18 Habits of Highly Productive People - ActiveCampaign

But by studying how they work efficiently and overcome the challenges we all experience, it's possible to boost your own productivity as ... We’veallknownthatpersonwhoalwaysseemstobegettingthingsdone. Whetherafriendoracolleague,thisisthepersonwhoseworkisalwaysdoneearly.Theonewhosomehowmanagestofinishhour-longtasksin20minutes. Theonepeopledescribeasarobotormachine,becausesurelynosimplehumancouldworkasquicklyastheydo. Andyetthesepeopleexist,crankingawayatmaximumefficiency.Whatdothesehighlyproductivepeoplehaveincommon?Howdotheydoit? Thehabitsofhighlyproductivepeople It’stemptingtolookathighlyproductivepeopleasmachines(orwizards).Butbystudyinghowtheyworkefficientlyandovercomethechallengesweallexperience,it’spossibletoboostyourownproductivityaswell. Howdothemostefficientpeopleovercomechallengeslike: Procrastinatingontasks—bothsmall,naggingonesandlarge,challengingones Boringworkthatneedsjusttogetdone Respondingtoemailandothermessageswhileworking Stayingmotivatedandenergizedthroughouttheentireworkday Focusingandfinishingthemostimportantprojectsontheirplates AsmuchasIwouldliketoclaimthestatusof“highlyproductiveperson,”thebestIcandoissay:I’mworkingonit.Butfromreadingarticles,checkingoutbooks,andaskingquestionsofproductivepeople,I’vepulledtogetherthebestadviceIcouldfindontheirproductivityhabits. Whatfollowsare18ofthemostimportanthabitsofhighlyproductivepeople.Fromwaystospendlesstimeonemailstomethodsofstayingfocused,theseproductivitytipscanhelpyoumaximizeyourefficiency—andgetmoredone. Youcan’tbecomemoreproductiveovernight.Butifyoumakesmallchangesandputsomeofthesehabitsintoplace,you’llbewellonyourwaytobecomingmoreefficient. Howtobemoreproductive Increaseproductivityandbecomehighlyefficientwiththesehabits: Focusonmostimportanttasksfirst Cultivatedeepwork Keepadistractionlisttostayfocused UsetheEisenhowerMatrixtoidentifylong-termpriorities Usethe80/20rule Breaktasksintosmallerpieces Takebreaks Makefewerdecisions Eliminateinefficientcommunication Findrepeatableshortcuts Learnfromsuccessesaswellasmistakes Planforwhenthingsgowrong Workbeforeyougetmotivatedorinspired Don’tmultitask Fillthetank—recharge Sharpentheaxe Manageyourenergy(notjusttime) Getbetteratsaying“no” Getmoreproductivewithautomation Getafree14-daytrialofActiveCampaign.Letmarketingautomationhandletheboringstuff(nocreditcardrequired). SignUp 1.Focusonmostimportanttasks(MITs)first Productivitytip–Focusonmostimportanttasks(MITs)firstTweetthis! Youprobablydidn’tgototheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology—butanMITcanhelpyoubemoreproductive. ThetheorybehindMostImportantTasksisthatanygivento-dolisthassometasksthataremoreimportantthanothers.Ifyoufocusonsimplycheckingoffto-dolistitems,you’llendupwithamixofimportantandlessimportanttaskscompleted. Italsoexposesyoutothepotentialforprocrastination—it’seasytospendthewholedaycheckingoffeasy,lessimportantto-dosinsteadofbucklingdownonthehardstuff. Instead,spendafewminutesatthebeginningofyourdaytochoose1–3MITs—thethingsthat,nomatterwhat,youneedtofinishbytheendoftheday. Witharenewedfocusonwhat’simportant,it’seasiertocreateameaningfulto-dolist— makesuretheimportantthingsgetdone. LauraEarnestofWholeLifeProductivity