Why Being Nosy Makes You Unproductive

I’m a naturally curious person. You might call it nosy, but I don’t see it that way.

I’m just interested in what’s going on around me. It’s why I love people watching so much and it’s also probably the reason why I went into journalism.

The problem is sometimes this curiosity can be a hinderance. When you want to be in the know about everything… well it’s a lot of research. Sometimes I get so wrapped in things I don’t even care about, because I’m interested to see if it might lead somewhere good.

So I’m taking a stand and trying to cut these nosy time wasters out of my life.  Check out my list – maybe you are guilty of dilly dallying with these tasks too:

Listening to podcasts I don’t like – I do this all the time. I like to listen to podcasts on my morning commute – especially ones that are relevant to this blog. I tend to listen to podcasts that have been recommended to me or that are popular. Mainly because I’m curious about why they’re so popular. Even if I don’t like a podcast I’ll listen to it all the way through trying to find a nugget of useful information.  Why do I do this?  Sometimes I drive myself crazy with this.  

I now realize that I’m missing out on listen to podcasts I actually like for a chance to satisfy my curiosity! I’m trying to kick this ridiculous habit and only listen to podcasts that are worth my time.

Hearing people talking and listen in – Okay that’s a nice way of saying eavesdropping. I admit it – I love a good bit of office gossip as much as the next person. But if you’re taking the long route to the bathroom so you can listen in on a conversations, you’ve gone too far. When it comes to gossip I feel like we never quench our thirst. The more we learn, the more we want to know. Getting caught up in all the drama can mess with your concentration though.  This is a distraction that I’m trying to pull myself away from in the name of productivity.

Finishing books I don’t care about – My book list is always growing longer and longer by the minute, but I don’t always have the time to get to everything. (That’s why I’ve started listening to audio books to help me out.) So I really should be quite picky with the books I do read. The problem is I’m not.

I’ll force myself to finish a book I don’t like so I know what happens, rather then just move onto the next one. So I’ll put off reading the boring book and avoid reading altogether, while my list grows longer and longer. Sometimes you have to know when to quit.

What are you nosy about that keeps you from being more productive?