As a technology native, I can’t remember a time without computers, video games and cell phones. But most of all, I can’t remember a time without distractions. Productivity has been something my generation has always struggled to maintain.

This has been the year of productivity resurrection. Inc.com did a fantastic job summarizing the 7 habits of highly productive people. Here are the biggest offenders we see within the industry, and how you can fix it.

Multitasking Gives You The Munchies

It should come as no surprise to you, but multitasking is overrated. In fact some call it a myth. Just take a moment and think about what is really happening when you multitask: you start, then stop, then switch tasks, then switch back, then stop again, then move on to something new… then forget what you sat down at your computer to work on in the first place.

This wastes time, energy and money. It also completely erodes any momentum you might have had going into your work day. In fact, frequently changing tasks is akin to being stoned. Actually it’s worse than being stoned, because when you’re stoned your IQ drops by 5. However, when you’re multitasking it drops an average of 10 points.

The easiest way to stop multitask is to stop multitasking. Start doing one task from beginning to end, and build up momentum. You’ll get way more done than you think.

Work From Z to A

I love when people have lofty goals. I don’t love when people have lofty tasks however. Creating a new website isn’t a task. Building a new marketing strategy isn’t a task. Even shooting a home tour isn’t a task.

If you want to be more productive you need to start working backwards from your end goal. There were 25 agents this year that to told me they were going to improve their website or create a new one. Only one agent did it. The reason is because he used this principle.

The best way to get things done is to keep tasks off your To-Do list that will take you longer than 60 minutes. For instance, a home tour video can benefit greatly if you spend 20 to 30 minutes working on a storyboard. Then you have a plan for the shoot. From there you know exactly how it will look when you edit it. Breaking that goal down by adding one simple task on the front end just saved you a ton of time, and will produce a better video.

Goal setting is important, but checking them off your list is equally as important. So, start breaking those goals down into more bite-size pieces to get more done.

Put Email In Its Place

This is by far the biggest productivity culprit within our ranks. Checking your email constantly throughout the day is killing your productivity. The best way to put email back into its place is twofold.

First, pick eight times during the day you’re going to use your email. As you grow accustom, start to subtract how many times you check your daily, until you get down to three or four times.

Next, start using your phone more. You know, the original purpose for that device you’re always reading your email on. You never want to reply to an email more than two times. It’s likely, if that is necessary, there is has been some sort of miscommunication. This is something a simple phone call can clear up.

Action!

Don’t try to implement all these changes at once, that’s likely to hamper your productivity even more, and drive you crazy.

Instead, isolate which trick is the easiest to start. Implement it, and build up momentum towards the harder to change habits.

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