Most of us are pretty low down on the food chain and we dance to the tunes of those higher up. But we’re all looking to be successful in life. What are the things that are desirable by our bosses ? How can one be efficient at work ? And there are those things that hold us back from reaching our full potential. And, often, we don’t recognize them until someone points them out. A general rule would be, the more control we have over our time the more effective our work can be. Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them. You need to come out of the wilderness and make it happen. So here we go with the 5 Important Productivity Habits to help you fuel your aspirations of a madly successful career.
1. Starve your Distractions and Feed your Focus.
I am not going to name them. Distractions come in all shapes and sizes. So check emails, say only twice a day unless absolutely necessary and leave social media for home. Also, follow the 80/20 rule, known as the Pareto Principle, where in most cases, 80% of results come from only 20% of activities. Ultra-productive people know which activities drive the greatest results. Focus on those and ignore the rest.
2. Use a notebook and schedule everything on your calendar.
Richard Branson has said on more than one occasion that he wouldn’t have been able to build Virgin without a simple notebook, which he takes with him wherever he goes. Productive people free their minds by writing everything down as the thoughts come to them. And it turns out that only 41% of items on to-do lists ever get done. All those undone items lead to stress and insomnia so what better reminder than the trusty old calendar. And have a plan about what you want to achieve everyday. In fact write it down on your calendar.
3. Take a break like the Swedish do.
The word “fika” is used as both a noun and a verb, and is derived from the Swedish word for coffee (kaffe), a national obsession for the world’s third-largest coffee drinking nation. Unlike the American-style caffeine jolt, the Swedish coffee break is a moment to literally leave work behind. Taken first around 10am and then at 3pm, it’s not a strategy for multi-tasking, or for fitting in another mini-meeting; it’s a chance to relax in the company of colleagues. The longstanding Swedish social ritual doesn’t necessarily even have to involve coffee—the key is to pause your day. The gist of the matter, stay fresh so that you can work better, so that you can enhance your creativity.
4. Try New Things.
As you progress in your field, it can be easy to stick with what works. The trouble is that when you get older, you have many routines that come from memory of past successes. The past may not work in the future. Instead of becoming set in your ways, people who have great ideas have formed the habit of trying something different. If you always order the same thing at your favorite restaurant, you are an old person. Try something new—maybe something you didn’t like when you were younger. Or do something you aren’t familiar with. You’ll feel young and you’ll experience new things and ideas. It’s a sure fire way to stay ahead of the pack.
5. The Discipline of Believing.
The difference between the average person and the high achiever is a commitment to belief—because possessing the unqualified belief that you are capable of doing something is the first step to achieving it. There’s a redemptive power that making a choice has. Decide what you’re going to be, who you are going to be and then how you are going to do it. From that point on, the universe is going to get out of your way. When you commit, really commit to a choice, then everything else will fall into place to make it happen for you. Your decisions will be guided by your mindset.