Psychology Reveals 7 Daily Habits Of People More Productive Than You
Listen to what works for your body and mind.
evablancophotos | Canva Sick of the same old productivity advice? Let’s try something different. Being productive in an increasingly distracted world is a prized asset. I’ve analyzed the habits of productive people for many years. Some are surprising, others less so.
Here are seven daily habits of people more productive than you:
1. Lay off the pressure
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We can often berate ourselves for being lazy. We’re frustrated when we continually procrastinate. But it’s not that we lack discipline.
We apply so much pressure to perform that we overwhelm ourselves. Instead of trying to improve, just focus on the next, easy step. That’s all you need to do. Make it super easy.
- Write a line.
- Put on your running shoes.
- Write one message to a potential client.
Do what you need to do, but take a tiny action. This will give you momentum, and people will wonder how you’ve become so ‘disciplined.’
Psychological research suggests that the key to productivity is fewer interruptions, as cited by the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2017 research on boosting productivity, but that’s unrealistic for most adults working full-time. When balancing a workload, family meals, children’s academics, personal fitness goals, and more, the endless list of obligations makes it challenging to maintain an attention span on one thing for more than a few minutes.
2. Honor your natural rhythm
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Forget the gurus, and listen to what works for your body. This becomes clearer to you when you live healthier, though, so don’t come to rely too heavily on your overly stimulated body as an indicator of what’s best. But if you tend to work better in the evenings, forget Nathan the life coach this time and do what comes with less forcing.
Finding your productivity system improves productivity by allowing you to tailor a method that aligns with your work style, strengths, and weaknesses, leading to better focus, organization, and task management, ultimately enabling you to accomplish more efficiently with less stress and overwhelm. An analysis of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education found that when you create a system that fits you, you're likelier to stick to it and see consistent results.
3. Don’t set goals without assigning a system
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Writing out my goals is an invigorating process. More than anything, it keeps my attention on the exciting things that are possible in my life.
If I want a goal to become a reality, I always assign a system to that goal. If your goal doesn’t have a system, you will not achieve that goal. If I want to write and complete a book, I design a system for its creation.
This would look like writing 2,000 words daily from 10 am to 12 pm without distraction using the Pomodoro technique with an accountability partner. Anything is possible with the correct system attached.
According to research referenced by Georgetown University, people can only focus on one screen for 47 seconds on average, and the brain takes 25 minutes to refocus on a task after a distraction. In constantly diverting our attention to email, chats, or newsfeeds while working on something important, we exist in a “neurological liminal state of conflicted attention targets.” In other words, we can’t entirely focus.
4. Regularly shake stress out of your hips
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Much of our accumulated stresses and concerns are not floating around in our heads. Thinking this makes us insecure. The true productive people have a dirty little secret: Instead of complaining, they throw on some dubstep and gyrate like a crazed ape. They unlock their hips and can’t help breaking into a massive grin at the sense of relief and boundless creativity that rewards them.
5. Outsource work you don’t need to do
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Most will never subcontract jobs because they are too precious about how they want the work done, or they can’t understand valuing their time as money spent. If you’re spending time on tedious tasks, what else could you do that is higher leverage, given your talents?
Use Upwork or Fiverr and pay others to create more time. Productivity isn’t about how busy you are. It’s about the results you produce under your management.
Outsourcing can improve productivity by allowing companies to focus on core competencies by delegating non-essential tasks to specialized external providers, leading to better time management, reduced costs, access to specialized talent, and the ability to scale operations more efficiently, all contributing to increased output and efficiency within the core business functions, according to a study published by the Oxford Review of Economic Policy.
6. Spend more time in the same place
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If we keep changing our environment, we diminish our attention towards any one thing. When I write, and especially if I’m in a good productive flow, I keep going if I can.
I don’t leave the scene. I stay there with my tush firmly planted on the seat. I take some breaks to stretch, but if I stay in the same place, I’m more likely to produce more.
Research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology suggests that having your personalized workspace can significantly improve productivity by increasing feelings of control, comfort, and satisfaction, leading to better focus and motivation, especially when individuals are allowed to customize their environment with personal items like plants or photos. Studies have shown that employees with more control over their workspace tend to be more productive and engaged.
7. Enjoy the pain
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Many of us are overly obsessed with feelings. We need to be in the ideal mood to do things. ‘It’s important for our creativity,’ we say. But this mindset is blocking your potential.
How come? Because on the other side of discomfort and even pain is opportunity in the form of insane physical reserves and outer-worldly creative potential.
If you can find a strange love for pain, you will do more. You will become a maniac that others can only watch in awe.
Embracing negative feelings can improve creativity and, by extension, productivity by promoting deeper analysis, critical thinking, and perseverance, which can lead to more refined and innovative solutions to problems, mainly when the negative emotion is channeled constructively and not overwhelming. 2022 research found that a mild negative mood can push individuals to work harder and think more critically to overcome challenges, resulting in higher-quality output.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient.