12 Things Highly Productive People Do

Differently.
Being highly productive is not an innate talent, its simply a matter of
organizing your life so that you can efficiently get the right things done.
So, what behaviors define highly productive people? What habits and
strategies make them consistently more productive than others? And what
can you do to increase your own productivity?
Here are some ideas to get you started
1. Create and observe a TO-DONT list.
A TO-DONT list is a list of things not to do. It might seem amusing, but its
an incredibly useful tool for keeping track of unproductive habits, like
checking Facebook and Twitter, randomly browsing news websites, etc.
Create one and post it up in your workspace where you can see it.
2. Organize your space and data.
Highly productive people have systems in place to help them find what they
need when they need it they can quickly locate the information required to
support their activities. When youre disorganized, that extra time spent
looking for a phone number, email address or a certain file forces you to drop
your focus. Once its gone, it takes a while to get it back and thats where
the real time is wasted. Keeping both your living and working spaces
organized is crucial.
3. Ruthlessly eliminate distractions while you work.
Eliminating all distractions for a set time while you work is one of the most
effective ways to get things done. So, lock your door, put a sign up, turn off
your phone, close your email application, disconnect your internet
connection, etc. You cant remain in hiding forever, but you can be twice as
productive while you are. Do whatever it takes to create a quiet, distraction
free environment where you can focus on your work.
4. Set and pursue S.M.A.R.T. goals.
These goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
5. Break down goals into realistic, high impact tasks.
Take your primary goal and divide it into smaller and smaller chunks until
you have a list of realistic tasks, each of which can be accomplished in a few
hours or less. Then work on the next unfinished, available task that will have
the greatest impact at the current time. For example, if you want to change

careers, that goal may be driven by several smaller goals like going back to
school, improving your networking skills, updating your resume or getting a
new certification. And each of these smaller goals is supported by even more
granular sub-goals and associated daily tasks. And it is these small daily tasks
that, over time, drive larger achievement.
6. Work when your mind is fresh, and put first things first.
Highly productive people recognize that not all hours are created equal, and
they strategically account for this when planning their day. For most of us,
our minds operate at peak performance in the morning hours when were well
rested. So obviously it would be foolish to use this time for a trivial task like
reading emails. These peak performance hours should be 100% dedicated to
working on the tasks that bring you closer to your goals.
7. Focus on being productive, not being busy.
Dont just get things done, get the right things done. Results are always more
important than the time it takes to achieve them. Stop and ask yourself if
what youre working on is worth the effort. Is it bringing you in the same
direction as your goals? Dont get caught up in odd jobs, even those that seem
urgent, unless they are also important.
8. Commit your undivided attention to one thing at a time..
Stop multi-tasking, and start getting the important things done properly.
Single-tasking helps you focus more intently on one task so you can finish it
properly, rather than having many tasks started and nothing finished.
Quickly switching from task to task makes the mind less efficient. Studies
have shown that changing tasks more than 10 times during an 8-hour
segment of work drops a persons IQ by an average of 10-15 points.
9. Work in 90 minute intervals. In an interview with The Globe and Mail,
Tony Schwartz, author of the NY Times bestseller The Way Were Working
Isnt Working, makes the case for working in no more than 90 consecutive
minutes before a short break. Schwartz says, There is a rhythm in our bodies
that operates in 90-minute intervals. That rhythm is the ultradian rhythm,
which moves between high arousal and fatigue. If youre working over a
period of 90 minutes, there are all kinds of indicators in your physiology of
fatigue; so what your body is really saying to you is, Give me a break! Refuel
me!
10. Reply to emails, voicemails, and texts at a set times.
This directly ties into the ideas of single-tasking and distraction-avoidance.
Set specific time slots 2-3 times a day to deal with incoming communication
(e.g. once at 8AM, once at 11AM, once at 3PM), and set a reasonable max
duration for each time slot. Unless an emergency arises, be militant about

sticking to this practice.

11. Invest a little time to save a lot of time.
How can you spend a little time right now in order to save a lot of time in the
future? Think about the tasks you perform over and over throughout a work
week. Is there a more efficient way? Is there a shortcut you can learn? Is
there a way to automate or delegate it? Perhaps you can complete a particular
task in 20 minutes, and it would take two hours to put in place a more
efficient method. If that 20 minute task must be completed every day, and a
two-hour fix would cut it to 5 minutes or less each time, its a fix well worth
implementing. A simple way of doing this is to use technology to automate
tasks (email filters, automatic bill payments, etc.). Also, teaching someone to
help you and delegating work is another option. Bottom line: The more you
automate and delegate, the more you can get done with the same level of
effort.
12. Narrow the number of ventures youre involved in.
In other words, say no when you should. The commitment to be productive
is not always the biggest challenge, narrowing the number of ventures to be
productive in is. Even when you have the knowledge and ability to access
highly productive states, you get to a point where being simultaneously
productive on too many fronts at once causes all activities to slow down, stand
still, and sometimes even slide backwards.

Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless,

add what is specifically your own.
Bruce Lee