10 Horrible Habits You're Doing Right Now That Are Draining Your Energy For most people the biggest obstacle they face is themselves, but it doesn't have to be that way.
By John Rampton Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
One of the greatest ways that you can improve your daily productivity is to cut out habits that drain your motivation. They give you less energy to tackle the day and decrease happiness levels. The challenge is that life is full of distractions.
That being said, letting the distractions consume you will make going through each day much more difficult. You should, instead, look for places in your life that you can change in order to have more energy and motivation. Doing so will increase your output and your well-being.
Here are 10 habits you can quit today that will dramatically increase your energy and motivation, which will lead you to a more productive lifestyle:
1. Worrying about what is out of your control.
There will be hard times and tough situations that you will find yourself in throughout life. Worrying about something that is out of your control, though, does not accomplish anything.
You cannot control the decisions that the government is making or an unlucky event that happened to you. All you can do is decide what to do next. Although it is challenging to get rid of the angst and constant nagging in your mind, accepting whatever has happened as a given will free up a significant amount of mental space and energy.
Related: 8 Habits of Highly Successful Leaders
2. Always being a perfectionist.
Not everything is going to be perfect. That is inevitable. There are times when perfection matters, but typically it does not. Therefore, do not let yourself become obsessed with perfection. It is draining because getting something from 95 percent to 100 percent can often be as much work as getting from 1 percent to 95 percent in the first place. Instead, pick your battles. You will free up energy and increase your motivation.
Related: Perfection Is the Greatest Obstacle to Productivity
3. Getting sucked up in what others care about.
There will always be people talking or complaining about something. When it is an event or situation that you do not care about, getting caught up in it is draining.
Even 20 minutes with your friends, while they complain about their bosses, will take energy away from you. It is tiring to listen to negative people. You might even be influenced to think the same about your boss when that is not the case. Instead, avoid situations like that. Do not let yourself get distracted or tired from things that you do not care about.
Related: Why the 5 People Around You Are Crucial to Your Success
4. Helping people who don't want to be helped.
You might have a loved one that is going through a hard time. It is important to support them however you can. That being said, you cannot change them. The change has to come internally.
Plus, it is exhausting to support others through challenging times. Deciding who to help is at your discretion. In situations where you cannot help, though, it is illogical to try. Sometimes, people refuse to be helped. In these cases, you will only walk away frustrated, tired, and the other person will be no better off.
Look out for these times. Doing so will save you a lot of energy trying to help when it will not achieve much.
Related: 12 Ways Successful People Handle Toxic People
5. Paying undue attention to all the subtle actions and words of others.
The words and actions of others can get us down. In some cases, those words and actions can teach us things about ourselves that are valuable to know.
In most cases, though, we read too much into it. Do not worry about the tone of the text message that your friend sent or the small interaction you had with them the other day. They could have just been in a rush or in a bad place.
There are times to worry and think about these words and actions, but pick your battles and understand that the little things are often insignificant. When you are unsure, instead of letting it get to you, just ask.
Related: 8 Great Tricks for Reading People's Body Language
6. Spending time with people who bring you down.
Over the past few years I'm surrounded myself with only people I really enjoy being around. This wasn't always the case. When starting out my entrepreneurial carreer I surrounded myself with people who would make me money. This was the wrong approach to life. I hated myself each and every day. I dreaded not living up to their expectations. This would always bring me down.
Instead, surround yourself with people that lift you up. People that accept you for who you are. I would even go as far as to manage your calendar to find a time where you can all be together in person. These times are some of the best times in my life. Times that I live for and get me through the hard times.
Related: 10 People Who Will Destroy Your Business
7. Doing work you do not enjoy.
It is inevitable to have work we do not enjoy occasionally. If this is your full-time job, though, you should try and change your situation. We work, on average, 40 hours a week. Often, it is a lot more. Therefore, I highly recommend finding work that you love. Spending 8 hours a day doing something that exhausts you without much in return is extremely counterproductive.
I'm not saying to quit your job, but, rather, to try and find something you enjoy more.
Related: What to Do When You Realize You Hate Your Job
8. Skipping your workouts.
It is easy to hit snooze on your alarm or to go directly home after work instead of the gym. Doing so, though, will leave you worse off. Working out releases endorphins, it gives you time to decompress, and it leaves you feeling more healthy.
Missing workouts is an extremely negative habit because of all that it takes away from you. Instead, push yourself to workout a few times a week. It might be tough to motivate in the moment, but it is always worth it.
Related: 7 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Start the Day With Exercise
9. Thinking about unfortunate past events.
Harping on the past is easy. It gives us a place to point fingers, make excuses and wish for different outcomes. Similar to worrying about what is out of your control, though, thinking about the past does not accomplish anything. It just takes away motivation from the current moment. It will get you down about your situation and wishing that things had played out differently.
Instead, all there is to do now is move forward.
Related: 10 Regrets Most Entrepreneurs Eventually Face
10. Struggling to say no to people.
We, overwhelmingly, feel a need to please those around us. That is why it is so tough to say no to others. Sometimes, this is good because it pushes us out of our comfort zone. Many times, though, it is harmful. You end up taking on responsibilities or doing things that you do not want.
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.
