Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Are You Hurting Your Productivity By Being Conscientious

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Are You Hurting Your Productivity By Being Conscientious When I take work personality tests, I’m off the charts on conscientiousness. Conscientious people tend to showself-discipline, actdutifully, andaim for achievement. We display plannedrather than spontaneousbehavior and are generallyorganizedanddependable. This all sounds great, of course. But conscientiousness and productivity are not the same, and I’ve found that some conscientious habits can interfere with productivity. I share them with you here so you can be on the lookout. Choosing assignments based on your strengths Business guru Marcus Buckingham says to play to your strengths, and he’s not completely wrong. People who focus on tasks they’re good at will be more productive, usually. The trouble is, when you are naturally talented in an area, you may become complacent and believe there’s nothing more to learn or insights to derive. This can lead to sloppiness and overconfidence in your work, at which point productivity goes downhill. Following directions Conscientious people are terrific rule followers. In the workplace, it’s essential that you understand how to submit to sensible authority. The key, though, is the word “sensible.” Conscientious people will often blindly follow their boss’ will whether or not it’s the right path. If you know more about an issue than your manager, you owe it to your team and your productivity to diplomatically address how that issue can best be handled. Doing online research I tell myself that spending hours perusing Google Scholar and Wikipedia is a legitimate use of my time when I’m entering uncharted, work-related territory. But is it really? Not always, because in addition to being conscientious, I’m also curious. This means that I might start out looking up recruitment segmentation and, through a chain of spontaneous clicks, find my way to an article on the scientific explanation for ghost sightings. If you’re not careful, online research can turn into the mother of all time sucks. Going into the office when you don’t have to Conscientious employees wear their office face time like a badge of honor. However, going in just for the sake of going in is often not as productive as taking time at home where you are free of a commute, distractions, and chatty colleagues. There are some companies â€" and some managers â€" who really do equate face time with results. But these are becoming less common, and if you aren’t under the influence of one, consider what spending 50 hours a week trapped in your cubicle actually buys you. Check out the rest of the article at Intuits Fast Track blog.