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post written by: Marc Chernoff

8 Stupid Mistakes Smart People Make

I bet you know quite a few capable people who are staggeringly unproductive. They work long hours, stress

themselves out and never seem to make any significant progress, right?

Over the course of our lives we all develop unproductive habits that hinder us from gracefully achieving our

critical goals. And often, in the fast-paced world in which we live and work we dont even notice that were

making the same mistakes over and over again. To live a balanced, beneficial life and engage in a long-term

satisfying work, ridding ourselves of these oversights is imperative.

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Here are eight mistakes smart people often make and how to avoid them:

1. They confuse being busy with being productive.

In his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferris says, Slow down and remember this: Most things make nodifference. Being busy is often a form of mental laziness lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. This isFerris way of saying work smarter, not harder, which happens to be one of the most prevalent modern daypersonal development clichs. But like most clichs, few people actually adhere to it.

Just take a quick look around. The busy outnumber the productive by a wide margin.

Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time. Theyre heading to work,conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc. They barely have enough free time for family get-togethers andthey rarely get enough sleep. Yet, business emails are shooting out of their smart phones like machine gun bulletsand their daily planner is jammed to the brim with obligations.

Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. But its all an illusion. Theyre like hamstersrunning on a wheel.

The solution: Slow down. Breathe. Review your commitments. Put first things first. Do one thing at a time. Start now. Take a short break in two hours. Repeat.

2. They spend time pursuing bogus achievements.

Personal growth is healthy. Personal growth is an achievement. So long as its real. The problem is the pressureto grow brings with it the incentive to make growth easier. Or more precisely, to make growth seem easier.

Growth games that promote bogus achievements are popping up online at an alarming rate. Many of them arecontained within products and services provided by popular brand names like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They each contain a psychological underpinning that supports a growth game filled with bogus achievements anaccumulation of points thats tied to the intended benefit of the core product or service.

With Facebook its friends. With Twitter its followers. With LinkedIn its connections.

Yes, each of them serves a legitimate purpose if used purposefully in moderation. But most people get so carriedaway obsessed with the growth games point system that they completely forget about the legitimate reasonthey started using the product or service in the first place.

If youre playing the game simply for entertainments sake, and youre aware of it, great, more power to you. Butif youre striving to achieve more and more friends, followers and connections for the sake of achieving them,your achievements are totally bogus.

This is why its imperative to get your mind right about what youre doing and why youre doing it.

The solution: Simply ask yourself: Is this activity making a positive, tangible difference in my life or anyoneelses life? Is it a true prerequisite for a genuine goal? Alternatively, am I absolutely okay with doing this justbecause I like doing it, laboring free of any delusion that it benefits me or anyone else? The Success Principles isa great read on this topic.

3. They learn how to do something and never do it.

Sadly, very few people ever live to become the success story they dream about. And theres one simple reasonwhy:

They never take action!

The acquisition of knowledge doesnt mean youre growing. Growing happens when what you know changeshow you live. Most people live in a complete daze. Actually, they dont LIVE. They just get by because theynever take the necessary action to make things happen to seek their dreams.

It doesnt matter if you have a genius IQ and a PhD in Quantum Physics, you cant change anything or make anysort of real-world progress without taking action. Theres a huge difference between knowing how to dosomething and actually doing it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action. Its as simple asthat.

The solution: Success hinges on the simple act of making a decision to live to absorb yourself in the process ofgoing after your goals. So make that decision. And take action. For some practical guidance on taking action Ihighly recommend The Now Habit.

4. They use the wrong measurements to track their progress.

You cant control what you dont properly measure, and what you measure predicts your future. If you track thewrong things youll be completely blind to potential opportunities as they appear over the horizon.

Imagine if, while running a small business, you made it a point to keep track of how many pencils and paperclipsyou used. Would that make any sense? No! Because pencils and paperclips are not a measure of whatsimportant for a business. Pencils and paperclips have no bearing on income, customer satisfaction, marketgrowth, etc.

Lets use blogging as a real world example. Many wannabe probloggers (folks who aspire to blog for a living)actually view their blogs RSS subscriber count as their number one measurement of success. They track itmeticulously and then freak out when Feedburner (a popular RSS tracking service) experiences one of itsfrequent hiccups. But what they fail to realize is that their RSS subscriber count is not a crucial measurement fortheir goal of becoming a problogger because most RSS subscribers have a very low level of engagement with thehost site and its various revenue generators. And generating revenue is a must for a problogger.

Once again, what you measure predicts your future. You should be measuring the things that are directly tied toyour primary goal.

