What Productive People Do Everyday? 10 Productivity Hacks for Great Success

So you want to be more productive?

Well, yeah who doesn’t.

In this post I am going to share with you realistic tips on the habits of productive people. No, I am not going to give generic solutions like “have a vision”, or “take risks”. I am going to share with you what are the actual things that most productive people do everyday. So let’s start.

Here are the 10 things that most productive people do-

1. They wake up on time

There is a strong relationship between being productive and getting up early. Tim Cook the CEO of Apple wakes up at 3.45a.m, Richard Branson wakes up at 5a.m, Michelle Obama gets up before dawn. Roughly waking up on time does translate to waking up early in the morning.

Getting up on time in the morning can give you quality time which you can use to focus on your productivity and self-development. In fact, according to one research, late risers are likely to die prematurely. The research also said that late risers can have a range of physical and mental disorders.

You may ask what is the right time to wake up in the morning?

The answer may differ to according to personal preferences. Some might like to get up at 4am. Some might like to get up at 5am or 6am. And some people might even say that they wake up by 7.30am or 8am. You are the best person that understands your routine and flow of work. If you have to be in office by 8am you can’t get up at 7.30am. In such a case, getting up at 5am or 5.30am will greatly help you getting things done on time. Likewise, you can get up before 6am on weekends so you can finish your personal chores on time to allow you more time to relax.

If you want to enhance your productivity and work efficiently, then you should definitely consider waking up early and on time in the morning. I know, like me you may have also have set the alarm for 4am or 5am but you always hit the snooze button, don’t you? But getting up early does take practice and discipline. Once you have mastered that, then it happens automatically. It becomes a habit.

Here are some benefits of becoming a morning person.

The morning hours are the most productive hours of the day because it is free from distractions. It is peaceful and quiet. You will have the luxury to work faster without being interrupted. You get the opportunity to get things that you need to be done, like working out, preparing a nutritious breakfast and so much more.
You will improve your work life balance by rising early, as it helps you to stay in control. We have to deal with a lot of things from household chores to office work. Responsibilities start to pile up from the moment you get up. Getting up early gives you ample time to focus and attend to all your needs for the day. In this way, you have enough time without rushing the process (no one likes rushing).
To rise up early in the morning you have to sleep early- this means that you will have healthy sleeping pattern. This will eventually lead you to being more energetic throughout the day.
You can use the morning hours wisely to focus on the important tasks to get a head start on the day. We can think more clearly in the morning as there are less distractions, this can in turn help us to make better decisions.
You get a sense of order in life by waking up early. It helps you to improve your day-to-day productivity.

Here’s how you can start your routine:

You should start slowly. Give time to your body to adjust to the new changes. Wake up 15-20 minutes earlier than usual at the beginning. Do this for a few days and then day by day cut back another 15 minutes until you reach your goal. It is important to remember that to wake up early you need to sleep early. Go to bed at a certain time every night. Keep the alarm clock away from your bed so that you are not tempted to turn off the alarm in the morning and go back to sleep.

Perhaps one of the greatest aids that can help you become an early riser is having a strong reason to wake up early and on time. Something that motivates you. Have you ever noticed that you wake up early when you have something important and urgent to attend to like catching a morning flight or attending your exams or meetings. Having a strong reason to wake up early can greatly help you.

Keep in mind that that its not a good idea to get up super early if you don’t go to bed early. You should get the required amount of sleep, whether that’s 7,8 or 9 hours of sleep for you. Not getting a good night’s sleep can put you at the risk of serious medical conditions. For a healthy and a productive life a good night’s sleep is essential.

2. Nothing beats superior preparation

Goal Setting — Photo by Karolina Grabowka from Pexels

Planning is a way of bringing the future in the present. I have read this somewhere and I think it’s absolutely correct.

Productive people make it a priority to plan the use of their time. Planning will show you how much work you can do in a given amount of time. You can easily get busy without knowing what do to. This can prevent you from focusing on high priority tasks and goals. When you schedule your time properly, you can accomplish your tasks on time.

