Bad Tech Habits That Could Be Hurting Your Productivity

Many things affect your productivity – and sooner or later – we all fall victim to this. For instance, time management affects most people’s level of productivity. Another thing that can affect your productivity is your obligation to other people, both at home and in the workplace. However, bad tech habits have an extensive impact on one’s overall productivity.   We use technology every day and while it’s made to make our lives easier, it can also negatively impact our productivity. Apps, software, and gadgets have become a part of everyone’s life and as such, it appears natural that we develop one or more bad tech habits in the course of our work. Here are some examples of bad tech habits that could be hurting your productivity.

1. Having Social Media Open at All Times

Social media can be addictive and keeping your social media platforms open at all times can distract you from your work. Perhaps, you have experienced a case where you just got a notification of a friend’s post on one of the platforms and ended up spending several hours checking what other people are saying about it. Avoid keeping social media apps, and tabs open. You can catch up with your friends on social media during lunch breaks or after work – it helps you put much of your concentration on the work.  

2. Refreshing Your Email Often

Perhaps you did not know, but refreshing your email often is a bad habit and it eats away your productivity. The email was not meant for urgent communication so there is no need to refresh it every other minute. If anything, people can use other means of communication to reach you in case of urgent communication such as instant messages or even phone calls.  

3. Eating While Working

Most people who consider themselves workaholic would not see any need to have a break to eat. Being productive does not mean staying on your computer all day long – it could mean doing everything appropriately at the time it deserves. The time you spend on a healthy meal is valuable in that it helps to take a break from work while at the same time boosting your productivity.  

4. Listening to Loud Music

Usually, most people listen to loud music on the excuse that they are blocking out distractions. Have you thought about the effect that such music could have on your ears? Moreover, not everybody in the workplace is a fan of the music that you listen to, and in most cases, loud music could distract your co-workers as well. You can consider using noise canceling or noise isolating headphones. Such headphones not only make it safe for you to listen to music but also convenient for both your and your co-workers’ productivity.  

5. Sitting Too Close to Your Computer

The distance between you and the computer’s screen can affect your productivity level. Often, being too close to the screen hurts the eyes; they strain and develop irritation, which can result in your body becoming drained and tired. It is recommendable to keep a distance of at least two feet between your eyes and the screen. Doing so not only helps you avoid straining your eyes, but it also ensures your productivity is at optimum levels.  

6. Lack of Organization in Terms of Saving Files

If you have been using technology for quite some time, you might have experienced a case when you did not know where to find certain files in your computer. Naming each folder according to its contents can help you spend less time looking for a file that you want to access from your computer. Knowing where to find which document comes with a sense of organization and this boosts your productivity – it can be hard to concentrate on other aspects of your work if you cannot find one of the important files. In case you misplace, or you are not able to access certain files from your computer due to accidental error, or a disaster, you can liaise with experts such as Citc for data and files recovery.  

7. Having a High Screen Resolution

Most people like running their devices, phones, tablets, and laptops, at a very high resolution. While having high brightness makes the reading of texts easier, it has adverse impacts on your eyes and productivity in general. It is advisable to maintain the screen’s brightness at the lowest percentage. However, it is important to ensure that the level you choose will allow you to read texts on the screen without straining the eyes.  

8. Using a Mobile Phone While Someone Is Talking to You

One of the annoying bad tech habits is using your phone while someone is talking to you. For one thing, it annoys the other person. In addition, such multitasking lowers your productivity level in the task that you are doing. Moreover, it is hard to be successful in doing multiple activities at the same time. It is advisable to keep other tasks on hold whenever someone approaches you for anything in the workplace.  

9. Cluttered Workplace

A cluttered workstation has negative impacts on your level of productivity. One of the main causes of such a state is the fact that you are too engrossed in a given project. It makes you fail to do away with all the clutter on your desk. Think of a case where you have an open desktop, a running laptop, and several mobile phones at the same time. How do you attend to all those devices and remain productive? Such clutter not only overwhelms your workstation but also creates a sense of disorganization and distraction. While we are not asking you to ensure that there are no knickknacks on your desk, we are advised to remove distractions from the workstation, as it enhances clearer thinking and promotes productivity. Your level of productivity at any workstation depends entirely on how you carry yourself and how you organize your time. In the wake of technology, we have adopted numerous bad habits as highlighted above. It is advisable, therefore, to try to avoid habits that could potentially have an adverse impact on your productivity.