hadthistosayontheimportanceofprioritizationasaproductivityhabit: “LetmesaythatIdistinguishbetweenefficientandeffective,butthatbothareneededforpeakproductivity.Efficientisdoingthingsrightandeffectiveisdoingtherightthings.Sothemostproductivepeopleworkonthehighvaluetasks,makingsurethathowtheyaredoingthosetasksisthebestway. Ialsobelievethatthemostproductivepeopleareabletodiscernwhicharethehighvaluetasks,andareabletoeitherlettheothersgoordelegatethem.It’snotacrazyrushtogeteverythingdone,becausetheyrecognizethattheycan’tgeteverythingdone.” 2.Cultivatedeepwork Productivitytip–cultivatedeepwork(evenifitmeanssayingnomoreoften)Tweetthis! Sometasksarejusthard.There’snosubstitutefordeepwork. Everybodyhasafewdailyto-dosthatcouldbealmostbeknockedoutwhilesleeping.Thesearethetasksthatyouneedpodcaststogetthrough—ifanything,they’rehardtogetyourselftodobecausethey’renotespeciallyinteresting. Atthesametime,sometasksarejustdifficult.Youcan’tmultitaskyourwaytofinishingthem.Youneedtodevoteserioustimeandmentalefforttoknockingthemoutofthepark.Thesetasksarecalled“deepwork.” CalNewportwroteaboutthistypeofworkinhisbestsellingbook,DeepWork:RulesforFocusedSuccessinaDistractedWorld.Newportarguesthattheskillofintensefocusisincreasinglyrare—andthatthosewhocanmasteritareatanenormousadvantage. AfewofNewport’srecommendationstocultivatedeepworkare: Scheduledeepwork:Plandeepworkintoyourscheduleatasimilartimeeveryday,probablyinthemorning.Havingaregulartimetododeepworkhelpsyoumakeitahabit. Getbored:Itsoundscounterintuitivetocallbeingboredaproductivehabit,butbeingcomfortablewithboredomisimportant.Deepworkisn’talwaysenjoyable,andboredomorfrustrationarewhatcauseustoseekoutdistractions.Avoidusingsocialmediaforentertainmentasmuchaspossible,andgetmorecomfortabledoingnothing. Behardertocontact:Emailandotherdistractionscanbereducedbyaskingpeoplewhocontactyoutodomoreworkupfront.Askpeopletoresearchtheirquestionsbeforecomingtoyou,andprovideasmuchinfoaspossibleintheiremails.Samegoesforyou—spendingtimeoncommunicationsinsteadofdashingoffaquickemailcanminimizebackandforth. Knowyourworkhabits:Doyouworkbestinisolation?Withperiodicbreaks?Areyouworkingaroundahecticschedule?Youdon’tneedtooverhaulyourentireschedule—justsetasidesometimefordeepwork. Highlyproductivepeoplehavemasteredtheskillofdeepwork. 3.Keepadistractionlisttostayfocused Productivitytip–keepadistractionlist,tojotdownideasyouthinkofwhileyou'reworkingTweetthis! Withemails,socialmedia,andathousandlittleto-dos,it’seasytogetdistractedwhenyou’retryingtobeproductive. Whetheryou’retryingtofocusondeepworkorjustdealingwithsmallertasks,distractionsarethebaneofproductivity.It’shardtomaintainefficientworkhabitswithdistractionsaround. Onepowerfulmethodofreducingdistractionsiscreatinga“distractionlist.” Keepthislist—whetherit’saGoogleDocoraphysicalpieceofpaper—nearbywhileyou’reworking.Wheneveradistractingthoughtpopsup,writeitdownonthelistandgetbacktowork. Thistechnique,whichisoneofthesecretstothePomodoroTechnique,ispowerfulbecausealotofthetimeyourdistractionslegitimatelyrequireattention. IfI’mdoingdeepworkandsuddenlyrememberabillthatneedstobepaid,orhaveanideaforanewblogpost,thosearethoughtsthatdeserveattention. Theyjustdon’tdeserveitrightnow. Asthoughtsariseduringyourwork,jotthemdown.Onceyoureachabreakinyourwork,youcancomebackandeithertacklethemoraddthemtoyourlargerto-dolist. 