Over the years, I have met a lot of productive people, who are achieving their goals. I have noticed that there is a common trait in almost all of them: they follow routines and habits consistently.
If you want to be successful in life, you cannot avoid this. You have to be a person of habit. And the more consistent you are, the more successful you become.
When we see people who are achieving their goals in life, we may fall into the trap of thinking that they are smarter and more talented than we are. But it’s not true.
Most effective people have figured out in what conditions they work best. And they have created the necessary habits and routines to create the results they want. They lead the life they plan and dream of.
The good news is that you can do this too. You just have to be intentional.
Here are 6 habits highly productive people follow — and that you can add to your life as well:
Start the day right
1. Exercise and feed your mind
Decide in advance what you want to do in the morning. This can include time for reading and vigorous exercise, to prime your day for success.
Then, once the alarm goes off, get out of bed and get after it. Start your day with intention.
Jocko Willink posts a daily photo at 4:30 am in his gym, ready to exercise, to hold himself accountable and motivate others.
2. Plan your day for productivity
Highly productive people have ambitious plans and numerous projects they want to complete. They know that in order to achieve these, they need a specific plan of action.
There are multiple options to plan your day and you need to choose what works for you.
- Timeblocking is a tried and tested approach. It is a method that many high-achievers follow, like Elon Musk and Bill Gates. With timeblocking, you decide what you want to complete and then give every minute of your day a job. You block time on your calendar and assign it to specific tasks.
- Making a list the night before: You can also decide on a list of tasks to complete, the night before. You prioritize it and work sequentially on your list until you complete it.
- Having a Daily Highlight: Google’s Jake Knapp suggests you have a Highlight for your day, your most important task and work with focus on this. Everything else remains on the backburner.
The point of this habit is to have a plan for getting your work done and follow it consistently.
Work with focus
3. Create an environment free of distraction and work with focus
Research has shown that the most productive programmers have created an environment that is free from distraction.
- You can reduce distractions by removing notifications from your phone or even putting it in “Do Not Disturb” mode when working on a difficult task.
- Negotiate with your boss specific times during the day when you will work with focus, on difficult projects. Put it on your calendar as Deep Work time.
- Take advantage of your two most productive hours of the day. These are generally between 9am and 11am, according to Duke University professor Dan Ariely.
“ One of the saddest mistakes in time management is the propensity of people to spend the two most productive hours of their day on things that don’t require high cognitive capacity (like social media)”
— Dan Ariely
Work with focus on your most important task for these first two hours of the day, when your mind is primed for peak productivity.
4. Be intentional about saying no
As people become successful, they attract more requests for their time and pitches for potential opportunities.
It’s easy to say yes and hard to say no.
But to continue focusing on what’s most important, these high-achievers have figured out ways to be intentional about saying no.
A good example of this process is the “Yes-No-Yes” approach, outlined in the book “The Power of a Positive No” by William Ury. Using this method, you can set clear expectations of a no answer, while framing it in a positive light.
Prepare for success — the night before
5. Perform After Action Reviews
Successful people make time for self reflection in their day or during their weekly review.
In addition to journaling their thoughts, they also perform an after action review. They reflect on what went well, what needs improvement and why. Then, they think how they can improve themselves the next time.
By maintaining a growth mindset, by believing that tomorrow can be better than today, they maintain the ability to constantly improve through their habits and routines.
6. Get enough sleep
It’s easy to get carried away with working late, or browsing on social media and watching Netflix every night. However, in order to perform at our peak, it is particularly important to get enough sleep.
So make sleep a priority: turn off your phone, turn off the lights and aim to get the recommended 7–8 hours of sleep, every night.
I have committed to following all of these habits for a while now.
And the real benefit for me is this: whenever I am intentional about following them, the more growth and self-fulfillment I see in my life.
Question:
Which of these habits do you follow in your daily life? How have they helped you succeed?
And which habit do you struggle most with?
Share your answer in the comments below.
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