5 Productivity Habits from Einstein & Da Vinci
You can trust these geniuses.
The word “productivity” makes you want to roll your eyes and start scrolling through memes.
But hear me out: what if some of the smartest minds in history — you know, Einstein, Da Vinci, that kind of crowd — knew a few practical tricks about getting things done?
This is about unlocking the kind of focus and creativity that has you making mental breakthroughs you never thought possible.
In this article, I’ll show you 5 productivity habits from Da Vinci & Einstein.
1 — Stay Curious
All the greats of history like Albert Einstein have one thing in common: they stayed curious until the very end.
If you want to stay productive, you have to stay curious.
When you don’t want to learn or develop any new skills, you’ll most likely won’t be productive either.
As kids, we used to be curious about anything. Asking the “why” question a lot. Why don’t we do that anymore? Why do we accept most things as they are and keep going?
If you want to increase productivity, start asking more why questions.
Discover what you’re interested in and don’t let other people hold you back from asking even more questions. Don’t think you’re stupid, you just want to know more.
2 — Paying Attention & Being a Great Observer
People who talk a lot are very annoying.
Not on a level that I’m not interested in what they’re saying, mostly because I think that they should stop and listen for once.
Just stop giving and start observing.
When you pay attention to the things around you, you’ll notice a lot more and feel better. This also allows you to notice flaws in your work which makes you better at it.
That’s where you’ll gain some productivity.
Start actively observing what you are doing. Like a helicopter. Circle yourself when you’re working and see what things go well and not so well.
This is exactly what Leonardo Da Vinci did.
Careful observation with his sketching and journaling until he perfected his work.
3 — Deep Concentration
I call these flow states.
When you want to become more productive and get more work done, you need to get into these flow states. Just a period where you can’t be disturbed and just go with the ‘flow’.
It’s this capacity that made people like Einstein who they were.
You cut out the distractions and you just go.
What you can do to achieve this is to get rid of your phone, and put it in another room. Or turn off your notifications (mobile and computers). Create the best possible environment for the work you have to do.
Then apply the block method and schedule blocks of work in your calendar and focus. Make them for single-task purposes and get your work done in the selected time frame.
Don’t get distracted and you’ll feel and will be more productive.
4 — Multidisciplinary Interests
This perfectly ties in with ‘staying curious’.
Leonardo Da Vinci is the perfect example of this. He mastered the arts of painting, writing, and sculpting and besides that, he was an engineer and created things that would benefit the entire world.
He could only get this far with his interest in all these subjects.
If you want to grow and become more productive, learn about different things and you’ll get better at them — this way you might even have to use them in your profession. Makes you more productive.
Cross-pollination is a great way to learn more skills and be more valuable to other people in terms of work.
So try finding a hobby that will enrich your life.
5 — Use Iteration-Based Working Methods
I’m a software engineer. We do this all the time.
We work in iterations, an Agile method. We don’t plan out everything we’re going to do from week 1 to the last one.
We work in sprints.
Mistakes happen at work, all the time. You’ll need a method to limit the amount of impact it has on the product if a mistake happens.
Working in iterations helps you. Because you can adjust before the product goes live.
It’s a cycle.
You research, design, develop, and reflect. If something’s wrong, you go back to the drawing table and alter it in the next round. This makes sure you don’t have a bugging product in the end.
Normalize this — it will help you.
Final Thoughts
With all these different production habits from Leonardo Da Vinci and Einstein, you’ll see the power of simple habit-building.
These two men have dominated science in the past, you can trust their methods.
What you need to do right now is implement at least one of these 5 in the next time you’re doing some work. For example, when you’re going to write an article, make sure to get into that flow state — it will give you a much better article.
Let me know what you’re going to do!
