18 Habits of Highly Productive People: What Efficient People Have in Common

Highly productive people exist, cranking away at maximum efficiency. How do they do it? We’ve all known that person who always seems to be getting things done early. What do these highly productive people have in common? They do it because they work as quickly as a robot or machine

Use the Eisenhower Matrix to identify long-term priorities

Organize your to-do list based on importance and urgency to help you identify time-sinks that aren’t worth it

Are you spending most of your day doing things that are urgent but not important?
Look for ways to delegate or automate tasks that are not important or urgent

Cultivate deep work

Schedule deep work: Plan deep work into your schedule at a similar time every day, probably in the morning.

Get bored: Be comfortable with boredom. Deep work isn’t always enjoyable, and boredom or frustration are what cause us to seek out distractions. Avoid using social media for entertainment as much as possible, and get more comfortable doing nothing.

Keep a distraction list to stay focused

One powerful method of reducing distractions is creating a “distraction list”

Keep this list nearby while you’re working and jot down any distracting thoughts
Once you reach a break in your work, you can come back and tackle them or add them to your larger to-do list

Work before you get motivated or inspired

Focus on getting started, not on being inspired or motivated

Look through a one-inch picture frame and break down the task into smaller chunks to get started
Taking action leads to motivation which in turn leads to more action
Start working and the motivation follows

Plan for when things go wrong

Everyone underestimates how long it will take to finish tasks

A lot of the time, we forget to take into account tasks or responsibilities that aren’t on our calendars
Plan for interruptions and create contingency plans so you can adapt quickly when unplanned problems arise

Use the 80/20 rule

In any pursuit, 80% of the results will come from 20% of efforts

Highly productive people identify the most important 20% and then look at ways to cut down the other 80% to make more time for the things that make the biggest impact

Manage your energy

If you are exhausted and can barely think, it doesn’t matter how many hours are left in the day, you won’t be able to use them productively

Use your peak hours efficiently, you can get more done in less time before you get tired

Break tasks into smaller pieces

Set small goals for each task

This makes the to-do list shorter and easier to tackle.
It also helps get things done faster because you don’t have to think about where to start or where to end up.

How to be more productive

Focus on most important tasks first

Cultivate deep work
Keep a distraction list to stay focused
Use the Eisenhower Matrix to identify long-term priorities
Break tasks into smaller pieces
Make fewer decisions
Eliminate inefficient communication
Find repeatable shortcuts
Learn from successes as well as mistakes
Plan for when things go wrong
Work before you get motivated or inspired
Don’t multitask
Manage your energy
Get better at saying “no”

Conclusion: How to be more productive

Manage your time well

Make better to-do lists
Take care of yourself
Be proactive
Know when to ask for help
Focus on the most important tasks
Cultivate deep work
Keep a distraction list
Use the Eisenhower Matrix
Break tasks into smaller pieces
Eliminate inefficient communication
Find repeatable shortcuts
Learn from successes as well as mistakes
Plan for when things go wrong
Work without getting motivated or inspired

The habits of highly productive people

Most efficient people overcome challenges

Procrastinating on tasks
Responding to email and other messages while working
Staying motivated and energized throughout the entire work day
Focusing and finishing the most important projects
These productivity tips can help you maximize your efficiency

Don’t multitask

“Multitasking” is actually misnamed

When you try to multitask, you are rapidly switching your focus between two things. Every time you switch focus, you have to re-focus.
Eliminating multitasking is one of the most productive habits you can develop.

Sharpen the axe

If you want to be productive, you need to make sure you stay sharp

Dedicate time to improving, and you’ll be able to respond more efficiently to a variety of situations
Spend time reading, becoming more knowledgeable, and getting better at your trade

Make fewer decisions

Some decisions are important, but most aren’t

Think about outsourcing or eliminating everyday decisions to become more productive
Ramit Sethi’s “Ramit’s Book Buying Rule”
If you’re buying a book, just buy it. Don’t waste time debating it.

Eliminate inefficient communication (spend less time on email)

Minimize your inbox and check at specific intervals

Become more efficient in your email communications to begin with
Send better emails
Make each email more precise so there’s less back-and-forth before getting to the work
Highly productive people reduce the number of emails they send by making them clearer and more valuable

Focus on most important tasks (MITs) first

Any given to-do list has some tasks that are more important than others

Spend a few minutes at the beginning of your day to choose 1-3 MITs – the things that, no matter what, you need to finish by the end of the day

Get better at saying “no”

Saying no means consciously setting things aside so that you have the time to work on your most important priorities

Having less to do means more focused and more productive
The most productive and efficient people do what they do because they figure out what is really valuable and put their effort into doing that to the best of their ability

Find repeatable shortcuts – automate tasks

Repetitive tasks are great candidates for shortcuts, delegation, or automation.

Utilize technology to take care of repetitive tasks (e.g. Typeracer, Delegate tasks to interns or other employees where appropriate)

Learn from successes as well as mistakes

When something goes well, why?

What went well and why? What should you take from this experience and use again? Are there elements of a successful project that weren’t as effective and can be eliminated?
These questions help you go from one success to repeated successes.