4.UsetheEisenhowerMatrixtoidentifylong-termpriorities Productivitytip–usetheEisenhowerMatrixtofindyourimportantbutnoturgenttasksTweetthis! Oneofthedangersofproductivityisafocusontheshortterm.AsmanagementlegendPeterDruckeroncesaid,“thereisnothingsouselessasdoingefficientlythatwhichshouldnotbedoneatall.” Whenyoustudyproductivityhabits,it’seasytofallinto thattrap. Onanygivenworkday,it’seasytogetcaughtupinthingsthatseemimportantrightnow. TheEisenhowerMatrix,usedbyDwightEisenhowertomakedecisionsduringhistimeasageneral,waspopularizedbyStephenCovey’sbookThe7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople.It helpsyoutoquicklydeterminewhatyoushouldworkonandwhatyoushouldignore. TocreateanEisenhowerMatrix,makea2x2square.Ononeaxis,write“important”and“notimportant.”Ontheother,“urgent”and“noturgent.” Source:DevelopGoodHabits Organizingyourto-dolistbasedoneachtask’simportanceandurgencycanhelpyouidentifytime-sinksthataren’tworthit. Areyouspendingmostofyourdaydoingthingsthatareurgentbutnotimportant?Lookforwaystodelegate,automate,oreliminate. Areyouspendingtimeonthingsthataren’timportantorurgent?Ignorethosethings. Areyoumakingtimetoworkonthingsthatareimportantbutnoturgent?Ifyou’relikemostpeople,youcouldbespendingmoretimeinthisquadrant.TheEisenhowerMatrixmakesiteasiertoseewhatmattersandwhatdoesn’t. 5.Usethe80/20rule Productivitytip–usethe80/20ruletofocusyourtimeonthemostimpactfultasksTweetthis! Anotherwaytoprioritizetaskscomesfromthe80/20principle. DiscoveredbyItalianeconomistVilfredoPareto,the80/20rule(alsocalledtheParetoPrinciple)statesthat,inanypursuit,80%oftheresultswillcomefrom20%oftheefforts. Tomaximizeefficiency,highlyproductivepeopleidentifythemostimportant20%oftheirwork.Then,theylookatwaystocutdowntheother80%oftheirschedule,tofindmoretimeforthethingsthatmakethebiggestimpact. Thisemailispartofthe20% Putinyouremailaddress.Onceaweek,we'llsendyouourbestmarketingadvice(thestuffthatgets80%ofresults). SignUp 6.Breaktasksintosmallerpieces Productivitytip–breakdowntasksintoasinglenextstep.Itwillstopprocrastination.Tweetthis! Whydoyouprocrastinate? Thereareavarietyofreasonsthatpeopleprocrastinate,butoneofthemostimportantisthatthetasksontheirto-dolistjustseemtoodaunting. Ifyouhaveto-dolistitemsthatarelargeinscopeandnotveryspecific,tacklingthosetasksbecomeschallenging.Youlookattheitemandthink“Idon’tevenknowwheretostart.” Youcanstartbybreakinglargeto-dosintosmallerto-dos.Setsmallgoalsforeachtask. IfIhaveato-dolistitemlabeled“writeablogpostonproductivity,”it’seasyto(ironically)putitoff—becausethereareafewdifferentplacesIcouldstart. WhatifIbrokethatlargertaskintosmallerchunks?Insteadof“writeablogaboutproductivity,”anexampleofmyto-dolistcouldbe: