven common mistakes that people make when they're trying to be more productive. Do any of them sound familiar?"

Mistake #1: Cutting Back on Sleep
Yep. By shaving off a few minutes of sleep at either end of the day I think I can get more done. In the end, it makes little difference overall as it makes me less productive elsewhere in the day.

Mistake #2: Multi-Tasking
I'm getting better at single-tasking. People boast about being good at multi-tasking. I'm of the opinion that do be productive I must do one thing at a time, well.

Mistake #3: Doing Everything Yourself
Delegating is easier said than done. Too often I remember the phrase, "If you want something done well, do it yourself." But the sign of a good leader is that you can trust people to do the job well - even better than you can do it. I need to try harder with this.

Mistake #4: Focusing Solely on Numbers
As a teacher I believe that data results can mean just as much as quantitative data. I think I'm good at not doing things more just to show higher numbers things achieved. I would rather achieve less but do it well.

Mistake #5: Eating at Your Desk
It drives me mad when teachers say they haven't got time to eat in the staffroom. Sure, it does happen occasionally. But I believe it is important to spend time with your staff. It's also important to switch off for a while. If we don't display our own social skills, how can we expect our pupils to?

Mistake #6: Checking Email Frequently
Luckily I don't get too bombarded with email. My worst problem is emailling things to myself to remind me to do things. I now set time each day to respond to emails rather than check them every few minutes.

Mistake #7: Pushing Yourself Hard
I'm afraid that I do this all the time. I need to do better at this. My body seems to give in as soon as term is over. All of the germs I fight off in term time take advantage of a less frenetic lifestyle during school holidays, and I invariably begin to feel poorly. Lucozade gets me through.

"Of course, it's good to be productive – to achieve things in both professional and personal life. But don't try to be productive at the expense of all else, and don't adopt measures for short-term gain that are going to cause problems over the long-term."