We’ve all heard this phrase before: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” This is simple in theory, but difficult in practice.
One of the greatest ways that you can improve your daily productivity is to cut out habits that decrease your motivation. They give you less energy to tackle the day and decrease happiness levels. The challenge is that life is full of distractions. But we need to handle this all and draw our attention and focus on more positive things.
Entrepreneur shortlisted 10 habits that you can give up today and increase your mobility, energy, motivation and enthusiasm.
#1 Worrying about what is out of your control
All of us has experienced hard times and tough situations in our lives and that kind of things will continue to happen.
Worrying about something that is out of your control, though, does not accomplish anything.
You are not able to control or change the decision that the government is making or that unlucky event that happened to you yesterday. All you can control and decide is what to do next.
Though it sounds challenging to get rid of the angst and negative in your mind, accepting whatever has happened will free up a certain amount of mental space and energy.
#2 Always being a perfectionist
Being a perfectionist isn’t about things being perfect; it’s about thinking things need to be perfect and vigilantly pursuing it.
Not everything in life is going to be perfect. You cannot make everyone happy. That is inevitable. Sure, there are times when perfection matters, but not ALL the time.
Therefore do not always let yourself be a slave of perfection. It is really draining because getting something from 95% to 100% can often be as much work as getting from 1% to 95% in the 1st place. Instead, pick your battles so that you can free up your energy and increase your motivation.
#3 Getting distracted by things you don’t care about
Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution!
There will always, always be people complaining, gossiping about something. When it is a situation or event that you cannot care less, getting caught up in it is really draining.
Even spending 20 mins with your friend when he complains about his boss will take energy from you.
It is so tiring to listen to negative thoughts and people.
So, avoid situations like this, do not let yourself get distracted or tired of things that you do not care about.
#4 Helping people who don’t want to be helped
You might have a close friend who’s going through a hard time. It is important to support however you can. But you cannot change anything. The change should come internally.
In situations when you cannot help, it is illogical to try. Sometimes even people refuse to be helped. In these cases, you will only walk away upset, frustrated, tired and the other person will be no better off.
Watch out for these times. Doing so will save you time and of course a lot of energy trying to help when it will not achieve much.
#5 Paying undue attention to all the subtle actions and words of others
The words and actions of others can upset us and sometimes get us down. But sometimes those actions can teach us things about ourselves that are valuable to know.
Do not worry about the tone of the text message you received from a friend or of a small interaction you had with them the other day. They could have just been in a rush and in a bad place.
#6 Spending time with people who bring you down
Love and surround yourself with people who lift you up and who never look at their schedule when you need them.
People who accept you for who you are. We would even suggest you to manage your calendar to find a time where you can all be together in person. These times will be some of the best times in your life. Times that you’ll live for and get you through the hard times.
#7 Doing work you do not enjoy
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
It is inevitable to do something every day that we do not enjoy doing. If this is your full-time job, and if you work 40 hours a week, it is really exhausting and extremely counterproductive.
We are not telling you to quit your job but we highly recommend you to find even a small feature in your job that you enjoy more.
#8 Skipping your workouts
It is easy to hit snooze on your alarm every morning and to go home after work. Doing so, though, will leave you worse off. Working out releases endorphins, it gives you happiness hormone, it gives you time to decompress, and it leaves you feeling more healthy.
Skipping workouts is an extremely negative habit.
So push yourself to work out a few times a week. It might be tough to motivate at the moment, but it is always worth it.
#9 Thinking about unfortunate past events
Harping on the past is easy.
And sticking with the past unlucky events will only take away your motivation. Similar to worrying about what is out of your control, though, thinking about the past does not accomplish anything.
Instead, all there is to do now is move forward.
#10 Struggling to say no to people
In life, you have to say no a whole lot of times.
I know it’s not easy. In fact, sometimes it can be so tough to say no that you end up giving in and just saying yes. It’s human nature – we want to be agreeable, we want to be liked, and we want to be kind.
The solution is to learn how to say no. The transition is difficult at first, but people will respect you for it. Plus, it will give you significantly more time and power to commit to other things.
