If you avoid these 5 productivity traps, you’ll outperform 90% of people

Ever notice how some people seem to get twice as much done in half the time while you’re drowning in your to-do list?

I used to be that guy constantly scrambling—juggling fifteen browser tabs, answering emails while “listening” to podcasts, and pulling all-nighters because that’s what hustle culture told me success looked like.

When I started HackSpirit, I thought being busy meant being productive. I’d work 12-hour days, multitask like crazy, and wonder why I felt exhausted but wasn’t moving the needle forward.

Then I realized something: most of what we think makes us productive actually sabotages us.

The truth is, productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about avoiding the traps that keep you spinning your wheels. While everyone else falls into these common pitfalls, you can sidestep them entirely.

Today, we’re diving into the five biggest productivity traps that derail most people and how avoiding them will put you ahead of 90% of the crowd.

1. Thinking multitasking makes you more efficient

Here’s a hard truth I learned the expensive way: multitasking is productivity poison.

Back in my early HackSpirit days, I thought I was being super efficient. I’d write articles while monitoring social media, answer emails during calls, and jump between five different projects in an hour. I felt like a productivity ninja.

Spoiler alert: I wasn’t.

What I was actually doing was sabotaging my own work. Every time I switched tasks, my brain needed time to refocus. Multitasking doesn’t increase productivity. It actually does quite the opposite. In fact, some experts believe that it can reduce productivity by as much as 40%.

So what’s the alternative? Single-tasking. Pick one thing, do it well, finish it, then move on. Your brain will thank you, and your results will speak for themselves.

Turn off those notifications. Close those extra tabs. Focus on one task at a time and watch your productivity skyrocket.

2. Working longer hours instead of working smarter

I used to wear my 70-hour work weeks like a badge of honor. Sleep was for the weak, right? Hustle never stops, grind never ends—all that motivational poster nonsense.

What nobody tells you is that after a certain point, those extra hours are basically useless.

A Stanford study found that after 55 hours a week, productivity takes a nosedive. If you’re clocking in 70+ hours, you might be surprised to learn you’re probably not accomplishing any more than those sticking to 55 hours. 

I learned this lesson the hard way. There were weeks I’d work until 2 AM, convinced I was being more dedicated than my competitors. In reality, I was just making more mistakes that I’d have to fix the next day.

Your brain isn’t a machine—it needs recovery time to function at its best. Those marathon work sessions might make you feel productive, but they’re often just busy work disguised as dedication.

The real winners aren’t the ones working the most hours. They’re the ones who know when to stop, recharge, and come back fresh. They protect their energy like it’s their most valuable resource—because it is.

Quality beats quantity every single time.

3. Fueling your body with junk while expecting peak performance

You wouldn’t put cheap gas in a Ferrari and expect it to perform at its best, so why do we do this to our bodies?

I’ll admit it—during my early entrepreneurial days, I lived off energy drinks, takeout, and whatever I could grab between meetings. My logic was simple: I didn’t have time for “proper” meals when I was busy building something important.

Turns out, this was one of the dumbest productivity hacks I ever tried.

Your brain burns through about 20% of your daily calories, and what you feed it directly impacts how well it functions. When you’re running on processed sugar and caffeine crashes, you’re essentially handicapping your own performance.

A Brigham Young University study backs this up. Researchers found that “employees with unhealthy diets were 66 percent more likely to report having a loss in productivity” (19).

Think about it: that afternoon brain fog, the 3 PM energy crash, the inability to focus after lunch—these aren’t just random occurrences. They’re your body telling you that your fuel is garbage.

The fix isn’t complicated. Eat real food. Stay hydrated. Take actual lunch breaks instead of inhaling a sandwich while typing emails.

Your productivity isn’t just about time management—it’s about energy management. And energy starts with what you put in your tank.

4. Chasing goals without building systems

Here’s where most people get it backwards: they obsess over setting the perfect goals but completely ignore how they’ll actually achieve them.

I used to be a goal-setting fanatic. I’d spend hours crafting detailed vision boards and writing down ambitious targets. But then I’d hit a wall because I had no clue how to consistently work toward them.

Goals are sexy. They’re inspiring. They make great Instagram posts. But they don’t get the work done—systems do.

As productivity expert James Clear puts it: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems”.

Think about it this way: if your goal is to write a book, that’s nice. But if your system is writing 500 words every morning before checking your phone, that’s how it actually gets written.

When I shifted from goal-focused to system-focused thinking, everything changed. Instead of saying “I want to publish more content,” I built a system: write for one hour every morning, research topics on Sundays, batch edit on Wednesdays.

The goal was just a direction. The system was the vehicle that got me there.

Most people fail not because their goals are wrong, but because they never build reliable systems to support them. They rely on motivation instead of process, and motivation is unreliable.

Build systems that work even when you don’t feel like it.

5. Trying to control everything instead of focusing on what matters

This might be the sneakiest productivity trap of all because it disguises itself as being thorough and responsible.

I used to spend hours perfecting email signatures, obsessing over the exact shade of blue for website buttons, and getting caught up in a million tiny details that felt important but moved the needle exactly zero inches.

Here’s what I’ve learned: there’s a massive difference between being busy and being effective. And most of us are addicted to the busy stuff because it feels like progress.

You can spend your entire day “being productive”—organizing your desk, color-coding your calendar, researching the perfect productivity app—while completely avoiding the one or two things that would actually make a difference.

The harsh reality? About 80% of what you do doesn’t matter much. Maybe 20% moves the needle. And probably only 5% actually changes your life.

So why do we get trapped focusing on everything? Because the important stuff is usually harder, scarier, or more uncertain. It’s easier to reorganize your digital files than it is to make that difficult phone call or start that challenging project.

The most productive people I know aren’t the ones doing the most things. They’re ruthlessly selective about what deserves their attention and what doesn’t. They’ve mastered the art of strategic neglect.

Final words

Look, I get it. These productivity traps are seductive because they make us feel like we’re doing something important. Multitasking feels efficient. Long hours feel dedicated. Perfectionism feels thorough.

But feeling productive and being productive are two completely different things.

The people who truly outperform aren’t the ones doing more—they’re the ones doing less, but doing it better. They’re not falling for the same traps that keep everyone else spinning their wheels.

Here’s the thing: avoiding these traps isn’t just about getting more done. It’s about reclaiming your time, your energy, and your sanity. It’s about working in a way that’s actually sustainable instead of burning yourself out chasing busy work.

I’ve talked about this before but the biggest shift in my entrepreneurial journey came when I stopped trying to do everything and started focusing on doing the right things well. That’s when Hackspirit really took off.

You don’t need to be superhuman to outperform 90% of people. You just need to avoid the mistakes that trip up almost everyone else.

Start with one trap. Pick the one that hits closest to home and commit to changing it. Your future self will thank you for it.