Having These 3 Good Habits Can Make You More Productive

Despite the use of technology or the number of helping hands you have available to your cause, it will all be meaningless if you do not practice habits that encourage productivity.

You can surround yourself with brilliant minds and seasoned experts and still be less productive if you seldom delegate tasks.

Possessing advanced technology only means you have the tools to handle more complex problems and procedures. If you are prone to procrastination, you’ll still only accomplish so much during the day.

In the end, it’s your habits that determine what you accomplish on an everyday basis.

Below are three practices you should consider adopting or strengthening within yourself to increase your personal and professional productivity.

1. Starting Your Day Right

There are hundreds of sources offering different suggestions on how entrepreneurs can improve their productivity. The vast majority of these articles and studies agree that how you begin your day matters. Whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur, a CEO or a writer, what you do first determines how much gets done overall.

If you want to ensure you start your day off right, start your day off active. No matter what time your “day” may start, jump-starting your body’s system leads to greater alertness and attention, which helps with problem-solving and getting a faster start to the day overall. While there are plenty of arguments for and against using coffee to do this, exercise remains the best option.

Whether it’s a few minutes of calisthenics or a trip to the gym for a full morning workout routine, the most productive people in the world are also the most active. By getting your blood flowing early enough, you eliminate the effects of sleep from your muscles and push your mind into active mode. Early morning exercise also works as a pre-destresser, protecting your body from the chemical consequences the stress of the day may impose upon you.

2. Work Smart, Not Hard

Hard work may help you achieve success, but it does not guarantee high productivity. You can work hard for hours and end your day no closer to your goal than when you started, which explains why efficient CEOs and small business owners schedule their workdays differently than most. When faced with a massive project or a long list of deliverables do not aim to finish it all at once.

Large projects can become overwhelming and will often end up unfinished due to exhaustion, impatience or boredom. You can increase your productivity by breaking up work into manageable sections, creating smaller goals to accomplish on a daily or hourly basis. Progress in this manner creates a continuous flow of efficiency, and in the end, you complete your projects and work deliverables without losing momentum.

Another way to work involves delegating tasks. Just one person can accomplish a lot, but when your to-do list starts entering the high double and triple digits, it’s time to get help. Whether you need a partner, employee or freelancer, another pair of hands can help ease an otherwise insurmountable workload. In fact, with the right set of helping hands, your entire day may increase in efficiency on every level.

3. Learn How to Prioritize

When scheduled poorly, every meeting will bleed into the next, and you won’t have a moment to spare. And at the end of the day, it’s entirely possible you will not remember half of what you did. Proper prioritization, however, can provide you with more spare time. Try to notice when your days are busy and booked, but you aren’t accomplishing anything. Remember, meetings are not actual work.

When you take a look at your to-do list or weekly schedule, ask yourself what’s important. It may require a more objective mindset, but if you know you are not going to reach the bottom of your to-do pile, then it’s time to minimize the items of the day.

Lastly, pay attention to your operating costs and overall finances. This may seem like a separate issue, but it’s not. When you over- or underspend, you waste not only money but time as well. By staying aware of your budget, you keep yourself from having to re-evaluate something that has already been completed or accomplished.

These three practices, while broad in scope, will help you get more done more efficiently. Anyone wishing to expand or increase their productivity should focus on these three habits and adopt them in a way that fits their particular need.