Catapult Your Productivity!
by Damon G. Zahariades.
If you want to reach higher levels of productivity, you need to develop habits that support and complement your workflow.
Being productive on a continual basis requires focus, energy and diligence. It entails giving your brain and body the resources they need to work efficiently, day in and day out.
Here are the 10 habits that will help catapult your productivity.
- Wake Up Early
- Start Working Immediately Upon Waking
- Track How Effectively You Use Your Time
- Focus On Tasks That Contribute To High-Value Projects
- Create Effective Task Management Lists
- Stick To A Healthy Diet
- Be Unreachable
- Maintain An Unflappable 80/20 Attitude
- Be An Anti-Perfectionist
- Concentrate On One Item At A Time
Habit #1: Wake Up Early
Many productive people wake up early. Their reasons vary, but they have few common motivations:
- There are fewer people awake during the early morning hours. Hence, there are fewer interruptions to confront.
- They have more control over their time.
- Their minds are more engaged (once the initial grogginess fades).
- They can get more work done without the distractions and interruptions that pepper their day during normal work hours.
Habit #2: Start Working Immediately Upon Waking
To make the most of the morning hours, get to work as quickly as possible after waking.
Get something accomplished as soon as you wake up. Having a few things crossed off your to-do list will give you a sense of achievement and set the tone for the rest of the day.
Habit #3: Track How Effectively You Use Your Time
There are several online time-tracking tools you can use for free.
My favorite is Toggl because it’s simple and free. Toggl will keep track of the amount of time you spend on various types of activities according to how you organize your account.
Habit #4: Focus On Tasks That Contribute To High-Value Projects
To be productive, you must distinguish between the tasks that will contribute directly to your long-term goals and those that only play a minimal role to that effect. Your time is limited. Spend it on the tasks that will give you the greatest leverage on your high-value, high-priority projects.
The Pareto Principle, often referred to as the 80/20 rule, comes to bear on Habit #4 in a big way. You’ve no doubt heard that 80% of your desired results will stem from 20% of your activities. That means 80% of the activities on which you’re spending your time are having a minimal effect on your goals.
Habit #5: Create Effective Task Management Lists
The age-old To-Do List. It’s one of the most useful productivity tools you have at your disposal.
Focus your efforts on the tasks that matter.
Deadlines drive action. Without them, we’re more inclined to postpone the completion of tasks.
Prioritizing tasks help you focus on the important tasks and get them finished on timed.
Habit #6: Stick To A Healthy Diet
If you want to increase your productivity, getting more done and having more free time on your hands, you need to give your body access to the right resources.
Habit #7: Be Unreachable
Email, social media, texts, phone calls, chat sessions, and random knocks on your front door – all are interruptions that can derail your workflow. They not only distract you from getting work done, but they also disrupt your momentum.
Interruptions demolish your productivity. Repeated interruptions can have a catastrophic effect on your productivity.
Habit #8: Maintain An Unflappable 80/20 Attitude
You’ve no doubt heard of the Pareto Principle. It states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
Applying the Pareto Principle is one of the most important habits you can develop if you want to increase your productivity.
By applying the 80/20 rule to your life, you’ll be more inclined to weed out the peripheral activities that offer little value. In doing so, you’ll free up more time that can be used toward more productive and rewarding ends.
Habit #9: Be An Anti-Perfectionist
Most of us are perfectionists. We want to do things right and are willing to put in the necessary time and effort to make it happen.
The problem with perfectionism is that it’s inconsistent with maintaining a high level of productivity. The two are like oil and vinegar. They don’t mix.
Habit #10: Concentrate On One Item At A Time
Avoid multitasking. It hinders the productivity.
Bonus Habit: Be Selfish With Your Time
Master the art of saying No if you are in the middle of a planned task.
Do you want to read more about these habits?