I think we all know that one person that always seems to be getting so much done, and crushing goals each and every day. How can we be more like them, we often ask ourselves. What if I told you the secret was just some simple daily habits?
We are always striving to be more productive each and every day. I mean we only have 24 hours in a day, so we should try to make the most of it.
I recently took to the internet to find some of the best daily habits of highly productive people. After all, habits and routines, when formed properly, can help us cut back on so much wasted time. Therefore getting more done in less time.
So without further ado, let’s get to those 10 Daily Habits of Highly Productive People
The 10 Daily Habits of Highly Productive People
1. Have a Consistent Morning Routine
Having a morning routine is crucial for a successful and productive day.
Use your morning routine to start your day on a positive, productive note.
First, try getting up a little earlier than usual, and use this time to take care of yourself. Grab a cup of coffee, meditate, do some yoga, and make yourself a healthy breakfast.
Have a nice slow and relaxing morning so you don’t feel stressed or rushed first thing. That will not benefit you at all for the rest of the day.
By setting up a consistent morning routine, you don’t have to waste time figuring out what to do during the first few hours of your day. Plus, you’ll be all set to start your productive workday right after.
Related: How to Create a Morning Routine for a Super Productive Day
2. “Eat the Frog”
Eat a live frog, first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.’ – Mark Twain
The most productive people ‘eat the frog’ first thing in the morning (after their morning routine, of course). Brian Tracy introduced this theory in his book “Eat That Frog”.
He says that by doing your most important task first thing, the rest of the day will flow easily, and you’re less likely to push off the job until tomorrow.
Ask yourself “If I can only get one thing done today, what would that thing be?”, and make that the first thing you do.
If you cross off the most important task on your to-do list first thing, you’ll naturally reach a higher level of productivity for the day.
3. Eliminate Distractions
Over time, you’ll come to know what things can easily distract you from your work.
Highly productive people know what distracts them and make it a point to eliminate the distractions.
For example, if you are easily distracted by notifications on your phone, put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode while you are working.
Or if you get distracted by different sights around you, sit facing a blank wall why you are working.
Find a way to eliminate the distractions and you are golden.
Related: How to Stop Wasting Your Time
4. Take Regular Breaks
What?! Taking breaks can make you more productive?!
Yep, that’s right. Sometimes taking a break is all you need to get back into a productive and focused state.
I recommend trying out the Pomodoro Method, where you focus on work for 25 minutes, and then take a 5-minute break.
You can save those breaks for things like checking social media, getting up and stretching, or answering a text message. This will help eliminate the possibility of getting distracted during your work time.
Related: What is the Pomodoro Technique and How to Use it for Optimal Productivity
5. Don’t Multitask
I hate to break it to you, but multitasking does not benefit your productivity at all. In fact, it actually significantly slows you down.
You may think you are getting more done, but instead, by switching between multiple different tasks you are hindering your cognitive process. Meaning you aren’t able to truly focus on the tasks at hand. Multitasking causes you to slow down and lose focus easier.
The most productive people will spend a only few hours on one task. This allows for a deeper concentration, therefore producing the best possible results.
If you try to do multiple things at once, you won’t be able to do them as well as you could have if you spent some dedicated time on just one task at a time.
Focusing on one task at a time will significantly improve your productivity.
6. Have a Clear Focus
I think we are all guilty of trying to get work done while we have 20+ tabs open on our computer. Not only will our computer run slower, but you’ll waste tons of time trying to find the tab that you actually need.
Every time you sit down to work on a task, have a clear focus and goals set for that period of time and close out any tabs that you aren’t going to use.
Let’s stop bouncing from tab to tab, only to find that 3 hours later, the goal we set that day had not even been started.
7. Have an Organized Work Area
A clean and organized work area will not only help eliminate distractions, but also eliminate the time you spend trying to find things.
Make sure to organize your desk so you know where everything is that you need during the day. Declutter and throw out anything that you don’t need in your work area and organize anything that you may need throughout the day so you can easily find it.
Be sure to have a designated spot for everything.
Check out some of my favorite office supplies for organizing your desk:
8. Take Care of Yourself
You simply can’t pour from an empty cup – it’s just not possible.
If you aren’t taking care of yourself first, you won’t be able to concentrate or help anybody else as well, or as effectively as you should.
Make sure you are taking some time for some self care. Get enough sleep, get regular exercise, and eat healthy meals.
When you take care of yourself, you will not only feel better overall, but you’ll get more stuff done.
Related: Self Care 101 | What is Self Care and Why it’s Important
9. Plan the Night Before
Productive people make sure their calendars and workspaces are already set and waiting for them the next morning.
Before you finish your workday and close your laptop, take the extra 10 minutes to go through your schedule for the next day. Maybe even time block your important tasks or projects for tomorrow into your calendar.
You could also quickly clean up your workspace by putting everything away and closing out all the tabs on your computer.
The next day, you’ll come to a clean space that’s all ready for you to begin your first task.
10. Take Time for Self-Reflection
If you don’t reflect on your days you’ll never realize what you may need to improve on.
At the end of every day, do a quick daily self-reflection. Acknowledge what went well that day and what could have gone better. Learn from your mistakes and make changes to help improve your strategy for next time.
Then at the end of the week and month do a bigger self-reflection to help you refocus your goals and set the tone for the next week or month.
Check out my blog posts on those topics below.
How to do a Weekly Review | 10 Weekly Self-Reflection Questions
How to do a Monthly Reflection | 15 Questions to Ask Yourself
Final Thoughts
After reading this list, I hope you realize that you can’t just snap your fingers and instantly become more productive overnight.
Try picking out 1-3 of the daily habits listed above and start implementing them into your daily routine. Then after a few weeks, take some time to reflect on how your productivity levels increased with those new habits.
Discover what works best for you and start crossing things off your to-do list even faster than you ever thought possible.
What daily habits have you implemented that help you increase your productivity? Let me know in the comments below.
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1 thought on “10 Daily Habits of Highly Productive People”
Another wonderful post!!