Yes, you read right! This is a sequel to our super-popular post “The 11productivity habits the most successful people use (and how you can adopt them)”.
We received such great feedback on the first post that we thought we would give the people more of what they wanted… because no one wants to pen an unread blog post!
So, without further unproductive ramble, here are 8 more habits successful people implement!
1. They procrastinate… wait what?
Yes, they understand Parkinson’s Law and practice it. This law states that the time you need to complete a task, expands to the amount of time you give to the task. For example, remember how at University if you gave yourself one week to complete an assignment, you would complete the assignment in one week, however if you could only a lot 2 days the assignment would be completed the same, but in two days!
Pro tip: Try this out with your emails! Instead of giving yourself 10 minutes to get through your inbox each morning, give yourself a challenge to do it in 5.
2. They don’t chase perfection
They know that the “perfect time” to start will never come, so they don’t allow the idea of perfect timing to become a means of procrastination. They act now.
3. They cull
Their time is often spliced between a million and one things already, so they know how to ruthlessly cull anything on their to-do list that isn’t important. If it isn’t important but needs to get done, they outsource/delegate.
4. They stop at 95%
They know that the price of the last 5% is not worth what is gained. For example, training for a sporting event. The last 5% gain in performance (fitter, faster, stronger) takes hours and hours of training, to only shave a couple of minutes off the overall time. It is still an accomplishment, but those hours spent on training for that extra 5% could be spent making greater gains towards more important goals.
5. Stop habitual “me time” commitments
Often, we do activities because we have always done them, not because we find fulfilment in them. We forget the reason why we started them. For example, the midweek 5 aside soccer that you have done for the last 4 years. You wouldn’t do it when you’re on holiday, but it’s now an ingrained part of your weekly routine that doesn’t serve you anymore.
6. They book in their own time
People love to book other people’s time, so successful people book their own time. Not only does it prevent you from being dragged into completing other, less important tasks, it allows you to give your top priority tasks the attention they deserve.
7. They do what works for them
Successful people aren’t hung up on the idea of set working hours. They know when they get their best work done and that determines how they allocate their time. Whether their most productive time is early morning, after lunch or in the evenings, their schedule doesn’t fight what naturally works best for them.
8. They outwork everyone
This might be obvious, but in case it isn’t, successful people go the extra mile with their work. They realise that others may be smarter than them, or more talented, but you can still win if you work harder.
And that is our part II of the habits successful people practice to increase their productivity! Have you learnt something new? If you have any tips of your own, share them in the comments below!
