5 Productivity Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Posted on 01. Feb, 2012 by DoStartup in Entrepreneurs

The definition of productivity is basically how much work you can get done in a fixed number of hours. It usually means packing in as much work as possible in your work hours. Probably, by multi-tasking or making more time on your schedule. Entrepreneurs are usually the first to get hooked onto the Productivity Buzz. At the same time, it is usually important to remember that productivity comes at a cost.

Productivity Mistakes by Entrepreneurs

These are 5 common productivity mistakes that entrepreneurs make:

Cutting Back on Sleep

Sleep is important for humans. Especially if you are someone who does a lot of mental or physical work in a day. Then sleep is indespensible. There is a reason why cutting back on your sleep for productivity is a dumb idea. It is because, sooner or later it will catch up with you. Sure, sleeping less sounds very macho. It will not be, when you find your body totally giving away.

Here is a quick list of problems you will face if you continue with lack of sleep:

Decreases immune function: You will find yourself falling ill more often in the long run.

Alters appetite: Significant weight gain is attributed to lack of sleep, due to altered hormone activity

Erroneous work: The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disasters and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster have been attributed to the poor judgment of sleep deprived workers.

Cutting Back on Family Time

This is the next area entrepreneurs foolishly attack in order to make more time for productivity improvement. Agreed, all entrepreneurs are not family men. But everyone needs a family. The very reason why we work hard for money and power is to provide cash and security for our loved ones. However, what is the point of all this if you cannot have time for your own family. Will your monthly income be enough for your child to know how much you love him or your mother to see you everyday? No, the only  way to do that is by being there with them. Give family time a lot of priority in your schedule.

 Cutting Back on Personal Time

Giving time to yourself is important to. It help you retrospect and plan better. Time for yourself is also important so that you can focus on your health, probably by hitting the gym or going for a jog. In fact, investing time is exercise can yield you good return of investment, so take it as an investment when you give yourself time to exercise instead of working at your desk.

Personal time is also important if you are non-boring sort of person. For example, if you want to learn to play a new music instrument or perhaps spend a day taking a hike etc

Forgetting Delegation

We are all sure that you are perhaps the most capable man at the office and nobody knows better. But dude, are you serious when you intend to do all the job by yourself and then come talk about productivity? Well, it is not a smart idea. Being hooked on to, “If you want to do a job well, do it yourself” is lame. And perhaps you should also check up on your leadership ability if you can’t get people you hire to do a good job.

Going too Fast

The failure to plan, the confusion in work and the horrible communication gaps are all caused by the break neck speed that you intend to do your work. It might seem to everyone you are trying to break the sound barrier with the work you are trying to get done in a day.  Once in a while, is understandable, but if this is the case with you all the time. Also, you may overlook certain things as small but they will pile up and one day demand attention. And the more you neglect it, the more havoc it will wreak in your life.

It is time to reassess your company and yourself. As an entrepreneur going too fast, will inevitably lead to improper planning and confusion – which can affect business.

See what was meant when we said, Productivity comes at a cost? The reason for this is that productivity either requires you to make time or you need to reduce the usual time you give to things. Both mean the same. It is ultimately affecting what you should in fact prioritize.

Have you realized any productivity mistake?