Top 10 Productivity Killers For Digital Marketers

Are you as productive as you want to be?

This is a productivity post, right?

Then let’s jump right into it.

Here are 10 Productivity killers that are cutting into your workflow!

1. Consuming Too much Crappy Content

Are you really getting anything out of it?

There is so much garbage content out there. Every google search is a trip to the vending machine.

As a Digital Marketer, you need to be savvy and smart with your time.

Ain’t nobody got time for the latest BuzzFeed article!

That doesn’t mean all content is crap.

Many content creators (like me!) spend hours and hours creating something that really impacts you.

Pro-Tip: All content is made to do one of four things…

1. Entertain
2. Persuade
3. Inform
4. Educate

Here are 3 unique ways that you can consume and retain amazing content

1. Take shorthand notes on YouTube videos.

This might seem funky.

Take notes on a 10-minute YouTube video? Who does that?

Taking shorthand notes can help you remember what you watched.

It’s so easy to binge content and not remember any of it.

Taking notes on content that you enjoy is an easy way to watch productively.

2. Build time in your day for specifically consuming content.

This may seem simple, but it’s beneficial to have a specific time to structure your content consumption.

Carve out an hour every day precisely for consuming content.

Why is this effective?

Because most of the time, you’re mindlessly consuming content.

Consume wisely, my friend.

3. Measure your content consumption

This goes hand in hand with the last tip.

I suggest downloading the Rescue Time extension on Google Chrome.

It will let you know how much time you’ve spent on your computer and what you’ve been doing.

It’s fun to get into the auto-play binge-watching algorithm once in a while.

But if you’re looking to maximize your time, you’re going to need to be more deliberate about your content consumption.

2. The Email Trap *Gasp*

Email can be an excellent tool for connecting, learning, and sharing.

When Used Properly.

Most of the emails in your inbox are garbage.

Sort the good stuff from the bad pronto; check this out.

There’s a process to email.

Emails aren’t regular mail; you don’t get advertisements from people you don’t even care about.

Unfortunately, humans like us love to be bombarded with random and useless information.

Even though you can’t get unsolicited spam, you willingly subscribe to spam.

How many email subscriptions do you have?

Do you even know why you subscribed to each newsletter in the first place?

Speaking of which, you can sign up for my newsletter here 🙂 (Cheeky, right? I know)

What you need is an email audit.

You need to regulate what comes in and out of your email at all times.

You can check out some simple audit processes here.

But the most critical action you need to take right now is to unsubscribe from email newsletters that you don’t care about.

3. Forgetting To Do A Personal Digital Audit

You’re going to need to clean your room, and I’m not just talking about that pile of dirty laundry.

It’s time to clean up your digital junk.

Where do you start?

I suggest watching Matt D’vella’s video on digital minimalism. 

Do this first…

1. Delete useless apps off of your phone

Pick 3 apps on your phone that you haven’t used in the last week.

Delete those suckers!

If you genuinely find yourself needing those apps, you can always download them later.

But right now, they’re cluttering your life! (And your beautiful home screen background image)

2. Turn off all notifications from your phone

Forget notifications from Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.

Turn them off!

Have a specific time in your day for checking each of them.

Mute all texts that you don’t care about.

Take the time to manually shut off all distractions.

Your attention is valuable.

4. Eating Productivity Junk Food

Let me tell you about the most hazardous, dangerous, most annoyingly enjoyable unhealthy type of content on the internet.

Productivity Content (enter irony!)

If you’ve read this far, you’re committed to being more productive.

This is honestly super simple; just stop!

Turn off the productivity noise, pick a few habits that work for you (time boxing, to-do lists, habit chaining, etc.), and stick to them.

Stay true to the few productivity tips that work for you and cut down on the noise.

Consistency is more important than intensity.

The only reason that you should be watching productivity videos is if you’re totally stuck.

Even then, you should only be watching, reading, or consuming bite-sized content.

Then take action.

Productivity and efficiency are all about action. If you’re not taking action, you’re doing the whole thing backward.

Cut out the productivity of junk food and live your work life on a healthy diet.

5. Eating Real Junk Food

I get it. You’re a digital marketer.

You rule the digital world. Who cares what you do in your real life.

I don’t need to take care of my body. I can just ride this sweet passive income from my 11 blogs and 3 YouTube channels.

BERRRRR, Wrong.

You need to be physical.

Doesn’t matter whether you dance, skateboard, do Martial Arts (check out my site here!), or just head to the gym 3 times a week.

Keep your mind and body sharp.

The 3 things you need to look out for when taking care of your body are:

1. Exercise
2. Diet
3. Sleep

Get these 3 things right, and you’ll reach your next level in productivity.

Here are a few things that you NEED to be doing every day for your body.

1. Drink 1 ounce of water per pound of your current bodyweight (or two ounces per kilo).
2. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, and preferably follow your REM cycle. Check out this article for more on that.
3. Get outside for at least 15 minutes a day!

Most importantly, cut out junk food from your diet.

Please, like please, I’m begging you.

There is so much junk in junk food.

If you’re eating McDonald’s fries every day or snacking on 3 bags of Ruffles every morning, you need to stop.

Click here if you’re struggling with junk food in your diet.

We often overlook just how important our body is when it comes to productivity.

Comment below what action you’ll be taking to better your physical health and boost your productive activity.

