The last time I was house-sitting, all I did was use Facebook and watch TV. I got really bored. Despite cooking, cleaning and looking after the canine (the reason I was required to house-sit) – I had more time to burn than I ever had at home, where a large amount of cooking and cleaning is done for me (thanks mum!).
The reason for this?
When we are in familiar surroundings we fall into behavioural patterns. As creatures of habit, we do the same things again and again. Our brains do this because they’re lazy – they follow patterns so there are less decisions to make throughout the day, limiting cognitive fatigue.
When we are in unfamiliar surroundings the slate is clean. We must actively decide what to eat, do or spend our time on. We decide every element of what we do.
I’m trying to make myself more productive. The next step in this quest is not only limiting distractions, but also breaking the unproductive behavioural patterns I’ve become accustomed to.
How can you break your unproductive habits?