Lookupkeywordsrelatedtoproductivityandgood,efficienthabits Readthetop 10Googleresultsonproductivity Brainstormothermethodstobecomemoreproductive OrganizetheideasI’vefoundorthoughtofintoanoutline Jotdownanyspecificthoughtsoneachtacticusingbulletpoints Gothroughmybulletpointsoneatatime,tofleshthemoutintofullsections Mylargerto-doitemhasbecomesixsmallertasks.Sure,thatmakesmyto-dolistlonger,butitalsohelpsmegetthingsdonefaster—andIdon’thavetothinkaboutwheretostart. Eachitemonmylistisincrediblyspecific.AllIhavetodoistackletheminorder.Theresultistheblogpostyou’rereadingrightnow. 7.Takebreaks Productivitytip–takingbreaksmakesyoumoreproductive.Ashortbreakevery55minutesisideal.Tweetthis! Nobody,notevenhighlyproductivepeople,canfocusforeighthoursstraight.Itsimplyisn’tpossible.Nomatterhowmanyefficienthabitsyoubuild,youcan’tmaintaindistraction-freefocusforthatlong. That’swhytakingbreaksissoimportant(andresearchshowsitmakespeoplemoreproductive).Evenbreaksthatarejustafewminuteslongcanhelpyourechargeandcomeupwithnewideas. Beproactiveabouttakingbreaks.Whenyoutakebreaks,it’simportanttomakethemstructuredanddeliberate.It’seasytojustifydistractionsas“takingabreak.”Butifyoudon’thavethatbreaktimescheduled,it’spossiblethatyou’reactuallyjustgettingdistracted. MethodslikethePomodoroTechniquecanhelp.ThePomodoroTechniquesuggests25minuteblocksofwork,withshort5minutebreaks.Youworkintenselyforaspecificamountoftime,followedbyintentionallynotworkingforashorteramountoftime.  Schedulingbreakscankeepyoufreshandproductivethroughoutanentireday. 8.Makefewerdecisions(aboutthingsthataren’timportant) Productivitytip–makefewerdecisions.Trytoautomatedecisions,ormakelessimportantdecisionswithouttoomuchthoughtTweetthis! WhilehewasPresident,BarackObamaoncetoldVanityFairthathenevermakesadecisionaboutwhattowear: “You’llseeIwearonlygrayorbluesuits,”[Obama]said.“I’mtryingtoparedowndecisions.Idon’twanttomakedecisionsaboutwhatI’meatingorwearing.BecauseIhavetoomanyotherdecisionstomake.” Somedecisionsareimportant.Mostaren’t.Ifyouwanttobemoreproductive,consideroutsourcingoreliminatingeverydaydecisions. Otherhighlyproductivepeoplehavemadesimilarcommentsabouttheirownefficienthabits.AuthorandentrepreneurRamitSethihaswhathecalls“Ramit’sBookBuyingRule:” “Ifyou’rethinkingaboutbuyingabook,justbuyit.Don’twastefivesecondsdebatingit.Evenoneideamakesitmorethanworththeprice.” Ifyou’retryingtodecidebetweentwobookstoread,Sethiwouldsay:“readthemboth.”There’snopointonwastingyourdecision-makingenergyontheunimportant. 9.Eliminateinefficientcommunication(spendlesstimeonemail) Productivitytip–spendlesstimeonemailbyputtingmoreinformationinyouremails(cutdownback-and-forth)Tweetthis! It’stimewegottotheelephantintheroom:email. Emailisoftenconsideredthebaneofproductivityhabits.Manypeoplespendtheirworkdaywiththeiremailinboxclearlyvisible,respondingtoeverynotificationasitcomesin. AsIsaidinthedeepworksection,there’salotofvalueinreducingthesekindsofdistraction.Onewaytodothatissimplybyminimizingyourinboxandcheckingatspecificintervals. Anotheristobecomemoreefficientinyouremailcommunicationstobeginwith.Inotherwords:Sendbetteremails