The solution: The proper approach is to figure out what your number one goal is and then track the things thatdirectly relate to achieving that goal. In my example above on problogging, that goal should be making moneyfrom a blog. And a few things worth tracking would be click through ratios on ads, affiliate conversion rates, in-house product conversion rates, customer/reader feedback, etc.

I recommend that you take some time to identify your number one goal, identify the most important things for youto keep track of and then begin tracking immediately. On a weekly basis, plug the numbers into a spreadsheetand use the data to create weekly or monthly trend graphs so you can visualize your progress. Then fine-tuneyour actions to get those trends to grow in your favor.

5. They become obsessed with making things perfect.

Many of us are perfectionists in our own right. I know I am at times. We set high bars for ourselves and put ourbest foot forward. We dedicate copious amounts of time and attention to our work/passion to maintain our highpersonal standards. Our passion for excellence drives us to run the extra mile, never stopping, never relenting. And this dedication towards perfection undoubtedly helps us to achieve results. So long as we dont get carriedaway.

But what happens when we do get carried away with perfectionism?

We become disgruntled and discouraged when we fail to meet the (impossibly high) standards we set forourselves, making us reluctant to take on new challenges or even finish tasks weve already started. Ourinsistence on dotting every I and crossing every T breeds inefficiency, causing major delays, stress overloadand subpar results.

True perfectionists have a hard time starting things and an even harder time finishing them always. I have afriend who has wanted to start a graphic design business for several years. But she hasnt yet. Why? When yousift through her extensive list of excuses it comes down to one simple problem. She is a perfectionist. Whichmeans she doesnt, and never will, think shes good enough at graphic design to own and operate her owngraphic design business.

The solution: The real world doesnt reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done. And theonly way to get things done is to be imperfect 99% of the time. Only by wading through years of practice andimperfection can we begin to achieve momentary glimpses of the perfection. So make a decision. Take action. Learn from the outcome. And repeat this method over and over and over again in all walks of life. Also, checkout Too Perfect. Its an excellent read on conquering perfectionism.

6. They wait until they feel 100% ready before acting on an opportunity.

This point is somewhat related to the point above on perfectionism, but encompasses enough on its own to bediscussed separately.

The number one thing I persistently see holding smart people back is their own reluctance to accept anopportunity simply because they dont think theyre ready. In other words, they believe they require additionalknowledge, skill, experience, etc. before they can aptly partake in the opportunity. Sadly, this is the kind ofthinking that stifles personal growth.

The truth is nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in lifeforce us to grow emotionally and intellectually. They force us to stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, whichmeans we wont feel totally comfortable at first. And when we dont feel comfortable, we dont feel ready.

The solution: Remember that significant moments of opportunity for personal growth and development willcome and go throughout your lifetime. If you are looking to make positive changes in your life you will need toembrace these moments of opportunity even though you will never feel 100% ready for them.

7. They inundate themselves with too many choices.

Here in the 21st century where information moves at the speed of light and opportunities for innovation seemendless, we have an abundant array of choices when it comes to designing our lives and careers. But sadly, anabundance of choice often leads to indecision, confusion and inaction.

Several business and marketing studies have shown that the more product choices a consumer is faced with, theless products they typically buy. After all, narrowing down the best product from a pool of three choices iscertainly a lot easier than narrowing down the best product from a pool of three hundred choices. If thepurchasing decision is tough to make, most people will just give up.

Likewise, if you inundate yourself too many choices, your subconscious mind will give up.

The solution: If youre selling a product line, keep it simple. And if youre trying to make a decision aboutsomething in your life, dont waste all your time evaluating every last detail of every possible option. Choosesomething that you think will work and give it a shot. If it doesnt work out, choose something else and keeppressing forward.

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8. They lack balance in their life.

If you ask people to summarize what they want out of life they cough up a lot of words like Love, Money,Success, Family, Recognition, Peace, Happiness, etc. But all of these things are totally different, andmost people want all of them in their life. Sadly, a vast majority of people dont balance their life properly toachieve them.

I know an extremely savvy businesswoman who made almost a million dollars online last year. Everyentrepreneur I know considers her to be wildly successful. But guess what? A few days ago, out of the blue, shetold me that shes depressed. Why? Im burnt out and lonely. I just havent taken enough time for myselflately, she said. Wow! I thought. One of the most successful people I know isnt happy.

I also know a surfer who surfs almost all day, every day on the beach in front of our condo complex in SanDiego. Hes one of the most lighthearted, optimistic guys Ive ever met always smiling from ear to ear. But hesleeps in a van he co-owns with another surfer and they both frequently panhandle tourists for money. So while Icant deny that this man seems happy, I wouldnt classify his life as a success story.

These are just two simple examples of imbalanced lifestyles. I could think of dozens of other examples like thesejust out of the small pool of people I know personally.

