Super productive people are no different from everyone else. In addition, they value their time and know-how to use it. Sometimes trivial and simple things can help you save a lot of resources and significantly improve your work efficiency. Travis Bradberry has put together 11 things for Inc that productive people don’t do the same way everyone else does.
When it comes to productivity, we all face the same problem – there are only 24 hours a day.
However, sometimes it seems that some people have twice as much time: they have some kind of supernatural ability to keep up with everything. Even if they run multiple projects, they achieve their goals and avoid failure.
“TIME IS THE ONLY CAPITAL THAT A MAN HAS AND THE ONLY THING THAT HE CANNOT ALLOW HIMSELF TO LOSE” – THOMAS EDISON.
We all want to get more out of life. There is hardly a better way to achieve this goal than finding a way to wisely manage the allotted time.
Leaving the office after a really productive day is a very pleasant experience. The so-called “working euphoria”.
With the right approach, you can achieve this condition every day.
To do this, you do not need to work longer, or actively stimulate yourself. You just need to work smarter.
Super productive people know this. They rely on productivity hacks to make them much more effective. They squeeze every second out of every hour without wasting time.
The great thing about these hacks is that they are easy to use. So much so that you can start doing it today.
Read it, use it, and you will see how your productivity will grow.
- Don’t do things twice
Productive people never procrastinate because doing a task twice is a waste of time. Don’t put off a letter or phone call. As soon as something gets into your area of attention, either do it, or delegate, or delete.
- Prepare for tomorrow before leaving the office
Productive people end each day by preparing for the next. This practice solves two problems: it helps you structure what you’ve done today, and it helps you to be productive tomorrow. Takes only a couple of minutes, but it’s a great way to end your work day.
“EVERY MINUTE SPENT ON PLANNING IS WORTH HOURS OF WORK” – BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
- Eat a frog
“There is a frog” is an American phraseological unit that means “to do something deeply unpleasant.” “Eat a frog” is the best cure for procrastination, and superproductive people start with it every morning. In other words, they do the most unpleasant and uninteresting tasks before everyone else. After that, they start doing the things that really inspire them.
- Fight the “tyranny of the urgent”
The tyranny of the urgent is when the small tasks that need to be done right now waste time away from what really matters. This poses a big problem because urgent action usually has very little effect.
If you succumb to the “tyranny of the urgent,” you may find that you are not doing important tasks for days, and sometimes weeks. Productive people know how to notice in time when “burning” cases begin to kill productivity and prefer to ignore or delegate them.
- Follow the schedule of meetings
Meetings are the biggest time killers. Superproductive people know that a meeting can go on forever if you don’t set a strict time frame for it, so they inform attendees of the schedule from the beginning. The time limit prevents relaxation and makes everyone more efficient and focused.
- Say no
“No” is a powerful word that super-productive people are not afraid to use. When they have to say no, they don’t use phrases like “I don’t think I can,” “I’m not sure,” and the like. When you say no to a new commitment, you show respect for those already taken and are able to successfully fulfill them.
A study from the University of California San Francisco found that the harder it is for you to say no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout at work, and even depression. Learn to use this word, and you will improve both your mood and your productivity.
- Check email only at the designated time.
Super productive people don’t let emails constantly distract them. Not only do they check mail only at certain times, they use features that allow you to sort emails by sender. They set up notifications for emails from the most important vendors or users, and postpone the rest until a certain moment. Some people even put an answering machine that says when they next check their mail.
- Don’t do multiple things at the same time.
Super productive people know multitasking is a productivity killer. Research from Stanford has confirmed that multitasking is less effective than working on one task at a time. Researchers have found that people who are constantly bombarded with electronic information are unable to concentrate, process data, or switch from one job to another as well as performing one specific task.
But what if there are people with an innate multitasking ability? Scientists from Stanford compared groups of people based on their predisposition to multitasking and belief that it is good for their productivity. They found that hardcore multitaskers – those who do a lot of things at the same time and feel that it improves their results – were worse in this field than those who prefer to do one thing. Constant multitaskers performed worse because they had problems organizing their own thoughts and filtering out unnecessary information. They were slower to switch from one task to another. Oops.
Multitasking reduces your efficiency because your brain is able to focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at the same time, your brain lacks the power to do both tasks successfully.
- Drop out of society
Don’t be afraid to drop out of society when needed. Give a trusted person a phone number to call in an emergency. Let this be your filter. Everything must pass through this person, and if he does not consider this matter to be of critical importance, let him wait. This strategy is a bulletproof way to finish high-priority projects.
“SOME MEET WEEKLY GOALS PER YEAR AND OTHERS ARE ANNUAL PER WEEK” – CHARLES RICHARDS.
- Delegate
Superproductive people accept the fact that they are not the only smart and talented people in the organization. They trust people with part of their work to focus on their core business.
- Make technology work for you
Technology can be devastating, but it can also help you focus. Super productive people make technology work for them. In addition to setting up email filters that sort and prioritize email, they use apps like IFTTT that set up connections between other apps and notifications about things that really matter. So if your stock peaks or you receive an email from a top buyer, you will be in the know.
Author – Date-n-Play