Traits of Highly Efficient People
Traits of Highly Efficient People
It’s tempting to look at highly productive people as machines (or wizards). But by studying how they work efficiently and overcome the challenges we all experience, it’s possible to boost your own productivity as well.
How do the most efficient people overcome challenges like:
- Procrastinating on tasks — both small, nagging ones and large, challenging ones
- Boring work that needs just to get done
- Responding to email and other messages while working
- Staying motivated and energized throughout the entire workday
- Focusing and finishing the most important projects on their plates
As much as I would like to claim the status of “highly productive person,” the best I can do is say: I’m working on it. But from reading articles, checking out books, and asking questions of productive people, I’ve pulled together the best advice I could find on their productivity habits.
You can’t become more productive overnight. But if you make small changes and put some of these habits into place, you’ll be well on your way to becoming more efficient.
1. Focus on the most important tasks first
The theory behind Most Important Tasks is that any given to-do list has some tasks that are more important than others. If you focus on simply checking off to-do list items, you’ll end up with a mix of important and less important tasks completed.
It also exposes you to the potential for procrastination — it’s easy to spend the whole day checking off easy, less important to-dos instead of buckling down on the hard stuff.
2. Keep a Distractions List to stay focused
With emails, social media, and a thousand little to-dos, it’s easy to get distracted when you’re trying to be productive.
Whether you’re trying to focus on deep work or just dealing with smaller tasks, distractions are the bane of productivity. It’s hard to maintain efficient work habits with distractions around.
One powerful method of reducing distractions is creating a “distraction list.”
Keep this list — whether it’s a Google Doc or a physical piece of paper — nearby while you’re working. Whenever a distracting thought pops up, write it down on the list and get back to work.
If I’m doing deep work and suddenly remember a bill that needs to be paid, or have an idea for a new blog post, those are thoughts that deserve attention.
They just don’t deserve it right now.
As thoughts arise during your work, jot them down. Once you reach a break in your work, you can come back and either tackle them or add them to your larger to-do list.
3. Use the 80/20 Rule.
Another way to prioritize tasks comes from the 80/20 principle.
Discovered by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, the 80/20 rule (also called the Pareto Principle) states that, in any pursuit, 80% of the results will come from 20% of the efforts.
To maximize efficiency, highly productive people identify the most important 20% of their work. Then, they look at ways to cut down the other 80% of their schedule, to find more time for the things that make the biggest impact.
4. Break Bigger Tasks into smaller chunks
Why do you procrastinate?
There are a variety of reasons that people procrastinate, but one of the most important is that the tasks on their to-do list just seem too daunting.
If you have to-do list items that are large in scope and not very specific, tackling those tasks becomes challenging. You look at the item and think “I don’t even know where to start.”
You can start by breaking large to-dos into smaller to-dos. Set small goals for each task.
If I have a to-do list item labeled “write a blog post on productivity,” it’s easy to (ironically) put it off — because there are a few different places I could start.
What if I broke that larger task into smaller chunks? Instead of “write a blog about productivity,” an example of my to-do list could be:
- Look up keywords related to productivity and good, efficient habits
- Read the top 10 Google results on productivity
- Brainstorm other methods to become more productive
- Organize the ideas I’ve found or thought of into an outline
- Jot down any specific thoughts on each tactic using bullet points
- Go through my bullet points one at a time, to flesh them out into full sections
My larger to-do item has become six smaller tasks. Sure, that makes my to-do list longer, but it also helps me get things done faster — and I don’t have to think about where to start.
Each item on my list is incredibly specific. All I have to do is tackle them in order. The result is the blog post you’re reading right now.
5. Take ‘Planned’ Breaks
Nobody, not even highly productive people, can focus for eight hours straight. It simply isn’t possible. No matter how many efficient habits you build, you can’t maintain distraction-free focus for that long.
That’s why taking breaks is so important. Even breaks that are just a few minutes long can help you recharge and come up with new ideas.
Be proactive about taking breaks. When you take breaks, it’s important to make them structured and deliberate. It’s easy to justify distractions as “taking a break.” But if you don’t have that break time scheduled, it’s possible that you’re actually just getting distracted.