. Haveyouevertriedtoscheduleameeting,thensentanotherfiveemailsbackandforthtosetaspecifictimeandplace? Whatifyoucouldreducethenumberofemailsittakestoschedulesimplemeetings?Ormakeeachemailmoreprecise,sothatthere’slessbackandforthbeforeyouractuallygettotherealwork? Highlyproductivepeoplereducethenumberofemailstheysendbymakingeachemailclearerandmorevaluable.Thatmightmeaneachemailtakesafewmoreminutestowrite—butitalsoultimatelysavestime. Ifyouneedtoscheduleameetingwithanemployee,don’tjustsentthemanemaillikethis: “Hi[employeename], Iwantedtomeetsowecouldtalkabout[project].Whenisagoodtimeforyou? Best, [yourname]” Anemaillikethatgetsthejobdone,butit’sgoingtoleadtoalotofadditionalschedulingemails. Youractualmeetingisalsogoingtowindupbeingprettyinefficient,asyou’llneedtogothroughtheagendainperson—andtheotherpersonwon’thavetimetothinkthroughanswerstoyourquestions. Abetteremailmightlooklikethis. “Hi[employeename], Iwantedtomeetsowecouldtalkabout[project].Ispecificallywantedtotalkabout: [Projectagendatopic1] [Projectagendatopic2] [Projectagendatopic3] Itookalookatyourcalendar,anditseemslikewe’rebothfreeonTuesdayat10amorWednesdayat1pm.Letmeknowwhatworksbestforyou,andfeelfreetobookmycalendar. Best, [yourname]” Thisemailisalittlelonger.Ittakesalittlebitmorethoughttowrite.Butit’salsomuchmoreefficient.Itwilltakebetween0and2moreemailstosetupthismeeting,andyou’llgoinwithaclearagendaandobjectives. Youcanuseathird-partyschedulerlikeCalendlytomakethiseveneasier.Justsendsomeoneyourlinkandtheycanbookatimethatworksforbothofyou. Fromschedulingmeetingstogivingoutassignmentsoraskingquestions,makeyouremailsaspreciseaspossible.Thistakesalittlebitmoreworkupfront,butultimatelymakesyoumoreefficientandcutsdownonunnecessarywork. 10.Findrepeatableshortcuts—automatetasks Productivitytip–whatdoyoudooverandover?LookfortechthatcanautomatethosetasksTweetthis! Ifyoufindyourselfdoingthesamethingsoverandover,lookforwaystodothosethingsfaster. Thiscanbeassimpleaslearningcommonkeyboardshortcuts,orinvolveautomatingentiresectionsofyourbusiness. Whataresomewaysyoucanfindshortcuts?Hereareafewpotentialexamples: Puttogetherstandardoperatingproceduresforcommontasks,soyoucanquicklyfollowchecklistsinsteadofworkingfromscratch Delegatetaskstointernsorotheremployeeswhereappropriate.(Justmakesureyoufollowupwithandupdateyourteamregularly.) Learnsimplekeyboardshortcutsthatcomeupoften.Ilikeusing“command+shift+t”toopenarecentlyclosedtab,or“command+option+2”tocreateaheadinginGoogledocs. Increaseyourtypingspeed—itseemsobvious,butthedifferencebetween60and90wordsperminutesishuge.AgamelikeTyperacercanhelp(warning:it’saddictive). Usetechnologytotakecareofrepetitivetasks Repetitivetasksaregreatcandidatesforshortcuts,delegation,orautomation.Knockingthemoffyourschedulecansaveyoulotsoftimeandenergy. 