Successful people don’t just magically find themselves at the top. They actually put in the work by being focused, disciplined and building habits that lead to a productive life. The late great Zig Ziglar once said “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude that will determine your altitude.”
So here are a few simple yet indispensable habits that can change the trajectory of your life:
Create a morning ritual.
It can be that you want to pump up your endorphins through a quick morning workout, or you enjoy a healthy breakfast, or you like to meditate, or listen to morning affirmations. Whatever it is that makes you feel powered up, kickstart your day with that habit. Establishing a purposeful morning ritual will help you start your day on a positive, energetic note. In addition, it will help you to eliminate stress, mental exhaustion and boosts your productivity throughout your day.
Follow the 80/20 rule.
Also known as the Pareto Principle, is a maxim which states that 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event. In the workplace, the goal of the 80/20 rule is to maximize productivity by devoting most of your time and energy on those specific tasks that will create the biggest impact. Once you’ve completed those tasks, you can shift your focus towards other activities on your to-do list.
Read, read, read.
I can’t emphasize this enough. Reading widely not only expands your knowledge on worldviews, it also stimulates creativity. Immerse yourself in a book, newspaper or informative articles. You’ll be surprised at how much your level of focus improves. Also, reading has a calming effect similar to meditation.
A brilliant tool to widen your horizon, develop new ideas and seek motivation is actually indulging in non-fiction books like Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear or, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, for instance.
Learn to singletask.
One study revealed that only 2.5% of individuals are able to multitask effectively. Shocking, RIGHT? For the rest of us, our efforts to do several activities at once aren’t actually that. Neuropsychologist Cynthia Kubu, PhD says”, “When we think we’re multitasking, most often we aren’t really doing two things at once, but instead, we’re doing individual actions in rapid succession, or task-switching,”
If our brain is constantly shifting gears to bounce back and forth between tasks – especially if those tasks require our active attention – we actually become less efficient and more likely to make a mistake.
So, it is highly recommended that you learn to single-task. Make a list of things you need to accomplish in a day then, complete them one task at a time.
Go for a social media detox.
The average time a person spends on social media per day is approximately 2 hours 25 minutes. Research has also revealed that the more time you spend on a social media site, the more likely you are to develop depression. So, take time to cut back on social media to reduce stress and mental clutter. Switch off your phone and laptop for a few hours every day to enhance your mood and reconnect with the world around you.
Invest in self-care.
Do something for yourself every day that will make you feel good. It can be anything from listening to music, learning a new skill or preparing a scrumptious meal. Do what makes you happy!
OR
Take some time off to unwind. Make use of your leave days. It’ll help boost your mood, mental health, and self-esteem.
Developing these habits will require grit, heaps of patience and continuous effort. It may take long to build a habit but as long as you don’t give up, you GAT this!
