Habits of Highly Productive People

Everyone wants to be productive in their work. These days, people are moving away from working harder to trying to work more productively. The difference seems small on the surface, but putting in more hours isn’t the same thing as getting more done. The good news is that highly productive people all tend to have a few of the same habits and work patterns that allows them to do what they do—and you can learn from them.

The Top 5 Ways Successful and Effective People Are More Productive

A quick Google search can pull up a half-dozen different lists or more of habits and choices to make to increase your productivity. While that’s great, it can also be overwhelming: “I have to do all this and make all these changes to be productive?!” All of these lists can be boiled down to a few key habits and ideas that you can apply in your life and in your practice:

1. All productive people have a well-articulated set of goals and objectives they are trying to achieve. To be effective and productive, you need to know exactly what you’re working toward. Lists of your goals shows you exactly why you are working and helps you see whether or not you are succeeding in achieving your aims.
2. They have a passionate, burning desire to attain their goals. This focuses you, enabling you to say no to distractions on your time and money. If a new commitment doesn’t take you closer to achieving your goals, it will divert your energy and actually make it harder for you to succeed.
3. They have a sustainable plan that allows them to follow through without quitting. Life gets tough, and it’s hard to follow through on your big goals. You need a specific plan that is something you can continue follow even when life’s inevitable challenges and frustrations appear. This means your plan can’t be too grandiose—it has to be something you can do every day. Jeff Olsen, author of The Slight Edge, would call this a “slight edge” strategy: seemingly insignificant things done on a regular basis without ever quitting.
4. They execute their goals in shorter periods of time. Far-off deadlines have a way of sucking away your motivation. You always think you have more time, so you don’t need to work on your goals now. Brian Moran, author of The 12 Week Year, would say it’s better to execute in shorter periods of time. Use your list of goals to set shorter deadlines for yourself and keep yourself on track.
5. They have faith that the people around and advising them are trustworthy. This is a key one for us at Top Practices, and the basis of our Mastermind Group. Anyone can tell you that you won’t succeed, or that you’re doing something wrong. Getting trustworthy advice from colleagues who have done all this before can help you as you strive toward your goals.