11.Learnfromsuccessesaswellasmistakes Productivitytip–learnfromyoursuccesses,notjustyourmistakes.Makeefficientprocessesmoreefficient.Tweetthis! Oneofthechallengesofhighlyproductivepeopleisensuringthatfastworkisalsogoodwork. Whenyou’reworkingquickly,youopenyourselfuptomakingmistakes.Highlyproductivepeopletacklethatriskbylearningandimprovingateverypossiblemoment—sothatproducinggoodworkbecomesintuitive. Learningfrommistakesisobvious(althoughofcoursevaluable).Whensomethinggoeswrong,analyzingthemistakesandlookingforwaystopreventthemisamassivelyvaluablelearningexperience. Asimportant,andmuchlesscommon,islearningfromsuccesses.Whensomethinggoeswell,why? Whenyouhaveasuccess,itcanbetemptingtopopthechampagneandstartcelebrating.Anddon’tgetmewrong—it’sgoodtocelebrateyoursuccesses. Butsuccessesdeserveeverybitasmuchscrutinyasfailures. Highlyproductivepeoplemakethemostofsuccessesbyfiguringouthowtorepeatthem.Whatwentwellandwhy?Whatshouldyoutakefromthisexperienceanduseagain?Arethereelementsofasuccessfulprojectthatweren’taseffectiveandcanbeeliminated? Askingthesequestionshelpsyougofromonesuccesstorepeatedsuccesses.Italsohelpsyouunderstandyoursuccessesonamoreintuitivelevel—whichsavesyoutimewheneveryousitdowntoworkonanewproject. 12.Planforwhenthingsgowrong Productivitytip–makeanif/thenplanforwhenthingsgowrong(beforetheyevergowrong)Tweetthis! Ithappenstoeveryone.Youhavebigplansfortoday—it’sgoingtobeyourmostproductivedayyet—butthenlittlefiresstartpoppingupanddemandingyourattention. Whetheryourfurnacebreaksandyouneedtocallarepairman,alastminutemeetingpopsup,oryouforgottoscheduleintimeforlunch—sometimesthingsgowrong. Highlyproductivepeopleacknowledgetheplanningfallacy:Thefactthateveryoneunderestimateshowlongitwilltaketofinishtasks. Researchontheplanningfallacyshowsthatalotofthereasonforthismisestimationisthatweforgettotakeintoaccounttasksorresponsibilitiesthataren’tyetonourcalendars. Haveyouevertriedtoscheduleameetingandthought“let’sdothisnextweek,nextweeklooksmoreopen?”Butthennextweekcomesaroundandit’sjustasbusyasalways. Highlyproductivepeoplearebetteratrealizingthatnextweekonlyseemsopenbecauseyouhaven’tscheduledityet.Byplanningforinterruptionsandcreatingcontingencyplans,highlyproductivepeoplecanadaptquicklywhenunplannedproblemspresentthemselves. 13.Workbeforeyougetmotivatedorinspired Productivitytip–motivationcomesAFTERproductivity(notbefore).Startbyworkingtogetinspired.Tweetthis! Alotofpeoplelookingtogetmoreproductivehabitstalkaboutneedingtogetinspiredormotivated.Highlyproductivepeopleinsteadfocusongettingstarted—whetherthey’remotivatedornot. InherclassicbookBirdbyBird,authorAnneLamottgivesthisadvicetoaspiringwriters:lookthroughaone-inchpictureframe. Whatdoesthatmean? Itmeansthatyoudon’tneedtotackleeverythingatonce.Whenyouarehavingtroublegettingmotivated,it’softenbecauseyouarelookingatthemassivescopeofaproject. That’sintimidating.It’shardtogetstartedwhenfacedwiththeenormityofatask. Lamotttellswritersnottoworryaboutinspirationormotivation.Juststartwritinginthesmallestpossibleway.Evenifyouneedtostartbydescribingyourownshoes,gettingwords—anywords—onthepageisthefirststep. Thesameappliestoyourwork—evenifyou’renotawriter. Ifyoufeeloverwhelmedorfindyourselfprocrastinating,lookthroughaone-inchpictureframe.Startdoingsomething—likebreakingthetaskintosmallerchunks—andyou’llfinditeasiertokeepgoing. Takingactioniswhatleadstomotivation,whichinturnleadstomoreaction.Highlyproductivepeopledon’twaitformotivation—theystartworkingandthemotivationfollows. 