5 Common Characteristics of Ineffective People

I like how you did this.  Instead of telling people what to do, you turned it around and told them the bad things other people are doing.  

Based on the items here, organization, in regards to both objects and time,  is on the top of the list of things effective people do. 

I’m so happy that checking my RSS was on the top of my to-do list on this Sunday morning.

Hi Marge. Yes sometimes it’s far more effective to put a twist on the post and to point out mistakes that people are doing right now. When you want to make a change in your life the first step is to admit that you have a problem. Hopefully the way this post is written will achieve that. 

Hi Kian
i really the like the idea of writing about ineffective people for it can teach us how to not be like them
thanks for the post

Well written. Post shared to our staff.

Hi Farouk. Glad you liked the post.

So ineffective people are people with ADHD? That’s cool, we love hearing about how ineffective we are. 

[...] my dad sent me an article entitled “5 Characteristics of Ineffective People” from PicktheBrain. Little did I know how much I had to say in reply until I started writing the [...]

Great article. However, you used effective when you meant to use
ineffective.

Great article. It is a great reminder to do the effort to not be ineffective

Great article. It is a great reminder to do the effort to not be ineffective

So true! As an additional facet of your first point, I find ineffective people tend not to plan their own use of resources.  They might have “super-productive days” every now and then, but to recuperate they need a ton of almost totally wasted days. Effective people plan to be reasonably productive when they work, but also make sure they have restful hours in the day and days in the week to maintain their energy-levels in the long-run. This also allows them to subconsciously process the work they are doing during a so-called incubation period and come up with more creative solutions.

So true! As an additional facet of your first point, I find ineffective people tend not to plan their own use of resources.  They might have “super-productive days” every now and then, but to recuperate they need a ton of almost totally wasted days. Effective people plan to be reasonably productive when they work, but also make sure they have restful hours in the day and days in the week to maintain their energy-levels in the long-run. This also allows them to subconsciously process the work they are doing during a so-called incubation period and come up with more creative solutions.

As an effective leader in a direct selling business WITH ADHD, I appreciate this article as it shows and reminds me what things I need to avoid!  To the lady who says that this article states that those with ADHD are ineffective – I don’t actually see that anywhere in the article.  You must have a view of the world as a “cup half empty”.  Sad. I have learned to live with my ADHD and have used articles like this to go on and thrive in my own direct selling business for over 3 years now.  These 5 attributes are very accurate, and I appreciate the “checklist”!  Keep up the great work. “If you belive you can, or you think you can’t, either way you’ll be right”!

I don’t necessarily agree with this. I will say that everything you’ve listed makes some people highly ineffective.  In fact, it may apply to most people.  Most of us simply can’t function at our best without planning, organization, lists and order.  However, many of the world’s greatest visionaries and leaders are those who work well in chaos.  They are the people who can take something that is a complete mess and come up with a solution.  They have the ability to shine where most people fall apart.  Within their tendency toward these characteristics that you describe as ineffective lies their strengths; but they are often told to “fix” themselves and do what works for everyone else.  Unfortunately, this leads many of these people to one failure after another. Instead of trying to become like everyone else, they can become highly effective by understanding their uniqueness and learning how to use it to their advantage.  

Couldn’t agree more. I would not have considered myself ineffective, now or in the past, but I did fit into a few categories now and again. Even doing these things ‘now and again’ can create havoc in the mind. Writing things down is something I rebelled against for years but you know what? It is in fact an absolute life and time saver!

i believe when a person coomit them self to discovering and focus on avhiving their real potential in life then nothing can stop them from fulfilling their dreams.its all about determination.

I like the tip about keys.  My father always use to misplace keys and when he had to rush out somewhere, of course he could never remember where he put his keys.  He was always so fired up about this.  But of course the easy solution, was to simply install a key rack.  This is what I use and it’s in a very easy and logical location out of sight, inside the closet near my front door. 

As soon as I come home, house and car keys are placed back on the rack right away without delay.  Whenever I leave the house, I know that whatever keys I need are right there in the rack.

Great article…and also very true!

Very True!

There is an error in number 4 that detracts from an otherwise good article. You said, “An effective person will just let the tasks grow and grow until everything is out of control and becomes one big explosion…”. You meant to say “ineffective”, right? Fix that and the article will be much better.

