*Image by orcmid on Flickr

If it was possible to make a living off of being completely unproductive or simply wasting your day away doing everything but the very work that you were supposed to do, then I’m willing to bet that most of us would be millionnaires several times over by now. Meanwhile, back in real life, decreased productivity usually correlates with decreased funds and an increased chance that you’ll be out of a job. Therefore, the folks over at HealthMoneySuccess offer some of the following tips on things we should stop doing in order to increase our likelihood of staying productive and gainfully employed. To see the full list of all 33 things, visit the original blog post here.

10 Things You Should Stop Doing

1. Reading all of the productivity blogs that you can find- Pick and choose one or two blogs to read daily, and stream them through an RSS feed, this way you’re less likely to surf the web aimlessly (see #3).
2. Spending too much time on social media sites (i.e. Facebook and Twitter)-Social media sites like these are incredibly addicting and can suck up large chunks of time without you even realizing it. Unless it’s for business, avoid it.
3. Surfing online aimlessly-Surfing online leads to more surfing, which leads to more surfing which leads to nothing getting accomplished. Try to avoid it while you are working, or at best, limit yourself to only a few minutes at a time when you need the occasional ‘mental break’.
4. Saying yes to every request-It’s ok to say ‘no’ to your boss when he or she is trying to dole out too much work to you. As long as your focus is on quality versus quantity and it is within reason, avoid taking on additional responsibilities that you know you won’t be able to handle.
5. Checking emails every 5 minutes-It can be incredibly tempting to check your email between having a smartphone that alerts you every two seconds when there’s something in your inbox to having your inbox open on your screen. Instead, try to go for a block of time, say an hour or so, without checking your email. It will be less distracting.
6. Buying cheaper electrical appliances or gadgets-You know that saying, ‘you get what you pay for’? Yup. It’s better to invest in quality appliances that will last you versus ones that will break more frequently.
7. Cluttering your wardrobe-The Salvation Army is always looking for generous donations. If you find yourself spending more time looking for things to get dressed in, you probably have too many clothes. Time to donate to charity.
8. Finding your keys, cell phone and wallet-Make a designated area where you will always leave your keys and wallet, this way you don’t have to wonder where they are when you are going out.
9. Losing your way-It’s always best to plan out where you are going ahead of time so that you don’t waste time.
10. Saving money manually-Automated is the way to go. Look for ways to have money automatically transferred from one account to the other so that you don’t have to waste time either online or “on line” doing it yourself.

(Via HealthMoneySuccess)

1. Qwitter- This is a great Twitter tool to use (and one that I personally adore). Signing up is free, and once you’re Twitter account is linked, Qwitter sends you an email notification when someone stops following you
2. TwitBlocker- This is a nifty little tool that helps you manage the tweets of those folks you follow who are a little “chatty” (to put it nicely). You don’t want to delete them from your Twitter list, but you also don’t want to be receiving updates from them every two seconds. TwitBlocker to the rescue.
3. My Tweeple-This tool allows you to check stats on the people who you follow and/or who follow you. You can review other peoples latest tweets as well as see the date of their last tweet (which may help you decide whether or not they are follow worthy).
4. Twitterholic (aka: Twitaholic)- As the name may suggest, this tool allows you to search the most popular Twitter users out there. You can also obtain stats about your own Twitter account.
5. Friend or Follow- A clever play on words, this tool allows you to find out who is not following you back on Twitter. You can also find out who you share friends with.
6. MrTweet- A great tool that helps you find relevant followers by offering up recommendations. You can also check stats on your account as well as see who else is out there that might be worth following.

Check out the screen shots for each below:

If you work from home, consider yourself extremely lucky. Working from home definitely has its advantages. For one thing, you can save a TON of money on gasoline and car expenses, plus you have more time to actively plan your work schedule around your life. However, while all of this may seem just peachy, you have to be careful to plan, plan, plan and be disciplined. Otherwise, your work-from-home dream can quickly turn into a work-from-home nightmare. The following are five tips to help you get the most out of your work from home experience:

1. Cut out the distractions. When it’s time to work, it’s time to cut out any and all distractions that will prevent you from being able to focus. If you live with roommates or have a partner who also works from home but who keeps slightly different hours than you, then you may need to find some sort of a compromise (such as keeping the volume on the television low during certain hours). Being distracted means that it takes longer to get your work done, which means less time that you’ll be able to decompress doing something other than work that you enjoy.
2. Be as consistent as possible. For some people, working from home is a dream come true because they feel that they will be able to get up at any time of the day or night and simply do their work. However, it is best to maintain some sort of a consistent routine because consistency  helps you stay organized. Besides this, if something comes up at the last minute when you were planning on getting some work done, suddenly you are faced with a dilemma. Choose certain hours between which to get your work done and then try to stick to it.
3. Respect boundaries. If you and your spouse both work from home, depending on how you are, you may need to have separate working areas. It is often tempting to run errands or find other ways to interact with your spouse such as watching television or taking a day trip somewhere, or even sitting down and joking around with one another. However, for every minute that you spend with your S.O., that’s one more minute that you aren’t getting your work done.
4. Be accessible. Whether you work for yourself or for someone else, one major consideration is accessibility. Whether it is via email, skype, text message or a phone call, it is always a smart idea to stay as connected as possible with the outside world so that people can reach you in the event of a deadline, emergency or some other miscellaneous issue. This is also why it is a good idea to try to stick to a consistent schedule (see number 2).
5. Get plenty of rest. Sure, getting out of that office environment may have been great, but in reality, most people who work from home actually end up putting even more work hours into their week than they ever did when they were in an office. Keeping that in mind, even though you may really want to get all 40+ hours of your work done in two days, don’t push it. Instead, force yourself to pull the plug when it nears the end of a regular business day. In addition to providing yourself with some QT for loved ones and other enjoyed activities, it also allows you plenty of time to wind down and relax for bed, ensuring that you get plenty of rest for the next day.