The solution: When your work life (or social life, family life, etc.) is busy and all your energy is focused in thatarena its all too easy to find yourself off balance. While drive and focus is important, if youre going to get thingsdone right you still need to balance the various dimensions of your life. Completely neglecting one dimension foranother only leads to long-term frustration and stress. For some practical guidance on balancing your life Irecommend Zen And the Art of Happiness.

Photo by: Florian Leroy

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33 Comments

Filed under Hacks, Life, Productivity

60 Inconvenient Personal Development Truths

365 Thought Provoking Questions to Ask Yourself This Year

33 Comments

Sangeeta Bhagwat

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March 7th, 2011 at 2:47 am

I would suggest one more item on this thought provoking list - identifying a larger purpose or their life

purpose. The larger perspective enables us to keep our more immediate choices and actions in alignment

with the long term - fueling energy, enthusiasm, meaning and satisfaction in our lives. Most people make

the mistake of going from one short term goal to the other, searching for success and contentment, but

instead end up feeling frustrated or tired by the short term challenges. I have elaborated on this in my blog

post Road Map to Personal Peace at http://serenereflection.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/road-map-to-

personal-peace/

Thanks and Warm Regards

Jaky Astik


One biggest mistake smart people make is that they think a lot. They think so much that they sometime miss

the fun of life.

Robin Priest


Interesting points you make. Ive been trying to grow my online handmade jewelry business and sometimes

I feel like I am just chasing my own tail trying to twitter and facebook to get more people to look at my

stuff. It can get exhausting.

Greg Thomas


Great article, #1 and #4 daily in my job.

bendedspoon


And I make 3 out of 8 stupid mistakes!

The question is not how busy I am. Its what I am busy about and the answer disappoints me. Thank you

for your latest wonderful punch!

MD


Lacking balance in life can be very dangerous. There have been times in my life where I did was work or

study. Sure my bank account was looking nice and my grades were high. The negative was that

relationships were deteriorating in my life.

Ever since I graduated from college last year my focus has been on creating balance. This means finding

time to work, hang out with friends, work out, and do activities that I enjoy. Balance can really do wonders

for your soul.

Tom Meitner


This is a great list - and one we need to actively pay attention to. Everyone thinks they are too smart to

make these mistakes, but you never realize it until its too late. I tanked my business the first time around

because I was focusing on the wrong stuff and doing probably half of this list. In the end, I got stuck having

to get a crappy job for a while to make ends meet. Now, I actively track all those little things to ensure thatIm focusing on the right stuff and getting the right results. So pay attention to what you are doing and behonest with yourself: are your actions getting you closer to the end goal or not?

Living the Balanced LifeMarch 7th, 2011 at 11:29 am

This is such an awesome post. So many people have the intelligence to do so much more with their lives,but never seem to move forward. Great reasons to hopefully push us forward. I am guilty of some of thesemyself!BerniceDont live your life in default mode

VicMarch 7th, 2011 at 11:49 am

This is a really good post. Your right, it is mostly smart people who make these mistakes. Especially #6.Procrastination is runng rampant nowadays, its a wonder how we get anything done.

AmandaMarch 7th, 2011 at 3:41 pm

Thank you as always for providing some common sense perspective.

Ive recently started a blog as Im a single mom home schooling my daughter while working full-time.There werent enough resources out there to help my small niche of parents and I wanted to provideinformation to people struggling with the same goal.

As I was reading this, I was obsessing about my own blog. Was it being read? How do I get the audienceIm trying to help to read it? Am I offering something positive to the world?

But the real reason I started was to get information out there. To help others looking for the same answers Iam and along the way, find some new answers myself. Thank you for refocusing me on what matters.

Mars DorianMarch 7th, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Wow,so many points and I (sadly) find myself in some of them. BAAAD.

But Im glad you confronted me with these points - and you offered solutions, too !

Especially the first 3 points make complete sense, and make up a part of what Im doing (or not doing right)every single day.

Thanx for the wake up

Kiran GulrajaniMarch 8th, 2011 at 1:49 am

In the practical realm, yes.. these things help.Eventually it is good to also see thatwhoever makes the most mistakes wins - title of another great book.

And what is happening needs to happen. Often we end up fighting with, resisting and opposing what is

happening.. and that- in my view is the single biggest mistakes that we make.

And I dont really feel that there are really smart people and dumb people. This is another convenient way

to label. Like most labels, partially true and substantially wrong!

John Sherry


The stand out one for me is the drive for perfection, especially personally. Yes we need to improve, grow,

push ourselves to expand our capabilities, but being perfectionist in nature means reaching for a target that

you cant hit. Best to aim for your best and then settle - settle for the sense of achievement, settle for the

renewed feelings of accomplishment, and settle for knowing you gave enough and are enough. Its the

perfect solution!

