I Feel Unproductive When I’m Away From My Computer

As the title states, it’s true. I don’t feel productive when I’m not at my computer working. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. It is a strong feeling I have, and it’s also probably not the healthiest.

I don’t feel like I’m getting enough done.

I spend most of my day sitting in front of my computer, coding my day away. It doesn’t matter what kind of work it is as long as I’m getting it done and getting caught up. The truth of the matter is I don’t feel like I’m ever getting enough done, but in reality, I do! In a way, I’m so used to the constant stressed when specific projects are due so close to each other that it just became a bad habit.

I feel like the more time I spend away from my computer, the less time I have to get ahead of work.

It’s a weird feeling to have sometimes, but I honestly do most of the time feel like I’m falling behind on work just being away from my computer. It’s almost funny to think about it because being in a field where the market changes every day and clients always having different ideas; nothing is ever the same. The concept of being ahead when things are always consistently evolving isn’t always a good one (not I said not always instead of never), and this is something I have to remind myself every day with my line of work.

So if you’re like me, what should you do to break away from this habit of thinking? 

Set your goals for the day, and be modest about them. 

Don’t focus so much on how much you need to get done. Instead, focus on what you need to get done for the day and break those down into small manageable tasks. 

Break down your big tasks into smaller tasks.

One of the biggest problems I had throughout the past couple of years was creating tasks that were just too big for me to handle. By this, I mean the tasks were to Marco that no matter how much I’ve worked on it, it felt like it never got done. So instead, what I started doing was breaking it down in Micro tasks that I knew I could accomplish throughout the day. Being able to see tasks get marked off and knowing that I am getting them done not only shows signs of progress, but mentally it was just overall better for me.

Focus on one task at a time.

On top of breaking big tasks down into smaller ones, one of the other bad habits I’m trying to break is worrying about other tasks while I’m working on one. I found myself many times before doing this, and it not only adds stress, but it also distracts me so much from what I’m currently working on to the point where I’m not productive at all.

I’ve found that just focusing on the current task I’m working on allows me to finish not only faster but increases the quality of my work. It is just a matter of taking things one step at a time (or task in this case).

With all of that being said, my goal for this year is to not only improve and break out of these bad habits but to be able to work a healthier lifestyle, and I hope everyone else will be able to too! So, what are some of your bad work habits, and how are you actively trying to break them?