With a plan in mind you know what’s coming your way. It mentally prepares you to face the day’s responsibilities and tasks. By knowing what you have do to you will feel motivated to act upon your day’s goals.

A great yet simple way to plan is to use the Ivy Lee Method.

So what is the Ivy Lee Method?

The Ivy Lee method is 100-year old system that can help you to become more productive. Ivy Lee a highly acclaimed productivity expert was hired by Charles M. Schwab (he was a famous American businessman during his time) the president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation to help increase the efficiency of his team. Charles Schwab was one of the wealthiest man on earth during his time and was famously referred to as the “master hustler”.

Lee asked Schwab to give him 15 minutes with each of his executives. It was during those 15 minutes that Lee explained his simple daily routine to optimize productivity. That simple routine is what we call the Ivy Lee Method today. This 100-year old productivity hack has stood the test of time and is surprisingly quite relevant even today.

By using this method at the end of each day you write down the most six important tasks that you have to accomplish the next day based on their order of importance.

Here are the exact steps for implementing this strategy to become more productive:

Before the next workday, write down the six most important tasks that you need to work on the following day. List them in the order of their importance, with number 1 being the most important task and number 6 being the least important.
On the next day, focus on the first task on your list. Only when you have finished working on the first task, then you can start working on the second task.
Use the same approach for the remaining tasks in your list.
Any unfinished task should be moved to the next day and re-rank your new list.

But what makes the Ivy Lee method so great?

Simplicity.

Simplicity is what makes it stand out.

This productivity strategy is simple enough to work. It works just as well in reality as it does in theory. Even if you don’t feel like listing down 6 tasks, you can list 3 or 4- whatever works best for you.

The Ivy Lee method helps you to maintain focus while concentrating on the most important task. This strategy enables you to focus on the most critical tasks while ignoring unnecessary tasks. By dividing your attention here and there, you will not be able to focus on the things that matter. You will not be able to do a good job.

This method gives you a chance to be honest about your priorities, as you have to identify the tasks that truly needs to be done. Some things may be important on that particular day while other tasks may be important on the next day. As such it reduces decision fatigue since you have to prioritize your tasks the night before.

Another great characteristic of this method is that it gives you a chance to self-evaluate. You get a chance to examine yourself and how much progress you have made during the day. Questions like “How much I have done?”, “How can I improve”, “Or how can I be more efficient” can be easily answered if we incorporate the Ivy Lee method. You get the chance to understand the extend of your abilities and performance.

The Ivy lee method has helped professionals boost their productivity in their daily lives.

So why not try it today?

3. Focus on the most important tasks

Sometimes focusing on the most important thing may be the only productivity hack you need.

Simply by focusing on the most important task each day you are sure to make progress in the areas of your life that are important to you.

You know, most people understand that productivity means getting more done. It’s a misconception. I believe that it is an incomplete truth about productivity. Sometimes productivity is about getting the most important things done consistently. That’s what James Clear the author of Atomic Habits says. He further elaborates in one of his articles that:

Being productive is about maintaining a steady, average speed on a few things, not maximum speed on everything.

At the end of the day, you will always get something important done.

We have talked about the Ivy Lee method above.

Now let’s look at another productivity strategy.

And it’s called Eisenhower Box.

Other names for Eisenhower Box are Eisenhower Matrix, Time Management Matrix and Urgent-Important Matrix. The Eisenhower Box helps you to prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. This well-known productivity hack is attributed to the 34^th President of United States of America, Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was known as a very productive person. He served two-terms as the President and led to the development of Interstate Highway System and created (NASA).

Eisenhower box has four possibilities:

Urgent and Important activities that need to completed immediately.
Not urgent and Important activities that can be scheduled later.
Urgent and unimportant activities that can be delegated.
Not urgent and unimportant tasks that can be deleted.

