We all have the same amount of hours in a day: 24. And yet, how is that some people are able to accomplish monumental goals while the majority struggle to get through even the smallest things on their to-do list?
The answer is all about having a productive mindset, and strong leaders know how to use their time wisely and make the most of their hours so that they achieve more and so that their teams achieve more as well.
Today, we’re revealing 5 habits of productive leaders that help them get ahead of the crowd and maximize their hours.
Adopt these habits as your own, and you might just surprise yourself with how productive you become both in your professional and personal life.
5 Things Productive Leaders Do Differently:
1) They Say No
The University of California in San Francisco conducted research that showed that the harder it is for you to say no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. It’s important to learn how to say no—whether it means declining invitations for social gatherings that don’t interest you, or turning down offers for a business opportunity that doesn’t excite you. Practice building up this habit and asserting yourself, as it’s a handy skill to have at your disposal. After all, your time is valuable, so why spend it on tasks that don’t energise you or move you forward?
2) They Don’t Have To-Do Lists
Research has shown that 41% of items on to-do lists are never completed. Instead of carrying around ever-growing lists of things to do, productive leaders opt to schedule everything on a calendar. Then they live and work off of that calendar, which ultimately helps them to stay better organised. Some even advise to schedule your days into 15-minute blocks to make the most of your productivity.
3) They Know Their Priorities
Productive leaders have something called an MIT: Most Important Task. Every day, they work on this task without interruption because it’s their number one priority in achieving their goals. Think about the things you can start doing now that will have the biggest impact on reaching your goal, and schedule time to do those things.
4) They Manage Their Time Well
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous habit. Productive leaders are diligent followers of something called the ‘Pareto Principle’. According to this principle, 80% of outcomes come from only 20% of activities. In other words, there are things you can do to reach your goals that will reap bigger rewards than small, insignificant tasks. What are the activities that will drive the biggest results when it comes to your goals? Focus on those and ignore the rest.
5) They Prepare
Finally, productive leaders end each day by thinking about the next. They review what they accomplished, and then they prepare themselves for tomorrow by focusing on what they plan to work on. That way, when they wake up in the morning, they already have an action plan in mind and can hit the ground running.
Do you already practice any of these productivity strategies? If not, which one will you begin implementing moving forward?
In our next blog, we’ll discuss 5 more tips for making the most out of your hours so that you can get more done every day.