Five Common Performance Misconceptions That Can Hold You Back
We all want to work smarter, but are we moving forward or are we just spinning the wheels? For example, you might hear someone say they work best under pressure, but that might be an empty statement that justifies procrastination. Here are some common productivity misconceptions we tell ourselves that hinder rather than help our work.
This post was originally published on Fast Company .
Tracy Foulkes , CEO of Get Organized South Africa , says too many of us are “busy”.
“We are always rushing from meeting to meeting and drowning in work,” she says. “It’s not about doing more, it’s about making wiser choices.”
As a performance consultant, Foulkes talks to employees about managing their workload: “I always ask the group how many people consider themselves valuable to their organization, and hands go up,” she says. “Then I ask them not to raise their hands if they add value and most of the hands stay on top. Then I ask how many of them do whatever they need to do on time, and that’s when they give up.
“People think they are adding value, but if they don’t do what they want, they really don’t. You only value your organization when you do what you were hired to do. ”
“Performance gets in the way,” says Foulkes. She shares five common beliefs that keep us from being as effective as possible:
1. You work best under pressure
It’s a common lie that procrastinators tell themselves to justify expectations, but Foulkes says they mistake stress for adrenaline.
“When someone is racing at the last minute, they think they perform best under stress,” she says. “The truth is, there is no more time and options, so they have to kick their ass or the shit will hit the fan.”
Instead, Foulkes recommends breaking the task down into smaller chunks, setting yourself an earlier deadline, and tripling the time you think the project will take.
“It’s okay to leave the last section for later to complete it, but don’t put off the whole project until the last minute,” she says.
2. Work should be taken home with you
We’ve been taught that great business leaders work hard, and working hard is working late, but Foulkes says research shows that rest increases creativity and speed.
“People who take jobs home don’t get days off,” she says. “Work not from 8 am to 5 pm, work much longer.”
The adage “If you want to get something done, give it to the busy person” is true because the busy person collects all their work in a “time container”, a set amount of time allotted to work, and they are more productive with – their hours. says Foulkes.
“The person who brings work home is less productive during the day,” she says. “Instead of being efficient at work, they rely on what they are going to finish at home. As a result, they make everything slower. ” While there are certain times when people will have to work overtime, Foulkes says you shouldn’t do it with your day-to-day expectations .
3. Anything on your to-do list needs to be completed.
It’s not about doing everything on your list; it’s about doing the right thing at the right time. Foulkes says people often leave high-focus, high-reward tasks for later when they feel less distracted and get quick, quick, and easy tasks in the morning because they love the ability to check things off their to-do list. On the contrary, it makes us more efficient.
Foulkes suggests putting all the tasks you think you need to complete into one paper or electronic to-do list. “When people hold something in their head, it’s like spaghetti to the brain — a big messy mess,” she says. “When we fill our brain with tasks, we slow down our ability to act . It’s like running on a slow computer. ” Then, make an informed decision about which one will generate income or fulfill the main job responsibilities – this is what you need to do. Fast, quick and light tasks can be deferred or delegated.
4. Meetings should always be in the morning.
In most cases, meetings are low value tasks, and Foulkes says low value tasks should always be left for the afternoon. “If you immerse yourself in a meeting first thing in the morning, you’re wasting time in activities that do not require maximum concentration and reflection,” she says.
Instead, she suggests scheduling appointments in the afternoon to have an effective meeting . “Our clients who change their schedules report that they get one working day of productivity per week,” she says. “Plus, they don’t have to take their work home with them. This is the nature of productivity and efficiency versus hard work. “
5. If it is not broken, do not repair it.
Most companies leave their standard methods alone, and the logic is simple: save your time and effort to fix what doesn’t work. But this approach can lead to complacency.
Team communication is a good example. Foulkes says many companies are sticking to email because they’ve been using the tool for a long time, but some platforms like Basecamp or TeamworkPM make communication more effective.
To identify areas for improvement, management should ask all team members to contribute to processes that are not optimal. Then, prioritize, high-reward tasks, and explore options.
“Because of the speed of change or some newfound wisdom, what you know is currently working could work better,” Foulkes says.
All in all, this constitutes some of the common misconceptions people have about doing things, but if you remember the misconceptions, you can easily start making better choices with your priorities.
Five False Facts About Performance We Tell Ourselves | Fast Company