14.Don’tmultitask Productivitytip–Don'tmultitask.Checkingemailorsocialmediacountsasmultitasking.Tweetthis! Withsomanydistractionsinoursurroundings,it’stemptingtofallintothetrapofmultitasking. Don’t. Theresearchonmultitaskingisclear:peoplearebadatit. Thereasonisthat“multitasking”isactuallymisnamed.Whenyoutrytomultitask,youaren’treallydoingtwothingsatonce—you’rerapidlyswitchingyourfocusbetweentwothings. Everytimeyouswitch,youhavetore-focusonthenewtask.Becauseittakesafewminutestogetuptospeedonatask,these“switchingcosts”makemultitaskingextremelyinefficient. Aretheretimeswheremultitaskingisok?Probably. Ifyou’recleaningyourapartmentwhilelisteningtoanaudiobook,you’reprobablygoingtodojustfine.Thereasonisthatthetwotasks—cleaningandlistening—don’tusethesamementalresources. Butifyou’rewritinganemailwhiletryingtofollowthewordsinapodcast,bothtasksarecompetingforyourlanguageresources—yourworkwillslowdownandqualitywillsuffer.Italsozapsyourenergyandmakesyourbrainmoretired,whichmeansthatyouslowyourselfdownonfuturetasks,too. Buthowdoyoustopmultitasking? AvoidingmultitaskingcanbeassimpleasclosingthetabwithyouremailandmutingSlack,email,ortextnotifications.Inmostjobs,waitinganextrahalfhourtorespondtoanemailwon’tbetheendoftheworld. Eliminatingmultitaskingisoneofthemostproductivehabitsyoucandevelop. 15.Fillthetank—recharge Productivitytip–yourenergyisasimportantasyourtimeforproductivity.RechargeTweetthis! Productivitytactics,emailtemplates,andprioritizationarevaluablemethodsofimprovingyourproductivity. Buttheywon’thelpifyouaren’ttakingcareofyourself. Highlyproductivepeoplespendtimerecharging.Thatmeansgettingenoughsleepeverynight,exercising,andeatinghealthy. Ifyouaren’tthinkingstraightorhavetroublefocusing,takealookatyourpersonalhabits.Iknowthat7or8hoursofsleepjustisn’tenoughforme—Ireallyneedcloserto9,andmissingoutonsleepaffectsmyproductivityfordays. Sleep.Exercise.Eatwell.Getoutsideandsoakupsomesunshine.Takingcareofyourhealthyhabitsisacrucialpartofefficientworkhabits. 16.Sharpentheaxe Productivitytip–timespentgettingbetterattaskssavestimeonthosetasksinthefuture(sharpentheaxe)Tweetthis! There’safamousquoteattributedtoAbrahamLincolnthatgoes: “GivemesixhourstochopdownatreeandIwillspendthefirstfoursharpeningtheaxe.” WhetherLincolnactuallysaidthisornotisdebated,butthelessonbehinditisimportant:Ifyouwanttobeproductive,youneedtomakesureyoustaysharp. Inamodernexample,WarrenBuffettandCharlieMungerattributemuchoftheirsuccesstoreading. Byspendingalotoftimereading,becomingmoreknowledgeable,andgettingbetterattheirtrade,theywereabletomakefasterandmoreaccuratedecisions. AsMungeroncesaid: “NeitherWarrennorIissmartenoughtomakethedecisionswithnotimetothink.Wemakeactualdecisionsveryrapidly,butthat’sbecausewe’vespentsomuchtimepreparingourselvesbyquietlysittingandreadingandthinking.” Dedicatetimetoimproving,andyou’llbeabletorespondmoreefficientlytoavarietyofsituations. 