9 Habits of Highly Productive People

I have a tradition at the end of each year of examining the habits that have helped me to be more productive, and identifying habits I could discard that never benefited me the way I hoped they would. I also look at the lives of those I believe to be very productive, and examine what habits they have developed that contribute toward their productivity.

Here is a list of habits you may want to consider incorporating into the New Year:

1. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE

I find that my productivity is maximized when I surround myself with productive people.

Working around productive people keeps me from browsing social media without purpose. I eat healthier and I don’t take long breaks. I semi-compete with them because they always look like they’re coming up with great ideas. I have also read and believe that you will end up like the sum of the 5 closest people you hang out with. If this is true, what does your lid of potential look like? Are you scared or encouraged?

2. VISUALIZE AND SET UP YOUR DAY THE NIGHT BEFORE

Before emotional intelligence expert and author of The Other Kind of Smart, Harvey Deutschendorf goes to sleep, he says he makes some basic decisions about the next day like what he’ll wear, what he'll eat for lunch, and what route he plans to take to work. “The less time and energy you take to focus on routine, everyday things, the more you will have to work on what is important,” he explains.

I think having your next day planned out before going to bed helps your mind sort through the day while you sleep. It gives you a sense of purpose from the moment you wake up. Make sure you know the top 3 things you want to complete before you start your day.

3. MAXIMIZE YOUR MOST CREATIVE TIME

I find that I think best in the mornings with fewer interruptions, so I do my best to keep that time open for brainstorming, writing, and meeting with others who inspire and challenge me. I save my necessary meetings for the afternoons, when I am energized from my morning productivity and excited to share my plans with my team and others.

Constantly assess your own productivity, the quality of your work, and your behavior. We should continuously ask ourselves: “What can I do to get more work done faster?” “Should I revisit my priorities?” “Do I need to focus my time better?” “How can I cut time wasters?” “Do I need better task budgets?” and “Do I need to make better plans?”

Self-evaluation and self-improvement is a never-ending process because there is always room to improve. Have fun learning and growing.

4. STAND WHILE YOU WORK

This will be a newer habit for me. I have read about and been told of the benefit of doing this by so many people who I respect, that I must try this out. I am looking into getting a fitbit for myself as well, to help remind me to stand.

I’m going to spend most of my afternoon from 2-4pm standing. This is the time that my body seems to naturally want to slow down and so I will use it as my standing time while I work on my emails, afternoon coaching times, and other such items.

5. SLOW DOWN AND REASSESS TO AVOID GETTING OVERWHELMED

“When you have more things to do than you can count,” says Scott Eblin, author of Overworked and Overwhelmed, “it can quickly throw you into a fight or flight state of being overwhelmed. If you feel yourself getting spun up like that, stop before you start to do anything else.” He instructs us to think of STOP as the acronym for Slow down, Take three deep breaths, Observe what needs to be done most, and then Proceed.

6. PRIORITIZE WHAT MATTERS

One of the secrets to feeling satisfied with your productivity is spending the majority of your time on the things that really matter to you—your priorities.

“When you’re clear on what you want to carry out and the actions that will get you there, it becomes easier to decide what needs to get done and what can either wait for later or not be done at all. Plus—and here’s where the real productivity comes in—we are much more motivated to work on things that truly matter and therefore able to get more done in a shorter period of time.”

7. CLUMP TASKS TO CREATE FLOW

You're more productive if your mind can stay on one task, instead of changing gears. Try to schedule your day around one activity; a day of networking, or a morning of writing and an afternoon of research. I work with all of my coaching students to create this type of theme with their days.

8. CREATE A LIST OF EASY TO-DOS

Carson Tate, author of Work Simply: Embracing the Power of Your Productivity Style, makes a list of tasks that can be done in 15 minutes or less. He suggests we keep this list with us at all times so we can convert those odd moments of time like waiting in line or waiting at the dentist’s office into productive microsegments of work. I enjoy using Todoist as my to-do app of preference.

9. CONSISTENTLY SELF-EVALUATE

Rigorous self-evaluation is the beginning, middle, and end of self-management. It is the essential habit of self-improvement.

Hope you have the most productive year ever!

Todd McKeever
Kidology Coach
www.toddmckeever.com