It’s nobody’s favorite situation, but we’ve all been there: You sit down at your computer at the start of a busy workday, only to find your mind going to 100 different places as your to-do list remains untouched.
With outside stressors and other factors, it just isn’t possible to cruise through your tasks every single day. That said, productivity experts note that many of us engage in certain behaviors in the evening that potentially set us up to fail the next day ― including by hindering your focus time at your desk.
Below, experts share those after-work behaviors that are getting in the way of a productive workday:
1. You’re not taking care of your basic needs.
It should go without saying that you’re doing your productivity (and yourself) a disservice if you’re not attending to your basic self-care needs, like getting enough sleep and eating a balanced diet.
Lots of necessary processes happen when we sleep, said Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist and author of “Stress-Free Productivity.” Without enough sleep, our body doesn’t do the repair, rebuilding and recovery work that are necessary for every day, she said. These include physical recovery, tissue growth, memory processes and brain filtering.
Think about it: Have you ever tried to do a seemingly easy task after not getting enough sleep, and found that you couldn’t focus? If you aren’t sleeping for the recommended seven to nine hours that adults need, you’ll have a hard time getting anything done.
Additionally, make sure you’re eating nutritious foods. You need to properly fuel yourself — with enough calories, protein and more — to be focused and productive, Boyes said.
2. You’re not letting yourself think about work outside of work.
Hear us out for a moment. You’ve probably gotten mad when you find yourself thinking about work on a day off, or when you’re on vacation. But Boyes said this isn’t actually a bad thing when it comes to your productivity.
“One of the things I have written about is how the advice to not think about work outside of work is bad advice,” Boyes said.
“To be productive, we need to have that time where our mind drifts to work, so that we can make those creative connections between ideas,” she added, noting that brain does a lot of its background processing for creativity, planning and organizing when our minds are allowed to roam.
This kind of planning isn’t something you can do while you’re deep in the weeds of your workday.
Often, Boyes said, “the most valuable use of [our] precious focus time comes to us when our mind is just drifting to work. A huge amount of productivity comes… from unfocused attention, so you have to allow that to happen.”
This might explain why some people get their best ideas in the shower, or on a walk. Boyes said it’s critical for people to think about the other activities where those good ideas can come up, whether that’s washing the dishes, riding a bike or doing something else entirely.
3. You’re spending too much time on social media.
For many people, scrolling social media or replying to memes from friends and family is a natural thing to do after work. But social media is part of the productivity problem, according to Mindy Godding, the owner of Abundance Organizing in Richmond, Virginia, and president of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals.
It’s likely that you aren’t just scrolling social media for a few minutes. Doing it for extended amounts of time may feel like relaxation, but social media is anything but relaxing for your brain, Godding said.
“When we’re on our devices, our brains are taking in all that information. So we think that we are relaxing, we think that we’re decompressing or resetting, when our brains are not,” Godding said. “So, we’re not doing anything good in terms of recharging our battery for the next day.”
Godding acknowledges that it’s not easy to just stop scrolling social media, and for some people, it’s actually not possible. This is true for business owners, like Godding herself, who are required to check social media after their workday is supposedly “done.” This is also the case for people like influencers and social media managers who have to oversee accounts into the evening.
But do be aware that scrolling social media, whether for work or personal use, is not going to leave your brain refreshed and ready for the next day.
4. You don’t have a routine.
Waking up and sprinting around until you leave for work isn’t a great feeling. Nor is mulling around your house in the evening until it’s suddenly time for bed. And neither of these habits sets you up for productivity, according to Deb Lee, a digital productivity coach based in Washington, D.C.
You’ll probably need a few different routines to set you up for success — a bedtime routine, an end-of-workday routine and a morning routine, Lee said.
What your routines look like is up to you; they’ll vary depending on your lifestyle, your family needs and your personality. Either way, when you construct a routine out of various small activities, it helps usher in the day and close it out in more productive ways, Lee said. For example, you might schedule dinner around 6 o’clock every night, or plan a morning workout before you go to the office.
While morning routines and evening routines are more talked about, Lee said there is power in an end-of-workday routine, too.
“We need to signal to the body that it’s time to wind down from work,” said Lee. Otherwise, it’s too easy to just keep working on that presentation or client proposal. When creating this wind-down routine, be sure to think about what you can do to prepare for the next day, too, Lee said. This could mean cleaning up your desk, looking at your calendar or sending a text to a co-worker.
Routines won’t magically make your day perfect, but they will help you better prepare to face whatever the world throws at you.
5. You have a cluttered workspace.
It may not seem like a big deal in the moment, but having a messy work area is not setting you up for next-day success.
“Having clutter in your workspace is also kind of part of that same theme of allowing distraction,” Godding said.
“Like anything that your brain is seeing, even if it’s passive, your brain is taking in that information and it’s trying to process it,” she continued. “So the more visual clutter you have in your workspace, the more that your brain is going to try to attach to that and process it and take in that information.”
Godding likens visual clutter to noise: “I think of it the same way that I think about all those buzzing and beeping notifications. It’s kind of the same response in your brain.”
And, Lee said, a messy workspace also creates a new morning task for you ― clearing your desk.
A cluttered desk “is the first thing now that you have to adjust so that you can ease into the day,” Lee said. “So instead of easing into the day by opening up a dashboard or a task list, they’re now cleaning and organizing, which could have probably been done the night before.”
6. You’re ruminating.
What gets in the way of productivity the most? One word, Boyes said: rumination.
“We know [rumination] impairs recovery from from work” and impairs problem-solving, she said. “So, negatively-toned overthinking, negatively-toned replaying of things that have happened.”
“People, when they’re ruminating about something, they sometimes have a sense that what they’re doing is problem-solving,” Boyes said. “Let’s say you had an awkward email conversation with someone at work, or an awkward interaction… and you do tons of replaying.”
“It can sometimes feel like your brain is trying to figure it out, that it’s trying to do some sort of problem-solving, of like, ‘How do I deal with this awkwardness,’ or ‘How do I deal with this interpersonal dilemma,’ or whatever it is,” she said.
But rumination actually makes people less likely to engage in helpful problem-solving.
To counter rumination, you first need to notice you’re doing it, and track the assumptions you’re making as you ruminate. For example, if you’re mad at yourself for having an awkward interaction, remind yourself that not every interaction is meant to be smooth and comfortable.
Next, do a short distracting activity like folding laundry or making your grocery list, Boyes said. Then, when you’re ready, think about the next action you need to take to move past this.
7. You’re working until you’re burned out.
“What I’m usually thinking about when I think about productivity is the links to exhaustion, because when you’re mentally or physically exhausted, your ability to concentrate really diminishes,” Godding said.
Our mental processing is really quite fragile, she said. “Anything we do that either depletes our brain power or just doesn’t recharge it enough… all of those brain activities that we’re taking with us into our work the next day can become harder.”
Lee noted that you have to leave time for rejuvenation and a chance to reset, instead of burning the candle at both ends. You shouldn’t expect yourself to be productive at all times. Instead, allow yourself to get the sleep and exercise you need, and the time with friends and family that fills your cup.