10 Incredible Habits To Become A Highly Productive Individual

Are you trying to be more efficient at work? Here are some incredible habits to become a highly productive individual. 

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul J. Meyer.

It often isn’t about what work you’re doing or where you are working – it’s about how productive you are when you’re doing something.

Some people are obsessed with being perfect in whatever they do, while others like to take things lightly.

There are times when you’d probably feel like consuming excessive caffeine to stay up and finish your deadlines, or put in enough time in preparing a to-do list so that nothing is missed out.

No matter what you do, the struggle of being productive remains constant – especially in today’s digital age when there are too many distractions!

Well, if you ask me, being productive isn’t about doing it all, but doing as much as possible in the most efficient manner. Successful people always do less when they aim to be more productive!

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” – Bruce Lee.

Truth be told, one can’t become productive overnight. But if you make small changes in your daily life and adopt certain habits, you’ll be well on your way to becoming more efficient for sure.

Let’s take a quick look at these habits which can help you become a highly productive individual.

Habits to become a highly productive individual:

1. Set your priorities and focus on the important things first.

In order to be productive, it’s essential to set your priorities and know what needs to be done first. When we start working, our minds are fresh and it’s easier to focus on the task with more enthusiasm.

Recognizing the non-essential tasks is a skill that one needs to develop in order to be productive. Also, when you do the important things first, you can spend ample time doing those – and eventually do the other things as the day goes on.

2. Start your day early.

“Early to bed, early to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – This is a proverb we’ve all heard since childhood but one can only realize it’s true essence when they start working.

Waking up early will you give the time to be alone and prepare for the day, while the others are still asleep.

You’ll get to work in peace before the hustle and bustle surrounds you, and there are less possibilities of getting distracted.

As per research, human are the immensely creative in the early hours of the day, and hence it’s the golden time of being productive.

3. Stay away from distractions while working.

Try to keep your phone silent, avoid looking at your mailbox frequently, don’t pay attention to the chitter-chatters around you – and focus essentially on the work you’re into.

I can understand that it might be difficult but once you practice keeping your mind away from the world delving deep into the work, you’ll see the results.

Manage your distractions by creating a system and take decisive steps to shut them out. Close down the unnecessary browsers, sit in a quiet environment and play some soothing music to keep your focused on work.

4. Avoid multitasking.

Successful people never multitask and research has proved that when we multitask, our productivity suffers.

You should avoid doing multiple things at one point in time – as it distributes your attention and you don’t really focus on any of the activities. You might think you’re getting more done when you multitask, but jumping between jobs actually hinders your cognitive processing.

As I mentioned earlier, the most productive people spend several hours on a single task which allows them to get into a deep state of mental concentration, producing the best possible results.

5. Take breaks between tasks.

When we constantly keep working, our brains are made to function for several hours at a stretch which automatically reduces the efficiency levels.

It has been seen that a human brain can effectively work for only 5 hours at a stretch. It’s always good to give yourself some space in between work schedules – it’ll not just help you to relax but also refresh your mind.

Take a moment to grab a cup of coffee or maybe take a walk, listen to a song or just meditate for a few minutes.

When you get back to work after a pause, you’ll be recharged and ready to achieve greater efficiency. Taking breaks will also reduce your stress levels, and keep you motivated to work.

6. Declutter your workspace.

Well, I’ve acute OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and I simply can’t function in a clumsy environment. Having said that, I’ve also realized over time that a clean workspace actually helps in being more productive.

The Japanese people believe that a cluttered desk creates a cluttered mind – and they’re just so right!

Being surrounded by mess will tend to keep you distracted and your focus will always hop from that heap of files to the junk that has now gathered dust – thus, it’s better to work in minimalist environments.

Have a proper desk, with a plant (a little bit of greenery enhances our mood) and a bottle of water, important documents and your laptop/desktop – that’s it. 

7. Learn from your failures.

Some people get highly affected by their failures, and keeps grieving so much that their future work prospects keep suffering.

Well, nobody becomes successful overnight and the best thing is to learn from your mistakes. In fact, you should treat each failure as an opportunity for improvement, without over-criticizing yourself.

You can only grow if you keep learning and for that, taking risks is essential if you want to evolve into a productive, efficient and confident worker.

8. Learn to delegate your work.

There’s no harm in accepting that we can’t do it all! It’s humanely not possible to wrap every work by ourselves, keeping the level of productivity at a certain standard.

Hence, it’s better to delegate the work amongst people who have particular skills to carry them out.  An intelligent individual knows exactly when to delegate his/her work, in order to enhance the levels if productivity and you should know that smart delegation of tasks not only helps you stay focused on the big picture, it also builds the confidence and skills of those around you. 

9. Set smaller goals.

Rather than chasing big goals, efficient peiple always set smaller goals that are achievable. If you set a bar that’s too high, you will feel boggled and at some point, you’d start questioning if at all you can make it till there or not.

Instead, if you take small steps towards a big goals, the journey will not only be easier but more enjoyable.

Know that smart works is always better than hard work, and once you know how to pave your way through the small goals, you’ll eventually end up being more productive while attaining bigger goals.

10. Love your work.

None of the above mentioned pointers will help you in becoming productive if you don’t love your work!

The most productive people are those who are passionate about their work, and feel truly driven to achieve their goals.

If you’re not excited about the work you’ve signed up for, it’s time to ask some big questions and re-evaluate your situation. 

Now that you know the hacks of being highly productive, it’s time to hone your abilities and get into the habit of waking up early, staying away from digital distractions, taking breaks, so on and so forth!

It’ll take some time for you to see the results, but they’ll surely help you to get better in whatever your choose to do.

What do you do to stay productive at work? – Let us know in the comments below!