If you really want to get more done in less time, say goobye to these 5 producivity killers

As a self-professed planner addict, I once believed I could will myself into extreme productivity. A few years ago, you’d find me color-coding tasks in three apps and a paper planner (yes, including my beloved bullet journal) – yet still scrambling to finish projects. 

It turned out the problem wasn’t the tools at all. It was me clinging to a few bad habits that wiped out the time my fancy systems were supposed to save. Through trial, error, and a dose of psychology-backed insight, I discovered five productivity killers I had to ditch to truly get more done in less time. 

Today, we dive into each, along with how I tackled them.

1. Multitasking 

I used to pride myself on juggling client emails, design sketches, and Slack chats all at once. It felt like productivity superhero mode – until I noticed tasks taking longer and coming out sloppier. 

I’m not alone: research consistently shows our brains aren’t great at doing multiple things simultaneously. In fact, experts note that multitasking can slash productivity by up to 40% because of the mental time lost switching gears. 

Essentially, each time I jumped between browser tabs or between Photoshop and an email draft, I paid a “switching cost” in focus. I’d also end the day mentally exhausted with little creative juice left. 

Nowadays I approach my day very differently. Single-tasking is my new superpower. I focus on one task at a time, whether it’s writing a blog post or doing admin work. 

It was a tough habit to build (those app notifications are tempting!), but here’s what helped: I schedule dedicated focus blocks on my digital calendar and turn off notifications during them. I’ll even put my phone in another room. 

If a random idea or “to-do” pops up while I’m in the zone, I quickly jot it in my bullet journal instead of immediately switching tasks. This way I capture it without losing focus on the main task. By sticking to sequential work, I noticed I actually finish faster and make fewer mistakes. 

As a bonus, crossing tasks off one by one in my journal gives a little satisfying momentum boost that multitasking never did!

2. Overworking

Early in my freelance career, I bought into the hustle culture myth that working more hours means getting more done. I routinely clocked 60+ hour weeks, late nights and “always on” weekends included. 

However, you guessed it: instead of feeling accomplished, I felt burnt out and oddly unproductive, like my brain was running through mud. 

It turns out there’s science behind that feeling. Research shows that after about 50 hours of work in a week, our output starts to fall sharply. Push beyond 55 hours and it often falls off a cliff, meaning someone working 70 hours accomplishes no more than someone who capped their week at 55. 

In my case, those bleary-eyed extra hours were often spent fixing mistakes I made when I was too tired or re-doing work that a fresh mind could have done right the first time. Overworking wasn’t a badge of honor; it was a productivity killer in disguise.

Learning to work smarter, not longer, was a game-changer for me. I started by setting boundaries on my workday — a tough mental shift, but so important. For example, unless it’s truly crunch time, I wrap up by early evening and give myself permission to rest. 

I also adopt the Pomodoro Technique on heavy work days: 25-minute focused bursts followed by a 5-minute break, repeated. It sounds counterintuitive to take more breaks, but those pauses actually recharge my focus. (Even a short walk to the kitchen or a quick stretch helps more than powering through.) 

I’ve also become realistic about daily goals: instead of a never-ending task list, I choose a top 2–3 priorities each day in my planner. This hybrid approach – using a digital calendar for big picture and my analog planner to map out a reasonable task load – prevents me from over-scheduling myself. The result? When I sit down to work, I’m more refreshed and attentive, and I get more done in six focused hours now than I used to in ten unfocused ones.

 

3. Constant distractions

I’ll admit it – for years I let myself be at the mercy of every ping, buzz, and pop-up. I’d be deep in designing a logo, then ding – I’d stop to answer a text or check an email, telling myself “it’ll only take a second.” But those “seconds” were stealing my time. I’d return to the original task completely derailed, sometimes forgetting what I was about to do next.

And it’s not just in my head: research from the University of California, Irvine found that after an interruption, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to refocus on the original task. Nearly half an hour lost to a single “quick check”! No wonder an afternoon of constant Slack messages once left me feeling like I worked a full day without actually finishing anything meaningful. 

Each distraction was like hitting a reset button on my brain’s workflow, making me climb the focus hill all over again. For creative work especially, being yanked out of a flow state by a notification is brutal. My planning tools were of little use if I couldn’t stay with a task long enough to make progress.

To guard my focus, I had to create a distraction-free bubble for myself. 

First, I identified the biggest culprits: smartphone notifications and endless email checking. Now I schedule specific times to check emails (usually late morning and end of day), instead of reacting to each one as it arrives. 

I’ve also embraced do-not-disturb modes — my phone is often on silent with no notifications visible while I work. If I’m doing deep creative work, I’ll even go analog: sitting with a notebook or sketchpad so I’m not tempted to alt-tab “just for a second” to something else. For digital tasks like writing, I use full-screen focus modes or apps that block social media. 