**The Difference between Urgent and Important.**

Okay, you like me you also might have assumed that whatever is urgent definitely must be important and whatever is important must be done urgently. However, according to productivity experts there are certain differences between the two terminologies. Let’s look at the differences.

Urgent tasks are those tasks that require immediate action from us. Important tasks are those with a high significance to our long term and life goals. A great advantage of using the Eisenhower box is that it helps us to distinguish between urgent and important and helps to arrive at a clear answer. This simple decision making tool can help us with time management and task management to increase productivity.

Eat the Frog Strategy

Eat the frog method has a simple rule: Identify the most hardest and important task for the day and do it the first thing in the morning. That’s why it’s called Eat the Frog. The frog represents your most biggest, hardest and important task.

If you struggle with procrastination and not making any progress on the important stuff in life, then Eat the Frog method is just for you.

By completing at least one high priority task daily, you get a sense of satisfaction that can help you to easily complete other activities.

Productive people who have accomplished great things have the habit of focusing on their most important task first thing in the morning.

4. Schedule Time for going over Emails

How often do you check your email?

Checking your email constantly can be a productivity trap.

If you are a person who is constantly checking their inbox, beware, you are might be getting out of routine. Have a pre-determined time to check emails. This can help you to lower stress and get more done in a day.

Another practical advice for you is that never check your email first thing in the morning. After replying to 20 or 30 emails in the morning, you feel like you have done a lot of work, while in reality you haven’t done anything important. You get a false sense of accomplishment.

Every time you get a new email ask yourself is it relevant to you. If you can solve the problem, how long will it take you? If it will take only 5-10 minutes of your time to formulate a response, then you can safely go ahead and reply. If not you should wait, when the right time comes. Keep your response short and simple to get the message across without causing any confusion. In this way, that person won’t email you back to get clarification. The main point is schedule your email time so that you don’t get busy.

Being busy won’t make you productive.

5. Focus on Self-Care

Did you know that by focusing on self-care you can boost your productivity and efficiency? In fact, self-care helps you function at your happiest and highest level.

By making yourself a priority you will avoid burnout that is often the result of working too much. Anything you do that supports your mental, physical and emotional health can directly influence your productivity. To have better focus and concentration it is important to include self-care activities in your daily routine that have the biggest impact on your productivity. Indulge in some well-deserved self-care.

Here are simple self-care practices to make you more productive:

Get enough sleep. You have to get have a productive day without a good night sleep. Sleep deprived people have difficulty focusing, concentrating and memory retention.
Watch a YouTube video that cheers you up. Cheerful mood can greatly influence your productivity.
Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with your favourite snack- maybe a slice of cake.
Eat real, healthy food that your body needs.
Spend time in nature. Going out in nature is an excellent way to de-stress and quieten your mind. It will improve your mood and help you to feel more productive.
Go on a vacation. Taking time to unwind will help you to develop a positive approach towards your job when you return. Take some time off and go to some place nice where you can just unplug from normal life. Even a road trip in the weekend can help you.
Commit to your favourite hobbies. Doing the things you enjoy doing give you the opportunity to take care of yourself. You need hobbies that can help you to be creative, that can keep you in shape, that can help you to evolve your mindset, that can help you to make money and one that can give you knowledge.

6. Perform a Time Audit- track how much time you use

Everyone wants more time.

Like money, time is equally precious.

By performing a time audit, you may improve your time management skills and boost productivity. If you correctly spend your time for the things you are supposed to, you will always be able to do more in the 24 hours, which we all are given.

Simple procedure for time audit that you can try:

Write down the day’s most important tasks that you have to do.
After you finish each task, write down how much time did you spend on that task.

Did you spend too much time on the given task?

Or was it too less? Where’s your time going?

Ask yourself how can I do what I do more efficiently in less time?

Is there a way to speed up the process?

Make changes where necessary. Just don’t overwhelm yourself by committing to too many changes at once. Start small.

