And it makes me think deeply. What is the difference between highly productive people who went on to achieve amazing success in life and those who are living in mediocrity?
And if the answer is yes, then what do they do to become so effective and productive that they are able to achieve outstanding results in life?
After doing some reading and research on the internet. I found that highly productive people DO share common habits and they have a unique approach to how they plan their life and day.
Sometimes, to be productive, it is not about addition, like developing new habits or using new tools to help you get more done. It is also about subtraction, like getting rid of unproductive habits and doing less of the things that are not getting you the results.
That’s right, highly productive people will never go through their day without having a clear plan or priority. In other words, these people are goal-oriented.
They know what they should accomplish for the day. They have a vision for what they want to achieve in their life. They set goals to help them cut through the noises. And they plan their days, weeks, months, and years in advance.
In my article, How Successful People Set Goals, I shared how Tony Robbins plans his life 20 years ahead. He wrote down his goals and what he wanted to achieve on the back of an old Russian map while traveling on a Siberian train.
And in one of his books, Tony Robbins wrote that when Life Magazine went to interview him, he just pulled out the map to show them all the goals he had written down. As you can see, highly productive people are living with intention. They will never allow themselves to go through their days without having a clear priority or objective.
2. They don’t allow themselves to be distracted
Distractions are everywhere. If you don’t do anything about them, they will eat up your life.
Highly productive people understand that eliminating distractions is better than managing them.
What this means is that they prevent themselves to be distracted by completely eliminating the distractions before they have to deal with them.
For example, this article on Forbes shared that Philippe Wilson, founder of boilerbooker.com, turns his mobile phone off for two-hour blocks in a bid to focus.
First, he turned off his phone intentionally so that he could focus on his work. Second, he created blocks of time for productive work.
Rather than allowing himself open to distractions, Wilson locked himself in his time blocks so that others can’t distract him during those times.
3. They don’t procrastinate
Do I need to explain this more? Highly productive people don’t procrastinate. When they know what they need to do, they just do it.
They don’t make excuses, they don’t waste time, and they don’t delay doing their work.
Procrastination has more to do with your thinking pattern than the task itself. If you need to write a report but you keep procrastinating on it, it is because you have associated ‘pain’ with writing the report.
Working out in the gym can be a daunting task for many, but not Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In the movie Pumping Iron, this was what Arnold said about working out in the gym:
“To me, the pump kind of feels like having sex with a beautiful woman and coming. You know? It just feels fantastic. I am coming all the time, you know! Whether I am at the gym or at home. It’s great!”
This is why successful people don’t procrastinate. Because they love their work so much that they don’t want to procrastinate on it.4. They don’t blame or make excuses
When something needs to get done, they don’t make lousy excuses or blame how they can’t get it done. They don’t allow anything to stand in the way.
For instance, when it rains, they don’t take it as an excuse to stop visiting their clients.
In fact, most productive people choose to work harder during tough times. Just like when it rains, they know their competitors will slack off. And it will be a great time for them to outdo their competitors.
Do you get that? So, don’t play the blame game or make lousy excuses as to why you can’t do it.
Read: 10 Ways How to Take Full Responsibility For Your Life
5. They don’t just do whatever that comes to them
That’s right. Highly productive people are not reactive people. They don’t respond to everything that comes to them. Instead, they are proactive. They do things according to their plans and priority.
That means they follow Pareto’s 80/20 Rule. They work on the most result-yielding tasks first and not just anything.
When a colleague comes to you for help, do you immediately agree? Well, it depends on what kind of help your colleague is looking for.
But when you are working on something important, you don’t want to be distracted. And usually, you can always help someone else once you have got your work done.
And most of the time people don’t need your immediate help. They want your help, but just not at that instant. And that means you can tell them you are working on your priority right now and you will provide the help afterward.
Therefore, don’t become reactive and responds to whatever comes to you. Instead, evaluate the situation and then work on what is most important first.
“What is urgent is seldom important and what is important is seldom urgent.”
6. They don’t overwhelm their life with decisions
What clothes should we put on, where to have breakfast, what to eat for lunch, etc. You get the idea.
So, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself with decision-making.
This is why meetings in the morning can be unproductive. Because it will take too much willpower and thinking power to process.
Here’s an interesting article you should read:
- Mark Zuckerberg sports his iconic gray Brunello Cucinelli t-shirt.
- Barack Obama wears only gray or blue suits.
- Steve Jobs became famous for a black turtleneck, jeans, and New Balance sneakers.
The article went on to say, “Successful people tend to establish a uniform for themselves as it can increase their productivity.”
By making a habit of dressing the same each day, you save time on decision-making.
Thus, don’t overwhelm yourself with too many decisions to make. Instead, automate your decisions.
7. They don’t wait for motivation to work
Instead, they just do. They just take action and do what they need to get done.
If you wait for motivation only to execute, what if motivation doesn’t come? Then you will have wasted your time. What if you don’t feel motivated for the entire week? Are you going to procrastinate for the entire week?
They build habits. They create systems to help them get their work done.
Here are some resources to help:
- Why Motivation Comes and Goes and What You Should Do
- Top 10 Examples of Good Time Management Habits
- What Are Keystone Habits and the 7 Most Common Examples
8. They don’t multitask
This is especially true for tasks and work that require your creativity.
This is because our brains cannot process the two tasks simultaneously.
Studies show multitasking makes us less efficient and more prone to errors. Read this article from Cleveland Clinic to understand more.
Therefore, don’t multitask.
Highly productive people understand this one principle for success – focus.
When you try to chase two rabbits at the same time, you will catch neither.
The same goes for your goals and the tasks you want to achieve. It is better to focus on just one goal than to work on 10 goals at the same time.
Here’s a great saying from the legendary Steve Jobs about what focus means…
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”
9. They don’t say “yes” to everything
Just like the quote from Steve Jobs above, being focused is not about saying yes, it is about saying no and intentionally choosing to focus on things that truly matter.
When you have too many things on your plate, you will never anything done.
Being productive is not just about having a long list of things to do, it is also about elimination.
You want to spend less time on things that don’t matter. We all have the same hours given to Bill Gates, Einstein, and Michelangelo. It is not about having more time, it is about doing what is most productive, and stop doing unproductive things.
“Productivity isn’t about being a workhorse. Keeping busy or burning the midnight oil… It’s more about priorities, planning, and fiercely protecting your time.”
10. They don’t stop innovating and looking for new ways to do things
How you get one thing done doesn’t mean it is the best way or the only way. There are many ways how you can get things done. And productive people are constantly looking for better ways to be more effective and efficient.
Telephones used to be our main mode of communication. But that doesn’t mean it is the best or most effective. Today, people are using emails, instant messaging, and social media to connect with others.
Ages ago, we tend to travel with horses. But are horses the best option? Not really. That’s why people created another type of vehicle, cars.
If you don’t innovate, you will become obsolete. Think about Motorola, Nokia, or Konica.
This is why highly productive people are great learners and innovators. They dare to take risks, and they fail forward.
If you want to want to become highly productive, you must do the same. Dare to venture out of your comfort zone, try out new things, and keep looking for better ways to get even more results.
And this is my list of 10 things highly productive people don’t do. Do you agree with this list?