The prose is basically poor, passim.

interesting thoughts

[...] What I’ve noticed with most ineffective people is that they cannot focus their attention on one task and stick with it all the way to the end. What you’ll find is that they focus on one task then begin to allow their mind to wander onto other tasks until they are doing so many tasks that none of them are being completed. For example, have you ever noticed how you may sit down to write an important e-mail, then the next thing you know you’re checking the news, on instant messenger or checking up on Facebook? 5 Common Characteristics of Ineffective People | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement [...]

That’s quite presumptive of you. 

I got the the first 2 down! Need to work on the next 3……..

Oh stop yourself. Kian didn’t say that. You did. Every one of these things is a decision you can make, not a disease.

ADHD doesn’t stop you from working to adopt effective habits, though it may throw some stones on the path.

- Someone with ADHD who took himself off ritalin a decade ago and hasn’t looked back.

[...] Minggu lepas dapat banyak surat daripada Majlis Perbandaran dan Indah Water. Semua di hantar ke satu alamat terkini untuk memudahkan membuat pembayaran. Jangan sesekali melewatkan atau menangguhkan pembayaran semua bil rumah anda. Kenapa?? Kerana ianya adalah salah satu habit yg tak elok dan akan menyusahkan anda di masa akan datang (http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/5-common-characteristics-of-ineffective-people/) [...]

i understand your point, however i see chaos as the same as working under pressure weather your a young single mother bringing up child on benefits or a business man fighting to save his business its all the same chaos and pressure that i would say most can deal and work with and the few that cant are the very ones that lack focus and drive and give up easily and tend to fail at most things they attempt

what im trying to say basically is everyone has a form of chaos in there life and it does not only apply to world greats or visionaries, which for me still makes the above 5 points on effectiveness spot on without trying to split hairs but i respect your opinion

i agree writing things down is like shifting files from a computer eg your brain and shifting it to a hard drive eg paper freeing up space in the brain to be more effective

however it may not apply to all, take for instance i have a good memory and can remember most things without having to write them down but even when i do choose to list things it still makes me more productive so its really about knowing yourself and your own limit and having an effective plan to continue progression of your task when you reach those limits to keep the ball rolling 

I definitely agree with number 3. I have always wondered how a person can go through life with absolutely no order and organization.

To me, putting things back is not about having OCD. It’s about taking control of your own life. 

From what I’ve seen, people who have the hardest time creating places for things and putting them back where they go also have  a hard time controlling the various aspects of their lives.

Sounds very similar to this self-help article: http://www.fakeproject.com/you_are_not_dead

However, that was meant to be satire on how to lose creativity and become a cog in the machine. Hope you’re happy planning out the rest of your life without enjoying anything spontaneous or feeling love…

That’s a hasty generalization. 
To be the type of person described in this article does not, in any way, shape or form, imply that a person can’t enjoy anything spontaneous or feel love. When things like the aforementioned are done enough, they become second nature.

You can still enjoy random things in life just like everyone else. But there are things that don’t fall under the category of things that bring joy and love. For things like that, it’s advised that you get some kind of order involved.

In fact, I would argue that the lack of organization in other areas of life would negatively interfere with the joy and love in other areas. 

Love the post.
You need to edit this sentence:
“An effective person will just let the tasks grow and grow until
everything is out of control and becomes one big explosion of
disorganized chaos similar to the big bang theory (Am I being dramatic
much?) – an overload of unanswered e-mails, bills and dishes begin to
pile up.”

[...] [...]

Well written. I liked this post. Hits the nail on the head…

Whoever wrote this post is a mindless zombie, succumbing to the system.

In every instance that “ineffective” is used, it should be replaced with “effective”.
Anyone who disagrees with me is, in fact, an “ineffective” person.

Very useful post. Concise, to the point, etc. I
have always been a  very structured person and am very goal oriented (some
may call me anal). The area that I have a problem with is keeping my focus on
one set of tasks when I have several others waiting to be done kicking around
in the back of my mind or in front of my eyes. What are some good techniques or
approaches that I could take to help improve my focus and minimize distraction?
- Thx