By examining how much time you spend each day, you can set up a proper system and schedule in the future. You can create the right routine and habits to boost your productivity and focus on what really matters. Perhaps, one of the greatest advantages of doing a time audit is that it helps you to make decisions on how to allocate your time and resources so that you are fulfilling your life’s strategy. You get a chance to dig deeper on where exactly is your time going. A time audit is all about doing more what adds value to your life-both personally and professionally. Use a pen or paper or a time tracking app like Rescue Time which helps you to manage your time and resources.

7. Create the right environment to work

By having a conducive work environment, you are setting yourself up for success. Your workspace should empower you to do your best work. For this, you need to design your work environment to suit your cognitive and psychological characteristics.

You cannot do your best work in an environment you find disruptive, cluttered and unorganised. Why not create a productive workspace, which has everything from ergonomic furniture to temperature-regulated rooms. Decorate your personal work area, as you like. Some people have the habit of keeping their workspace like a pigpen. Don’t do this. Keep your workspace clutter-free. A workspace that is clean and visually appealing will have a huge impact on your mood and performance.

Your personal workspace is like your second home. You obviously spend most of your time there working. So a well-organized workspace will make you feel in control. Simple acts such as regular cleaning and de-cluttering your workspace can create the relaxing atmosphere for you to do your best work.

8. Take Regular Breaks

It can be challenging to focus for a long period of time on a given task. Research says that taking regular breaks can be good for you and your work. Whether you take a lunchbreak, tea break or a micro break, it has a positive relationship with your productivity and well-being. It can prove to be helpful to take a break to rest and recharge, allowing yourself to boost your productivity. Enjoying your break can help you to work even more better.

Studies suggest that taking a micro-break can have a powerful impact in improving a person’s ability to concentrate, changing the way we view our jobs, and even help us to avoid typical medical problems such as fatigue when we are tied down to our desks all day long. A great benefit of taking a short break is that they reduce the need for a long recovery at the end of the day. So you just don’t go home and collapse on the sofa.

One popular productivity hack in this regard is the Pomodoro Technique.

The Pomodoro technique was invented in the 1980’s by student called Francesco Cirillo. Cirillo was a university student who was facing difficulty in focusing on his studies and assignments. Therefore, he used a method, which uses a timer to break work into intervals called Pomodoros, which were 25 minutes in length. The intervals are separated by short breaks usually for 5 minutes. He named this technique Pomodoro after using a tomato-shaped timer found in his kitchen. By the way, Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato. The technique asks you to work in short sprints, which enables you to work more productively.

Here is how the Pomodoro Technique works:

Choose a task that you need to accomplish. Focus on that task for 25 minutes. Set the Pomodoro (timer) to 25 minutes.
After the 25 minutes is over, take a short break of 5-10 minutes.
After four such sessions or pomodoros, take a long break, traditionally 20-30 minutes.

What if I get distracted in those 25 minutes?

Not everything will happen as per plan. Sometimes you can get distracted by a fellow colleague, a meeting or an emergency might pop up. In such a case, you might have to stop the pomodoro or postpone the distraction until you complete your work. You can use the “inform, negotiate and call-back” strategy suggested by Cirillo.

Inform the distracting party that you are busy.
Negotiate and schedule a time when you can attend to the distracting party.
Call-back the distracting party when your Pomodoro is complete.

Be flexible with yourself. Use common sense and what works best for you in specific situations where you cannot follow the normal flow of work as planned by you. Break down complex projects into actionable small tasks. In addition, any task that will take you about a short time to complete should be combined with other simple tasks. For example, “proofreading an article you wrote”, and “making online payments to merchants” can grouped together with other tasks that are smaller in nature that may not take a lot of time to complete.

So what’s so great about this method?

