You’re killing your productivity. It’s not something external that’s slowing you down. It’s you. It’s the decisions you’re making that slow you down instead of speeding you up.

Here’s what you’re doing that’s making you dramatically less productive.

1. You’re commuting.

It’s no longer necessary to work from a central location (the office) every day of the week. We have the technology to save you those minutes of driving back and forth. You can work remotely and put those hours (many of us spend 5+ hours a week commuting) back into your pile of productive hours.

2. You’re systemless.

You treat every engagement as a one off. You reinvent the wheel each and every single time. You’re doing it, doing it again, and then doing it again for one client after the other. It’s costing you and your clients real dollars, and it’s contributing to that sense that you’re working all the time and not moving forward.

3. You’re bouncing from thing to thing.

You lack focus, and you let every interruption move you from task to task. We don’t multitask well. We get far more done when we commit to doing something and stick with it until it’s done.

4. You’re using notifications.

You’ve got your phone beeping when it gets a text. Your laptop pops up a “You’ve got mail” message every 30 seconds, and your tablet chimes every time one of your friends updates a Facebook status. How can you focus when you’re being pinged by all of your devices ever few minutes? You can’t.

5. You’re not looking at your task list.

You create comprehensive lists of what needs to be done. Then you ignore them and respond to the latest stimuli. Someone walks in the door and asks a question, and your to-do list disappears in the pile on your desk. Commit to what’s going to get done today and stay on task. Keep the list short and keep it front and center.

6. You have no goals.

Your “goal” for the year is to get through the year. That’s not good enough. You need to know where you’re going and why you’re going there and connect with why heading in that direction matters. Drifting forward, backward, and sideways keeps you from getting things done. If you’re not sure what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds.

7. You won’t delegate.

You don’t trust others, you’re not willing to train others, and you’re unwilling to accept the work product of others, so you take it all on yourself. In the end, you’d have been better off letting them do it because you’re not getting it done. It’s going to be done differently than you would have done it, but it’s going to be done.

8. You’re looking at e-mail.

You’ve got to stop looking. Yes, it’s a stimulating diversion. No, it’s not productive. Check it a few times per day. It can wait a couple of hours. See number 4 above and turn off the notifications. Go ahead and close the programs down. Don’t peek. Just say away from the e-mail until the designated time.

9. You’re not using available technology.

You’re still using paper files instead of going paperless. You’re cutting and pasting your documents instead of using a document assembly tool. You’re filing documents in folders on a server instead of using document management, and you’re organizing your case information somewhere other than in a cloud-based practice management system. What’s up with that?

10. You’re not communicating with your team.

No one knows what’s going on, what’s important, and what’s not. You’re not meeting daily to check in, you’re not meeting weekly to plan ahead, and you’re not meeting monthly to share knowledge and education. Everyone is rowing hard, but they’re headed in different directions. A lack of communication is your biggest problem.

We look outward when we’re feeling unproductive and stuck. We blame the clients, the staff, and the courts. That’s not fair to them or to us. We’ve got to look inward for the answers. We’re productive when we make the right decisions. It’s time to turn ourselves around.