Over the last year I’ve read dozens of articles on productivity, developing positive habits, how others drive themselves to success, etc. Many of the articles have similar advice for the reader, so I created the list below to show the habits that were most often recommended. The list itself has many one-off items like “be curious” and “take enormous risks,” but the ones in the list below are common to multiple articles. These are the ones that many people seem to consider the best habits to cultivate.
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HABIT
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# OF TIMES RECOMMENDED
|
|
Read (educational content)
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6
|
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Exercise (hard physical activity, health)
|
5
|
|
Listen to Podcasts (learning/uplifting content)
|
3
|
|
Meditate (includes Focus, Mindfulness, etc.)
|
3
|
|
Wake up early and get started (Early productivity)
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3
|
|
Make lists (GTD, 4DX, Use Evernote, OneNote, etc.)
|
2
|
|
Take no days off completely (Read, check email etc. while on vacation)
|
2
|
|
Minimize distractions (aka don’t multi-task, don’t over-analyze)
|
2
|
I found that through my own personal experiences the habits that have helped me the most are reading, exercising, continuing education, and making lists (and scheduling my week ahead of time). Eating well and getting plenty of rest also help. As does reducing alcohol intake…
As for scheduling my time, I have recently moved to the Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s been very effective for me. It has been the most successful replacement to the checklist style to-do list that I used in the past. Also, I found that my analog planner worked better for me than my digital planners. I just use it more consistently.
How about you? Do you practice any of the habits on the list? Which ones work best for you? How do they help during your day/week to increase your productivity?