The Pomodoro Technique is ideal if you want to have focused work sessions. The frequent breaks you take helps to promote focus and concentration. Those tiny breaks ease your body and reboot your brain. The technique allows us to complete our work much faster without less mental and physical fatigue. Open-ended tasks which take hours to complete such as writing a blog article, studying or working on a research project can broken down into manageable chunks and fitted into pomodoros so we can complete them on time.

If you don’t want to use the Pomodoro Technique, then it’s okay. The underlying philosophy of this strategy is that you take breaks in between tasks so you can maintain energy levels and vigour. These breaks support your well-being and increase productivity. Consider having some time with your fellow co-workers during these mini-breaks. Social breaks, such as having a conversation with a fellow colleague allows you to share your experiences and feel a sense of relatedness. This in turn reduces mental stress then can build up by focusing for too long on a given work and fosters a positive relationship.

The bottom line is that regular breaks are important for high performance and increased productivity.

So don’t forget to take your breaks!

9. Doing Less

Most people associate being productive with getting more done. Well, that’s how most of us view productivity. We have always learnt that to be productive we have to do more.

Have you ever thought of doing less for increased productivity? Sometimes you can get more done by doing less.

Doing less doesn’t mean that you are lazy or inefficient. It means that you are only focusing on things that truly matter and add value to your life as a whole. Anyone living a full life with kids, job, passions, family, friends and hobbies always has a lot on their plate. It can be difficult to balance your work-life. When you stop doing things that don’t give you any results and only make you feel busy, you will find that you have more time. Your strategy can be simple- only do things on your to-do-list that gives you the most value and stop doing things that drain your time and energy without giving you the right results. This will make you feel accomplished and fulfilled.

Have you ever noticed that when you have a lot of things to do, you always end up feeling busy, tired, stressed and depleted. On the other hand, when you have a fewer things to focus on throughout the day you feel more satisfied, productive and efficient. When you have a long to-do-list, it’s most likely that you will not be able to complete all the tasks listed on your list. This will make you feel bad and unsatisfied with yourself.

So, doing less can, be an effective strategy for productivity when you are constantly feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the responsibilities that life is throwing at you.

Working too much isn’t good for your health either. It can cause anxiety, insomnia and stress. Working more doesn’t mean you are productive. In some situations, working more can make you inefficient. By doing less you will be eliminating low-value and unproductive tasks that take up your time.

Why not try doing less, as your next productivity hack?

10. Optimize for Peak Performance Time and Do Deep Work

One of the greatest productivity hacks is knowing which time you can give your peak performance. It is difficult to be productive all the time. Hence, it is crucial to know which time you are able to give your peak performance and make the most of it.

The main benefit of doing this is:

Intense periods of focused and isolated work allows your brains cells to work faster. It allows you to do your best work.

There are peak work times when we have the most energy and concentration. Working in this time frame will help us to complete our work in time and in an efficient manner.

So what time of the day are you the most productive?

Well, the answer may differ. It’s totally based on personal preferences.

Some of you may like to get your work done in the morning.

The key message here is: Understand the most productive time of your day and utilize it to the best of your ability.

Here are some more productivity hacks and tips, which you may like:

Hire someone or outsource services for things, which you are not good in. This will give you the energy to focus on matters on which you are the best.
Unplug from technology. There are numerous things, which are constantly distracting us from being productive at working like emails, notifications, calls, etc. These distractions rob us of our energy.
Your “why” is a another powerful way of getting yourself motivated to stay productive even when you don’t feel like it.
Take a power nap for about 10-20 minutes during the day. When you are feeling tired and sluggish, a power-nap can refresh your mind. Power-naps provide recovery benefits and it can help you feel energized.
Have a reward system for your efforts. Reward yourself at the end of some major task. This reward systems will help you to focus on the task at hand.
Take a break from your routine. Yes, yes a routine is a powerful way of organizing your life but following a routine day in day out can become monotonous and you will start to lose your interest in everything. Occasionally, do things differently.

High performance isn’t about how many hours you work. It is all about how you can efficiently and effectively get the job done.