Another trick that helped: when I catch my mind craving a distraction (like the urge to Google something unrelated), I note it down on paper. Later, I either address it (during a break) or often realize it wasn’t important after all. This way my brain trusts that I won’t forget that “thing,” and I can gently redirect attention back to what I’m doing. 

The difference is night and day – I end my work sessions with a sense of completion instead of frustration. By eliminating most unplanned interruptions, I’ve gained back control of my day (and those lost 23-minute chunks of time).

4. Perfectionism

This one hit me hard, because caring deeply about my work is part of why I love what I do. But I learned there’s a fine line between striving for excellence and getting stuck in perfectionism. I’d spend hours tweaking a minor detail on a client’s project or reorganizing my to-do list for the third time because the first layout wasn’t “just right.” I even hesitated to mark tasks complete in my planner if I hadn’t done them perfectly. 

The irony? All this chasing of perfect outcomes was slowing me to a crawl. Even worse, my perfectionism sometimes led to procrastination – if I couldn’t do something flawlessly, I’d delay starting it at all. In my case, an unhealthy urge to not fail was quietly killing my productivity and adding a lot of stress.

The mental reframe I embraced was “progress over perfection.” I started pushing myself to launch projects or send drafts before I felt 100% ready. For example, rather than endlessly polishing a blog draft, I’d finish a solid version and share it for feedback. And guess what – the world didn’t end. Often, nobody but me even noticed the “flaws” I was obsessing over. 

In my planning, I also gave myself permission to have a messy notebook or a simple bullet journal spread that isn’t Instagram-pretty. My bullet journal is a tool for me, not a showcase – if a quick scribbled list gets the job done, that’s what I’ll do. Embracing this mindset has been liberating. I still aim high, but I set more realistic goals and timelines. If a task is done “well enough,” I celebrate that and move on.

 

5. Overcommitting

I’ve always been the type to say “yes” to opportunities and help others whenever I can. As a result, my calendar used to look like a jigsaw puzzle with barely any blank space. 

I was mentoring a friend’s startup and taking on extra design gigs and volunteering for community projects – all on top of my regular workload. Being busy made me feel important, but in reality I was stretched too thin. My days were fragmented and I was constantly context-switching between commitments. The outcome? I delivered mediocre work and felt anxious about the things I hadn’t gotten to yet. 

It turns out that overcommitting – packing your schedule or assuming you can do it all – often backfires. Studies have found that people who chronically overcommit end up burnt out. It makes sense: when you have 15 things to do in a day, you’re likely to rush, miss details, or end up half-finishing tasks. I personally reached a breaking point when I realized I was forgetting personal errands and losing sleep over an ever-expanding to-do list that no app or planner could tame.

The hard but necessary lesson was learning to set boundaries and prioritize. Now I practice what I call “selective yes.” This means I pause before agreeing to a new request or project and check two things: my goals and my calendar. If it’s not aligned with something truly important to me, or if I literally don’t have the hours available without sacrificing something else, I often (gently) decline. 

To keep myself honest, I use a hybrid planning approach. I maintain a digital calendar for hard commitments and actually look at it before saying yes to anything new. And in my analog planner, I limit each day’s task list to a reasonable number of items. 

One trick: my daily bullet journal page has only so many lines. If I’m trying to write more tasks than lines, I know I’m overcommitting! This visual cue helps me be realistic about how much fits in a day. I’ve also started blocking out “white space” on my calendar – periods reserved for deep work or even just buffer time – and I treat those like appointments with myself that can’t be infringed. 

The result? By doing fewer things, I’m doing each of them better and more efficiently. I finish client projects ahead of deadline now, because I’m not juggling ten other obligations at the same time. And I can show up fully for the commitments I do choose, which feels far better (and more productive) than doing all the things half-heartedly. 

If you struggle with overcommitment, try this: for one week, consciously under-schedule yourself. You might be amazed at how much you get done and how calm you feel when you have room to breathe.

Final words

Productivity isn’t about cramming more into your day; it’s about making your time count for the things that truly matter. 

For me, that meant unlearning these five toxic habits and replacing them with healthier practices. The key thread through all of it was self-awareness – noticing what wasn’t working (despite all my planners and apps) and courageously making a change. I encourage you to pick one of these “productivity killers” and experiment with letting it go. 

Maybe today you silence your notifications for an hour of deep work, or finally allow yourself to submit a project when it’s good enough instead of perfect. Small changes add up. By saying goodbye to the habits that hold us back, we create space for more focus, creativity, and yes, free time. 

Here’s to working smarter, living fuller, and finding joy in the process of getting things done. You’ve got this!