Ordinary people work 45 hours a week. Moreover, out of these 45 hours, research suggests that people consider 16 hours to be unproductive.
It is said that the core difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that successful people don’t just do things differently. They do things which bring them closer to their end-goal.
Each step they take is meticulously planned out. Each habit they adopt enhances their confident.
What are some of the habits of highly successful people?
Can anyone be successful?
What does it take to succeed for a common man?
Here are six habits of highly successful people which when adopted can make anyone successful regardless of their position and situation in-time.
- Manage Your Mood
If you begin your day calmly, it will be easier for you to retain focus and get things done effectively.
However, what if you wake up to the shrill ringing of the morning alarm, the annoying pinge of notifications, your email folder brimming over with messages – I am sure you’ll spend the whole way addressing those reminders.
This means that you don’t have any control over your priorities; your commitments control you.
Richard Branson invests 45 minutes every morning alleviating stress, relaxing and calming himself down so that he can stay non-reactive to things that don’t raise red flags.
Research shows that your mood in the morning affects the productivity of your entire day. If you start off on the wrong foot, it won’t be a good day.
Studies after studies reveal that happiness increases productivity and successful people make sure that they start each day on a positive note.
As per Shawn Achor in his best-selling book, The Happiness Advantage, :
“Smart doctors adopt a positive mood just before making a diagnosis which makes the diagnosis 19% faster. In the same way, an optimistic salesman sells 56% more than a pessimistic one. Students who pretend to be happy before taking a math exam perform better than those coming with a negative mindset. It turns out that our brains are hardwired to perform well relaxed.”
So, start thinking about managing your mood rather than maintaining your work.
- Never Check their Email in the Morning
We are surrounded by a sea of distractions. There are a plethora of things that you do in the morning. If you want to be on the list of highly successful people, start by avoiding emails early in the morning.
I am sure you don’t want to start your day with a damaging brain. Firstly, research shows that it stresses us out. The first hour in the morning is the most crucial hour of the whole day. Highly successful people join the 5 am club. Each morning, instead of checking their emails, they mediate and fill their minds with positive thoughts.
Successful people write in their gratitude journal every morning. Things that cannot be bought with money, and offer thanks to the creator.
- Is it Even Necessary?
The highly successful people don’t just do something because it is the need of the moment. They only indulge in a task at hand after analyzing it and making sensible conclusions.
Every single human soul is blessed with 24 hours a day. The only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that successful people ask many questions before doing or taking any decision. If anything, don’t bring successful people closer to their goals or they won’t do the thing at all.
What is the point of wasting time and energy of something which is not even necessary in the first place? Successful people take well-informed risks. These risks minimize the damage and make it easier to move forward.
- Master the Art of Eliminating Distractions
Most people think that successful people have more time than ordinary people. In reality, successful people are laser-focused on their goals. Instead of running towards every other opportunity, successful people learn how to minimize distractions by saying No to less important things.
To say No to things takes guts. Not everyone can ignore distractions. It is a learned skill. For instance, if you are working on a project and you are willing to finish the project on time, it is necessary to take help from a productivity tool such as TaskQue to prioritize your urgent tasks and leave out everything that doesn’t add any value towards your project.
- Go with Your Guts
There are countless debates on listening to your heart vs. doing what is logical for your business. However, successful people go with their guts. Be it doing an activity with someone new or adding one more product to the product line. Successful people listen to their heart.
Even science has proved that your gut is best when it comes to making decisions. Before reaching a decision, ask yourself a few questions:
Does this decision make me feel comfortable?
Would I make the same choice if I had millions of dollars at hand?
Does this decision or person drain my energy if I go with my guts?
These questions might seem like simple questions, but when asked by successful people, they all agree on going with the gut instead of trusting their heart.
- Plan a Night Before
When you wake up each day knowing what the most urgent thing is to do, it removes the stress out of the equation. Instead of planning everything the same day, successful people plan and decide most of the things a day before.
Every day comes with new challenges and opportunities. It is best to stay prepared rather than relying on impulsive decision-making. To bid adieu to all the pain and stress, it is advised to make a to-do list a night before. Each day before you retire, analyze your day and move the uncompleted things to the next day. Moreover, plan the next day as thoroughly as you can. This will help you save some time and keep your focus on the stuff at hand.
Over to You
The word productivity sounds more like a mechanical thing. We see successful people all we see is a story of overnight success. In reality, successful people do things differently than ordinary people. They take out the time to analyze and do things that bring them closer to their goals, and not away from them. Adopt these habits and allow yourself to follow in the footsteps of highly successful people.
