By adminWinning habits you need to adopt today!
We have all come across highly productive people who seem to get everything done on time or early. Whether a friend or a colleague, we have seen people who accomplish more than an average person and are able to optimize their daily lifestyle to accommodate hobbies, healthy personal habits and more.
How do these people always work at maximum efficiency? Do these highly productive individuals have habits in common? The answer is, yes. And the good news is, you can adopt these winning habits too.
Some daily challenges we all face every day are-
– Procrastinating
– Having to complete mundane tasks that need to be done
– Focusing
– Prioritising tasks
– Staying motivated and energized throughout the day
It is no different for highly productive people. The difference is in the attitude used to tackle these challenges and some simple habits that can get things done more easily.
Here are 12 highly effective habits that can make you productive-
1. Always prioritize the most difficult task at hand while making your checklist. You can include 1-3 high priority tasks and fit smaller, easier tasks around it. Schedule deep work time so you have plenty of time to dedicate to such tasks. This habit ensures you have no room to procrastinate.
2. Keep a distraction list. Have a sheet of paper and a pen handy to jot down distracting thoughts that pop up. Physically writing the distraction down is your way of ensuring you don’t dwell on the thought for too long and waste time. If the thought is important, you can always go back to your list later.
3. Create a Do-Plan-Delegate-Eliminate list. Organizing your tasks this way helps prioritize based on urgency and importance. Accept that not every task needs to be done by you or done at all. Think long term to make sure you aren’t wasting time on something that may seem important now, but may actually be redundant.
4. Adopt the 80-20 rule. 20% of your efforts yield the results in any pursuit. Find ways to cut down 80% unnecessary effort off your schedule to maximize efficiency. Do only what absolutely needs to be done.
5. Break tasks into smaller sub-tasks. It helps avoid procrastination while giving you the satisfaction of having checked off more items on your list. Identify milestones along the task to focus on getting them done one at a time.
6. Schedule breaks. It helps avoid distractions. Intentionally stop working for about 5 minutes to let yourself rest after every 25 minutes of work. This is known to keep you energized as well as creative.
7. Don’t spend too much time making unimportant decisions. Such things include what to wear, eat, etc. Outsource or eliminate decision-making about things that aren’t going to significantly change your life if done differently. It helps save energy, space in your mind, and time.
8. Find a way to automate repeated tasks. If you are in a team or leading it, come up with a standard operating procedure to accomplish repetitive tasks. Consider delegating it to juniors/interns. Use technology to come up with shortcuts when possible.
9. Constantly learn from mistakes. Analyze it and find ways to prevent it. Create a personal feedback loop to ensure you constantly learn from mistakes and make yourself better. This habit gets you closer to success. It also helps to be prepared with a plan before things go wrong.
10. Don’t wait for motivation or inspiration. Focus on getting started. Breaking your task down into smaller chunks is a great way to get started if the enormity of the task overwhelms you. It gives you the confidence to begin.
11. Don’t multitask, especially when you need the same mental resources to get both done. Rapidly switching your attention between two or more tasks doesn’t let you complete any of them efficiently. Focus on checking off one task at a time.
12. Learn to say no. It is a conscious decision you need to make, so you get what’s already on your plate done. Do what you already have to do to the best of your ability, without mindlessly taking on other tasks that you know will make you less productive.
In conclusion, remember that all these habits work best when you are your best self. Learn to put yourself first and take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. Eat, sleep, and do things other than work that make you happy. Ask for help if you need it.
Make it a habit to reflect on each day to identify what you are doing right and what can be made better. Physically write your thoughts down on paper to give your thoughts more clarity as you evaluate your own day.