In life, we often focus on the big mistakes that could ruin everything. But the truth is, 90% of what shapes us comes from habits, and that includes the bad ones too.
So these are 10 mistakes you do everyday;
1. Reaching For Your Phone The Second You Wake Up
It’s 5:00 am and you’ve just woken up.
As you can barely move and open your eyes you reach for your phone check out what you’ve missed out on, only to be bombarded by messages, videos, articles and distractions.
Reaching for our phones early in the morning has become involuntary for us, we do it without thinking. But in doing so, we can end up setting ourselves for failure throughout the day. Starting off with watching TikToks, or scrolling through news can actually set a stressful tone throughout the day. Especially if your eyes are strained, or if you use your phone for a prolonged period of time in the dark.
Fix: Instead of reaching for your phone first thing in the morning, try doing other activities first. Like cleaning your bed, meditating, or stretching.
2. Postponing (Even Just A Few Minutes)
Say you’re on the couch, watching TV. As you glance at your watch you realize it’s 2:49 pm. Instead of immediately getting up to start working, you think, “I should just wait till 3:00 pm, it’s a cleaner number”.
At first it feels like nothing, like it has no effect since it’s just a few minutes after all. But these things compound. But skipping just 10 minutes a day adds up to about 5 hours a month. Think of what you could be doing with that extra 5 hours!
Fix: Even if the time isn’t “pretty”, just start. Even if you don’t feel like it’s the perfect time, just go ahead and do it.
3. Indulging And Not Doing
Social media apps have a variety of content, spanning from goofy to self-help videos. And to feel productive with our time spent on that app, we choose the latter.
And sometimes by doing so we end up spending hours going down the rabbit hole of self-help videos.
But often we mix the two up; watching something productive and being productive. There’s a clear difference, but sometimes we think that watching a productive video is us being productive, but most of the time, it’s not.
Fix: Instead of just indulging productive content, try applying at least some of it to your day-to-day lives, and only use those videos as additional fuel when you feel confused or lost.
4. Cramming Too Much
Sometimes with the amount of things going on in our lives we try to fit everything as neatly as possible. By being silent, or not having anything to do, we feel like we’re not optimally using our time. But in life, you need to take some time to relax, to cool down.
That’s exactly why there’s the term, “Work hard, play hard”, or why Jesus made Sunday the day to rest.
Fix: Take some time for yourself, stretch, meditate, or even procrastinate if you need to. As long as it isn’t excessive, do it. Remember to relax, and to take it easy.
5. Relying On Memory
I’m someone who falls to this mistake a lot.
Sometimes on the toilet, whilst walking, or whilst eating, I get an idea.
But instead of writing it down, I think to myself, “It’s a good idea, I’ll remember it.”
Then two hours later whilst trying to remember I realize I’ve forgotten.
Fix: Write every idea down. No matter how small or big, write it down. You never know how much that could prove to be.
6. Sleeping Late, Waking Up Late
After a stressful day full of productivity you lay on your bed with your phone with the objective of unwinding.
You scroll through your social media feed, telling yourself you’ve earned some mindless scrolling.
What started as a 30 minute scrolling session turns into a 4 hour long doomscroll.
At 2:00 AM, your eyes half open, you finally think to yourself, “maybe I should just go to bed.”
When you wake up you feel fatigued, you feel uneasy. You look at the clock only to realize that it’s already 3 pm.
Fix: Once you’ve finished your work, set aside some time to unwind/to prepare for bed, but instead of playing games or using your phone, try some book reading, or journalling instead.
7. Breaking Your Focus Too Often
Whilst working, or studying. Every time you check your phone, switch tabs, or respond to a notification, your brain pays a hidden cost.
Studies show it can take up to 30 minutes to fully regain focus after an interruption. That quick glance at a message might be stealing hours of productivity.
Fix: When doing something important, try putting away your phone, or any devices that could break your focus.
8. Letting Something Ruin Your Day
You wake up feeling ready to conquer today.
You get out of bed, you organize it, you soak your face in a bowl full of ice, and you work out for an hour.
But as you start brewing your coffee, you spill everything. The counter, the floor, even your shirt is covered with coffee.
This alone ruins your day. You can’t seem to feel happy or motivated anymore, all because of that small coffee spill.
Fix: Remember that one mistake doesn’t mean you should give up on the whole day. Clean the spill, change your shirt, and start again. Your day only gets wasted if you stop driving it forward.
9. Taking Too Long to Reboot After a Break
You sit down to work, make some progress, then pause for lunch or a quick errand. When you come back, everything feels foggy.
Suddenly, you’re staring at the screen, “getting ready” to start for 30 minutes. That lost momentum is the silent killer of productivity.
Fix: Immediately after you finish the disruption, (eating, taking a nap, hanging out with friends and family, etc), immediately get back to your desk and start working. The motivation happens during the work, not before, not after.
10. Letting Your Mood Decide Your Schedule
Waiting for motivation to strike before starting a task can lead to procrastination. Mood is often a consequence of action, not a prerequisite.
Building discipline means doing what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like it.
Fix: Create a simple daily routine and commit to it regardless of how you feel. Action creates motivation.
Remember that, no matter how small and insignificant an action may seem;
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”
James Clear
