3 Habits of Insanely Productive People
Easy tactics you can steal from successful individuals.
Could you use a boost of productivity in your life?
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, I’m obsessed with productivity. I’m always willing to try out and incorporate new and useful strategies into my life to create the best content, stay on top of my business and still have that work-life balance.
I never thought I would struggle to work from home, especially if I was doing something I genuinely love — but I’m human. I’m easily distracted, and I often find myself scrolling through Amazon, wondering what other unnecessary items I should buy next.
I read a report that, on average, we experience an interruption every 7–8 minutes per hour. So in an 8-hour workday, that’s approximately 60 interruptions. Add into account that an average interruption takes about five minutes, so that is about 5 hours out of 8.
According to Gloria Mark, who studies digital distraction at the University of California, she says,
It takes an average of about 25 minutes (23 minutes and 15 seconds, to be exact) to return to the original task after an interruption.
I don’t know about you, but I can definitely confirm that it takes me a long time to get back into the flow of things after placing multiple unnecessary Amazon orders and triple-checking Instagram. This is why I decided to start researching what other successful people were doing to stay on task.
With that being said, here are 3 that have worked for me as well as other insanely productive individuals.
Start with something achievable.
A lot of times, we procrastinate because our tasks feel too daunting.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham published findings from their exploration of 83 separate studies on energy and self-control. They found that self-control and energy are not only linked —but they also tire in a way that’s similar to a muscle.
Even if we don’t always realize it, we struggle to exert self-control and focus on our work as the day goes on. As our self-control wears out, we start to feel tired and find tasks to be more and more difficult, and our mood starts to go downhill.
The trick isn’t to spend your morning hours working; it’s actually to do the right things in the morning that will enable you to feel more energized throughout the day and allow your self-control to last as long as possible.
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” — Steve Jobs
A lot of people say to start the day with the most difficult tasks on your agenda. Personally, I’ve always found that starting the day with something more achievable and enjoyable works far better because I’m not only more inclined to do it, but it reenergizes me knowing that a few hours after I’ve woken up, I’ve already accomplished 2–3 things.
It doesn’t matter how minor they might be; for instance, if you want to read for a certain amount of time, the chances of you actually reading if you put it off for the end of the day is unlikely. You’re going to be too tired; however, if you start your day with that type of task, you’ll feel inspired and more driven to move on to the next thing.
Incorporate strategies such as time blocking.
The key to time blocking is organizing tasks that need to be completed and setting aside a specific timeframe to focus primarily on those things. This will prevent multitasking and interruptions from dictating your day-to-day life. As a result, you’ll be able to cross off items from your to-do-list much faster, and you’ll be more productive.
I’ve been utilizing time blocking since January 1st, and it’s been the most effective productivity strategy I’ve tried.
Unlike Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, who uses time blocking to schedule his day in intervals as small as 5 minutes. I prefer to do it in 60-minute blocks.
The first few hours of my morning are crucial; I give myself the very first hour. From 5–6 am, I do my skincare routine, meditate, drink coffee, and journal. Then, from 6–8, I write. I give myself an hour’s break to exercise and shower, and I’m back at my computer around 9. I stay busy with my tasks until noon when I have lunch and a walk break.
You’ll feel such a relief when you realize that you’ve accomplished X amount of tasks by 10–11 am. And, the rest of the day will feel more focused and infinitely easier.
They don’t allow failure to discourage them.
Productive people don’t allow failure to discourage them. Instead of over-analyzing and wondering why things aren’t working out for them, they treat each failure as an opportunity to improve.
Elon Musk says,
“You should be failing. If things aren’t failing, you’re not innovating enough.”
Writer Alyssa Satara wrote in an article for Inc Magazine that if you allow your failures to be lessons, you’ll eventually learn to pivot and create things you otherwise wouldn’t have.
If you look at successful entrepreneurs who created companies like Tesla, Apple, and Amazon, it’s easy to think they all had it easy, and their company growth happened out of thin air. In reality, the only reason they were so successful is that they were able to utilize their innovation to create solutions for customers.
For example, Blockbuster was an incredible idea. I can still remember going there every Friday night with my mom to get new films to watch over the weekend. However, Netflix came in and pushed the boundaries of innovation.
PayPal was voted the worst business idea of the year in 1999 when it was released as a security software for the PalmPilot and other handheld devices. However, Musk and co-founder Max Levchin shifted gears and focused on creating an online wallet, which started to gain traction.
It’s imperative to roll with the punches. Adjust when necessary. It might sound straightforward, but too many startups (and people) allow their obsession with a particular product idea to blind them and prevent them from understanding the market.
I had this raging obsession with creating a particular type of content with my YouTube channel. However, I constantly felt discouraged when I got little to no positive results from it. Old me would have given up a long time ago, but the new me told myself that failure isn’t always rejection. Usually, it’s a redirection into something different and potentially something even better.
As long as you keep trying and putting yourself out there, you’ll innovate something incredible.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” — Dale Carnegie
These are 3 simple strategies I’ve been utilizing and have experienced incredible results with. The most important thing is to always do what works best for you, but be open-minded because you never know what wild idea might actually end up working in your favor.