Attaining success is not simply a matter of luck.
Successful people work incredibly hard to get where they are, overcoming a lot of adversity and putting in countless hours of effort.
Not only that, but successful people tend to share a lot of the same traits that keep them ahead of the rest. These traits are deep-rooted in their daily habits and have become second nature to the way they approach not only their work but also their teams.
If you are looking to be more successful in your own working life, you may want to take these traits to heart and begin to apply them in your own daily routine. They may sound simple, but will ultimately lead to remarkable and fast results in terms of improving productivity, creativity and standing up under pressure.
Beat procrastination
If you know that you have bad habits, anticipate them. Identify what is likely to go wrong, and put measures in place that you know will prevent them.
For instance, do you know that you’ll have an energy dip in the afternoon? Schedule you’re time around it. Start your day slightly earlier and take a more extended break when you hit that mid-afternoon slump. Choose to meet friends, catch up on housework or take an energising walk. Then, get back to it later on.
Many successful people apply this trick, and by anticipating their future self-sabotage, they’re saving time rather than wasting it.
Focus on one thing at a time
The art of focusing on one thing at a time is an understated skill that is tough to master.
It takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task after an interruption. That means if you are constantly switching between tasks as you’re multitasking, you will end up wasting countless valuable 23-minute chunks.
A successful person will not allow themselves to become overwhelmed by the amount of work in front of and will instead approach each task individually and calmly. They will understand that this way of working is a much more powerful way of being productive as it allows the brain to become more concentrated and connected with the project at hand.
The ability to delegate
Business owners and entrepreneurs have all been guilty of thinking they can take on every task in their quest to conquer the world. But only successful ones have learnt from their errors and have educated themselves to possess the ability to delegate.
Delegation is one of the most effective ways that a manager can ensure the rightful completion of a project.
A successful person will understand that to be productive, they will not need to micromanage and will have faith in the team they have built around them. They will appreciate that the most productive way to complete the task at hand will be to delegate tasks to their team without slowing down progress by interfering and nit-picking.
Avoid unnecessary meetings at all costs
There is no productivity killer quite like an unnecessary meeting. Meetings are ingrained in business culture, but a successful person will be aware of the roadblock they can sometimes be.
More often than not, meetings will start late, have the wrong people in them, meander around the essential topics, and run for too long. Unfortunately, there is a lot of needless fluff surrounding meetings that will waste time and impede success.
Of course, not all meetings are wholly avoidable. So, whenever you are required to attend or hold a meeting, keep it short, to the point and ensure there is enough decision-making being made to make it worthwhile. Before the meeting, create a pre-agreed agenda and stick to it. This will keep the conversation focused and you and you can leave feeling more focused and productive.
Carry a notebook at all times
The most profound and subtle change you can make to your life is the simple decision to carry a notebook and pen with you wherever you go.
Productive people will free their busy minds by writing down their thoughts, ideas and future plans as they come to them. This way, any fleeting brainstorms won’t be a missed opportunity as they’ll be immediately written down in a pocket notebook that can be referred to whenever needed.
You may be thinking that exactly what you can do with your phone’s notebook app, but that doesn’t have nearly the same effect. A phone will have a multitude of different uses so it can be easy to have any important notes buried or forgotten about behind a wave of texts, emails and calls.
There are so many habits and tricks can be ingrained in your daily routine to help your productivity and focus. But, for the best impact, it’s essential to find the right ones for you, and see how you can adapt them for the best impact.