The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a seminal self-help book, selling over 15 million copies worldwide in 38 languages. It encouraged readers to be pro-active, and take action with the end goal in mind using creative visualization techniques. Author Stephen Covey also taught us to prioritize what was important in the long term, rather that addressing quick fixes first. It preached that we should work towards effective solutions using collaborative and synergistic methods, and let all parties win by making sure these solutions were mutually beneficial. Covey instructed us to listen first, before we could expect to be understood or have our advise appreciated by others, and said we should constantly seek self-renewal to “sharpen the saw.” The book influenced a generation (think President Clinton’s third way approach to government), and spawned numerous spin-offs and imitators, the latest of these being Trapper and Mark Wood’s new book Forget The 7 Habits & Break All The Rules.
In their book the authors, who like Covey teach their management skills to executives throughout the world, address time management for today’s work environment. In our ultra-wired society they acknowledge it’s no longer possible to switch off and clock out of work, so they teach us to integrate the various areas of our lives. “The old paradigm is simply this: work / life separation. That doesn’t work very well. Life is too complex,” says Trapper Woods. “The problem is when we draw a line between our work and our personal life we set two in opposition to each other. That drives stress upwards and brings guilt into our daily life.”
Recognizing that it's impossible for us to empty our plate in this over-loaded age, the authors teach us to prioritize and focus, by recognizing and erasing time wasters. They give us tips for making effective use of our time, such as scheduling a meeting in the other person’s office (so you can end it by leaving when you want), and having call-ending lines on hand so phone calls don’t overrun (“Oh! It’s three-fifty! I need to get going”). They also encourage us to avoid over-committing by learning to say no, and to make appointments with ourselves as a reminder to build our own needs in our schedules.
But the self-help words the Daily Mantra found most enlightening were Positivity Blog’s 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People. You can often lean how to do something well by learning what not to do first, which is the philosophy behind their list. So take a look at the habits listed below, and see how many of them apply to you.
7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People
1. Not showing up.
As Woody Allen says, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
2. Procrastinating half the day.
“Do the hardest and most important task of the day first thing” and “split a task into small actionable steps” so it doesn’t become overwhelming.
3. When actually doing something, doing something that isn’t the most important thing right now.
“One of the easiest habits to get stuck in, besides procrastinating, is to keep yourself busy with unimportant tasks.”
4. Thinking too much.
“You don’t have to examine everything from every angle before you try it.”
5. Seeing the negative and downsides in just about anything.
“When you see everything from a negative perspective you quickly punch a hole in your own motivation.”
6. Clinging to your own thoughts and being closed to outside influences.
“This makes it hard to improve and, for instance, to become more effective.”
7. Constantly on information overload.
“If you just let all information flow into your mind it will be hard to think clearly. It’s just too much stimulation.”