17.Manageyourenergy(notjusttime) Productivitytip–manageyourenergy,notjustyourtimeTweetthis! Timemanagementisahugepartofproductivity.Manyoftheproductivityhabitsonthislistwillhelpyoumanageyourtimemoreeffectively. Butjustasimportant—andoftenoverlooked—isenergymanagement. Ifyouareexhaustedandcanbarelythink,itdoesn’tmatterhowmanyhoursareleftintheday.Youwon’tbeabletousethemproductively. Thisisthelogicoftacklingdifficulttasksearlyintheday—byusingyourpeakhoursefficiently,youcangetmoredoneinlesstimebeforeyougettired.JasonFried,founderandCEOofBasecamp,saysthat: “Whilepeopleoftensaythere’snotenoughtime,rememberthatyou’llalwayshavelessattentionthantime.” Highlyproductivepeopleknowthatitisn’tenoughtohavetimetodothings.Managingyourenergy—toensurethatyoutacklethemostintensetaskswhileyouhavetheenergytohandlethem—isanimportanttricktobecomingproductive. 18. Getbetteratsaying“no” Productivitytip–getbetteratsayingno,evenwhenit'suncomfortableTweetthis! It’ssotemptingtosayyes. Newprojectsandopportunitiescropupallthetime.It’seasytogetexcitedbythepossibilities—andthenwindupwithtoomanycommitments. Sayingnoishard.Itmeansconsciouslysettingthingsasidesothatyouhavethetimetoworkonyourmostimportantpriorities.ExpertMarkSheadfromProductivity501hadthistosayabouttheimportanceofsayingno: “PeoplewhoarehighlyefficientarereallygoodatNOTdoingthings. Havinglesstodomeansthatthetimeyouspendonimportantthingsismorefocusedandmoreproductive.Toooftenpeoplethinktheyarebecomingmoreproductivebyfillinguptheirdaywithmoreandmorelow-valuework,butthislow-valueworktakesawayenergyandcreativitythatcouldgotowardhigh-valuework.  ThemostproductiveandefficientpeopleIknowhavefiguredoutwhattheydothatisreallyvaluableandtheyputtheireffortintodoingthattothebestoftheirability.Usually,thismeansthattheystopdoingsome‘good’activitiesinordertofocusonthethingsthataremostimportantforthemandfortheirgoals.”  Conclusion:Howtobemoreproductive Highlyproductivepeoplecanseemlikemagiciansorrobots.Mostofthetime,themostefficientpeopleyoumeethavemanagedtofindwaystoovercomeprocrastinationandotherchallenges. Themostefficientpeoplearen'tnecessarilybrilliant–they'vejustfoundstrategiestobeatprocrastinationTweetthis! Ourproductivitytipscomedownto4mainthings.Here’showtobemoreproductive: Manageyourtimewell Makebetterto-dolists Takecareofyourself Beproactive Andonemoretip:Knowwhentoaskforhelp. Smartpeopleaskforhelp.Productivepeopleadmitwhentheydon’tknowsomething.Whenyouaskforhelpinsteadoftryingtostrugglethroughsomethingonyourown,yousavetime(andfrustration).Makesureyouknowwhoandwhatyourresourcesare—andmakeaskingforhelpahabit. Torecap,herearethe18workhabitsthathighlyproductivepeopleusetobecomemoreefficient: Focusonmostimportanttasks(MITs)first Cultivatedeepwork Keepadistractionlist UsetheEisenhowerMatrix Usethe80/20rule Breaktasksintosmallerpieces Takebreaks Makefewerunimportantdecisions Eliminateinefficientcommunication Findrepeatableshortcuts Learnfromsuccessesaswellasmistakes Planforwhenthingsgowrong Workwithoutgettingmotivatedorinspired Don’tmultitask Fillthetankandrecharge Sharpentheaxeandimproveconstantly Manageenergyaswellastime Getbetteratsaying“no” ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinJanuary2018.UpdatedApril2020.