6. Forgetting That YOU Have Unique Advantages

You’re special.

Yes, you.

You are different from everyone else in your own unique way.

Your skillset and your individual experiences are part of what you offer as a Digital Marketer.

This is a super productivity killer in digital marketing.

Too often, you’ll get imposter syndrome and think that you’re some fraud that doesn’t have any real digital marketing skills.

Or maybe you’ll feel like you only know things that everyone else knows, and therefore you have nothing valuable to add.

Believe me, I’ve been there before.

One significant action that you need to take is a quick reflection on what makes you unique.

What about you is different?

Do you like to cook and bake?

That shows that you’re incredibly creative and systematic in your work. Think about how that can transfer over to content writing or UX.

Are you someone who loves to read fiction?

Take principles and draw inspiration from your favorite authors when working on your Digital career.

Digital Marketing is a craft that’s wide enough for anyone who brings something new and valuable to the table.

There’s plenty of unique things about you, so use them!

Don’t know where to start?

Click here to take a free strengths test.

7. Having the Wrong Systems Habits and Processes

Now for the good stuff.

If you haven’t gotten the memo yet, habits and processes are the most essential elements of productivity.

They’re much more important than goals and hard work.

As James Clear says in his book Atomic Habits  (This is an affiliate link):

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.“-James Clear

What does this mean for you?

It means you need to demolish bad habits and start building new processes!

Easier said than done.

Building new habits is about more than making a new morning routine.

What you really need is a habit chain built around a keystone habit.

A habit chain is a series of habits that are strung together.

A keystone habit is the habit chain’s most crucial habit that makes it smooth and straightforward to complete all other routines.

If you want to learn more about habit chains and keystone habits, click here.

Think of your habit chain as the car and your keystone habit as the engine.

You need an excellent car to get you to your destination, but it’s meaningless if you don’t have an engine.

It’s also meaningless if you have no gas or fuel.

What’s your fuel?

Well, it can be many things.

Your fuel can be…

• Motivational speeches, videos, and quotes
• Your friends, family, and significant others.
• Your mission and your WHY statement.

As digital marketers, we need to set up good habit chains and workflows.

It’s incredibly vital to take action and adequately build great habits and processes for yourself.

8. Focusing on the Wrong Details

This is productivity 101, the good old 80/20 Pareto principle.

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your work.

It can also be used in other aspects and situations.

20% of workers often do 80% of the work.

20% of your clients usually pay 80% of your bills.

And so on…

Maximizing your efficiency using the Pareto principle is essential.

But how do you start maximizing the 20% and obliterating the 80% that doesn’t do squat?

You cut out digital junk food, do a digital audit, organize your emails, and build good habits and processes.

Should be simple, right?

If you’re a copywriter, you should be spending 80% of your time writing and researching copy.

If you’re a blogger, you should be churning out killer content.

Social Media Marketers should be pumping out FB ads like no tomorrow!

But you don’t.

Why? Because you’re productively procrastinating.

The 80/20 rule will be different for everyone, and you have your specific needs and processes that will be custom-tailored to you.

But you need to start somewhere.

Click here for more on the 80/20 principle.

9. Not Watching Enough Netflix

What?

Are you telling me to watch more Netflix and waste more time?

That’s the opposite of digital productivity.

Hear me out.

You’re not making your breaks valuable enough.

I know you want to get everything done.

You want to squeeze the productivity juice out of every waking minute.

But that’s not the best way to maximize your efficiency or your results.

Productivity is for lazy people.

It’s not about how hard you work; it’s about how much you get done.

To get more done, you’re probably going to have to work harder, but that’s not the point.

Now back to rest.

Resting and relaxing are essential to a healthy lifestyle and productive lifestyle.

Binging Netflix, playing video games, going on a date with someone you love may seem unrelated to your work life.

They’re actually crucial to everything you do.

Don’t miss out on these little nuggets of joy in your life because you’re too busy.

Yes, you need to put in the work, and the grind is real! But don’t let that deter you from really enjoying life while you have it.

Not taking necessary breaks is a productivity killer and a recipe for burnout.

10.  Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Environment is everything.

Who and what you surround yourself with is crucial to your productivity AND, more importantly, your identity.

If you want to be a better digital marketer, you need to be in the right place at the right time.

This works in two main ways.

1. Your Physical Environment
2. Your Digital Environment

First, you need the right work environment.

The most important thing about work and environments is finding your flow state.

You need to be in an optimal flow state to get more done in less time.

Find all the resources required for your tasks and items that keep you right on the edge of comfort and motivation.

The workflow is optimized when you’re performing at the edge of your capabilities.

If you want to know more about flow click here.

Second, you need the right Digital Environment.

Who do you put yourself in front of, and why?

Are you clowning around on your FaceBook and Instagram?

Imagine if you used Social Media as a tool for networking and exposure? You are a digital marketer, after all.

If you want to be the best, you have to imitate the best.

The best in Digital Marketing optimize their digital environment.

The internet is a crazy place, and it’s surreal to think of it as an environment, but it really is.

You need to get yourself in the right places on the internet.

Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference in your exposure, traffic, and ultimately ROI.

Be there or be square.

Conclusion

That’s all, folks!

Leave a comment below on your favorite (or rather least favorite) productivity killer.

Which of these is bogging your business down, and which one can you improve on right now?

I can’t wait to hear all about it.

Chris Chan