Marc

March 8th, 2011 at 12:38 pm

Thanks for all the added insight, guys and gals! You rock!

@Kiran: I agree. In real life, labels are unnecessary because every human being is unique. But in writing,

especially in short headlines, labels must be used to convey the underlying message of an entire article in

just a few short words. And I think in this articles case, the headline fits the bill.

Have a great week everyone!

Margaux Joy DeNador


Marc,

What a great list of reminders!

Its so easy to feel like were doing something when were really just staying busy.

I plan to re-read your list and forward it to family and friends.

Kindest regards,

Margaux

Anshul


This really provoked me to think twice of what exactly I want to achieve and what efforts am I putting into

for it.

Thanks a lot Marc, it really helped.

Terri

March 10th, 2011 at 11:05 am

A friend of mine shared this post with me. I really enjoyed reading it, like your style of writing and I look

forward to reading more of post in the future. I am subscribing to your RSS feed. Have a great day and I

wish you success and happiness in all you do.

calvin

March 10th, 2011 at 11:52 am

Great article. However, I dont understand why you say the surfer is not a big success. Id say hes

achieved at least a large portion of something people have been trying to find since the dawn of time:

Happiness. It sounds to me like the business women is the failure in life, not the surfer. She obviously

missed the whole point.

Bill Gelwick


What a wonderful post. Thank you so much for sharing. I really needed to read this. After reading, I can

see several instances where Im only busy, but not productive. I tweeted and liked and will be doing a blog

post this afternoon linking to this post.

Bryce Christiansen


Most people think IQ is a good measure for how successful one would be, but often EQ (Emotional

Quotient) will give us a clearer picture of a persons productive abilities.

Understanding your level of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills will help

you make better choices and avoid these mistakes.

We are giving free emotional intelligence assessments to those who register for our Emotional Intelligence:

Secret Ingredient to Workplace Success webinar.

http://balancedworklife.com/emotional-intelligence-in-the-workplace/

Fred Tracy


Ah, being busy but not being productive. Hello facebook, cell phones, and pretty much any technology!

Ben


Marc,

Im so happy I stumbled upon this post. Point #3 really hit home - I actually taught myself to tune pianos

one summer. I dont even own a piano. Im looking forward to following your feed and sharing some of

your insights.

Ben

Nea | Self Improvement Saga


This post is so awesome. The issue of too many choices is one that easily leads to confusing busyness with

productivity - and if perfectionism is on the menu, a person can waste a ton of precious time.

bryan


#9. They are penny wise and pound foolish Driving an extra 10 miles to a gas station in the next town

because a gallon is a 5 cents cheaper than the one right down the street.

farouk


you have hit the bulls eyeall of these points are so truethank you

akahmaiMarch 13th, 2011 at 7:51 pm

Aloha, I love all of your posts! Im new to your site but Ive followed some of your recent work and Imalways looking forward to the next. Mahalo and keep you the great work.

JustinMarch 13th, 2011 at 10:36 pm

There are so many busy people absolutely going no where in life. They stay busy chatting with friends,watching t.v., or driving around with no where to go.

Facebook is the biggest time waster ever invented. The majority of users are supplying free traffic to thehost.

I am o.k. with using social bookmarking sites for business and personal as long as it is in moderation.

Chris BarbaMarch 16th, 2011 at 10:10 am

Marc - there is a LOT of great content here.

Right off the bat, I found applications for in my life (confusing busy with productive). Two hours of workalways comes with 45 minutes of distractions. Then work turns into having 10 windows open on mycomputer, papers all over my desk, BBMs from my blackberry, and intermittently checking my e-mailevery 7 minutes. Work smarter not harder. Really worthwhile advice because there is definitely an illusioncasted around my perception of efficient work.

How is that book the 4 Hour Workweek? Its been on my Amazon wish list for a couple months now.

Also, love the stuff you wrote in taking action and not waiting to be 100% ready. Made me think back tothis amazing Mark Hansen quote:

Dont wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstaclesand less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow strongerand stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.

Cheers!

genOctober 3rd, 2011 at 1:03 am

i have read this three times. and it is always helpful to me. thank you.

carlosDecember 25th, 2011 at 12:09 am

Sometimes I think I am being productive just because I am busy. I agree with the 80/20 rule.

Pablo Gerbasi

March 11th, 2012 at 10:16 pm

Excellent article! Thanks!

johnMarch 14th, 2012 at 3:03 pm

Great article!! Bookmarked so I can refer to.

niewaznejakAugust 14th, 2012 at 1:04 pm

You write about interesting, insightful things, thank you!

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