Methods like the Pomodoro Technique can help. The Pomodoro Technique suggests 25-minute blocks of work, with short 5 minute breaks. You work intensely for a specific amount of time, followed by intentionally not working for a shorter amount of time.
Scheduling breaks can actually keep you fresh and productive throughout an entire day.
6. Automate Tasks
If you find yourself doing the same things over and over, look for ways to do those things faster.
This can be as simple as learning common keyboard shortcuts or involve automating entire sections of your life.
What are some ways you can find shortcuts? Here are a few potential examples:
- Put together standard operating procedures for common tasks, so you can quickly follow checklists instead of working from scratch.
- Read faster. Watch a couple of videos on youtube to help you increase your reading speed. Don’t subvocalize as you read, use the cursor or a pen to track your reading so you don’t re-read the previous text.
- Increase your typing speed — it seems obvious, but the difference between 50 and 90 words per minute is huge.
- Use technology to take care of repetitive tasks.
Repetitive tasks are great candidates for shortcuts, delegation, or automation. Knocking them off your schedule can save you lots of time and energy.
7. Work before you get Motivated
Okay, this may seem weird but it actually works. A lot of people looking to get more productive talk about needing to get inspired or motivated. Highly productive people instead focus on getting started — whether they’re motivated or not. You don’t need to tackle everything at once. When you are having trouble getting motivated, it’s often because you are looking at the massive scope of a project.
That’s intimidating. It’s hard to get started when faced with the enormity of a task.
If you feel overwhelmed or find yourself procrastinating, look through a one-inch picture frame. Start doing something — like breaking the task into smaller chunks — and you’ll find it easier to keep going.
Taking action is what leads to motivation, which in turn leads to more action. Highly productive people don’t wait for motivation — they start working and the motivation follows.
8. Don’t Multitask
With so many distractions in our surroundings, it’s tempting to fall into the trap of multitasking.
The reason is that “multitasking” is actually misnamed. When you try to multitask, you aren’t really doing two things at once — you’re rapidly switching your focus between two things.
Every time you switch, you have to re-focus on the new task. Because it takes a few minutes to get up to speed on a task, these “switching costs” make multitasking extremely inefficient.
Are there times where multitasking is ok? Probably.
If you’re cleaning your apartment while listening to an audiobook, you’re probably going to do just fine. The reason is that the two tasks — cleaning and listening — don’t use the same mental resources.
But if you’re writing an email while trying to follow the words in a podcast, both tasks are competing for your language resources — your work will slow down and quality will suffer. It also zaps your energy and makes your brain more tired, which means that you slow yourself down on future tasks, too.
But how do you stop multitasking?
Avoiding multitasking can be as simple as closing the tab with your email and muting Slack, email, or text notifications. In most jobs, waiting an extra half hour to respond to an email won’t be the end of the world.
Eliminating multitasking is one of the most productive habits you can develop.
9. Recharge!
Productivity tactics, email templates, and prioritization are valuable methods of improving your productivity.
But they won’t help if you aren’t taking care of yourself.
Highly productive people spend time recharging. That means getting enough sleep every night, exercising, and eating healthy.
Sleep. Exercise. Eat well. Get outside and soak up some sunshine. Taking care of your healthy habits is a crucial part of efficient work habits.
10. Sharpen the Axe!
There’s a famous quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that goes:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
If you want to be productive, you need to make sure you stay sharp. Many successful people advise about reading more. By spending a lot of time reading, becoming more knowledgeable, and getting better at their trade, they were able to make faster and more accurate decisions.
Dedicate time to improving, and you’ll be able to respond more efficiently to a variety of situations.
Our productivity tips come down to 4 main things. Here’s how to be more productive:
- Manage your time well
- Make better to-do lists
- Take care of yourself
- Be proactive
And one more tip: Know when to ask for help.
Smart people ask for help. Productive people admit when they don’t know something. When you ask for help instead of trying to struggle through something on your own, you save time (and frustration). Make sure you know who and what your resources are — and make asking for help a habit.
I hope you learned something new and you implement at least a few of these points.
