5 Productivity Traps to Avoid

In a typical 9-5, staying productive may be a bit easier to do. You have certain windows of hours to work in, you have higher ups and coworkers prompting you to stick to the task and your performance is most likely routinely monitored.

But when running your own business, staying productive becomes tremendously harder as the productive roadmaps of a 9-5 are gone, leaving way for the pitfalls of productivity traps.

As CEO, it's left up to you to make sure you do what you have to do so that your business is a success, your clients (or customers) are happy and so that you’re moving effectively and efficiently towards your goals.

To help you do that, this blog is covering 5 of the biggest productivity traps to avoid while running your own business as well as tips on how to avoid them!

Working in an unproductive space

This first productivity trap, while common, is typically something business owners don’t realize they’ve fallen into! With many small business owners running their businesses from home, it's become the norm to find yourself maybe working from bed or on the couch. And while on some of those days that may be necessary or needed, doing so continually is not always sustainable for many business owners!

Working in a place that does not provide you with good lighting or positive reinforcements and comes with constant distractions can lead to human errors in your work or delays in accomplishing your tasks.

To avoid this, consider setting up a place that gives you the things you need to work at your best. Whether this is in an office, a library or a table in your house, set up things around you such as adequate lighting and ambient sounds that help your mind understand it's time to focus!

Access to too many screens

Moving on to one of the biggest productivity traps - let's talk having access to too many screens! Being a business owner in the 21st century means having access to way too much technology! Whether it be TVs, laptops, desktops, cellphones, ipads - you name it. When we surround ourselves with access to too many screens, we open the door for random Netflix binging (even though you were almost done sending that email!) and doom scrolling on Instagram (even though you’ve got a packed agenda today!)

To avoid this, turn off as many screens as you can! If you’ll be working on your laptop, make sure that your TV and other devices are turned off so that any incoming notifications can be ignored. For emergency purposes, make sure your phone is set to sound off for certain callers (kids, spouse, grandparents etc.)

Taking it all on

Another productivity pithole that many entrepreneurs don’t realize they’re in is when they take on the time-consuming task of doing it all in their business. Although you very well may be superwoman or superman, even Lois Lane and Clark Kent need breaks! Taking it all on divides your attention in a million different places and deteriorates the quality of work you’re able to put out.

To avoid this, take a look at what's going on in your personal life and business life. What things do you wish you could stop doing? What tasks are taking up too much of your time and you wouldn’t mind someone else handling? Whether hired help or support from family and friends, review your options of delegating and see what you can take off your plate so that you can dedicate more of your attention and focus to producing higher quality results.

Working in Burnout Mode

Another big productivity trap is when business owners continue to work in burnout mode! When you work past your limits without giving yourself time to recharge, you’re more prone to mistakes and accidents within your business.

To avoid this, make sure to schedule out self-care for yourself! As selfish as it may sound, trust us when we say it's far from it. Taking care of yourself and nurturing your needs is one of the best ways to show up as your best self for your business so that you can give more in the highest capacity.

Ineffective Routines

Our last productivity trap is ineffective routines and, ironically, is something that can be fixed when you work on avoiding everything listed above! When you have ineffective routines, you don’t have a clear schedule that gives yourself the opportunity to work on a schedule that fits your needs such as maybe having late mornings, or giving yourself the time to do the things you love (hello Netflix binging,) which often snowballs into you trying to do it all and subsequently entering into a heavy zone of burnout.

To avoid this, create a routine that works for you! If you prefer late mornings, make it so that your work life doesn’t start until 11am (goodbye early morning meetings!) Create a routine that gives you time to sit on your couch. Also, create a routine that incorporates support and help from others so that when you do sit down to work, you have clear tasks of things you can focus on because you know that everything else is handled! This is how you avoid burnout and this is ultimately how you stay productive.

As an entrepreneur, working productively means nothing more than working in a manner that brings out the best version of yourself!