5 Productivity Tips From Incredibly Busy People

| 12 / 5 PRODUCTIVITY TIPS FROM INCREDIBLY BUSY PEOPLE Leaders and entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game know how to achieve what they want in less time than others. We can learn a lot from the tactics of these successful, and incredibly busy, individuals on how to better organize our own days. HAVE A SINGLE PURPOSE FOCUS. FOCUS One thing many successful entrepreneurs have in common is the ability to focus on what matters most. We can derive a great deal of power from developing a laser focus on our top business priorities. "Pick one thing and do that one thing-and only that one thing-better than anyone else ever could." Jason Goldberg, CEO of Fab.com RUTHLESSLY BLOCK OUT DISTRACTIONS. Several technology solutions can help you block out distractions. Rescue Time is an app that runs in the background of your computer and measures how you spend your time. Get Concentrating will help you focus on important tasks by temporarily blocking social media sites. "I concentrate on concentrating." Martina Navratilova, tennis legend SET A STRICT TIME LIMIT ON MEETINGS. 30:00 People generally don't need as much time as they ask for. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, allows a maximum of one hour and 30 minutes for single-topic, non-operational meetings. Fifty percent of the time is for the presentation; 50 percent is for discussion. "By Igiving people half of the time they ask for a meeting or appointment), I am able to cram a number of things in the day and move people in and out more effectively." Gary E. McCullough, former U.S. army captain and now CEO of Career Education Corp. SET UP PRODUCTIVITY RITUALS. TO DO DONE Set up rituals to automate behaviors that will make you more productive, without depleting your energy reservoir. "Force yourself to prioritize so that you know that you will finish at least that one critical task during the period of the day when you have the most energy and the fewest distractions." Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project GET UP EARLIER. 5:00 am It's not uncommon for successful CEOS to start their day well before 6 a.m. Use the mantra "mind over mattress" to motivate yourself to get out of bed to pursue your goals. If you tend to sleep in, Laura Vanderkam advises to start with small steps, such as getting up just 15 minutes earlier every day and gradually increasing the time. PUBLISHED ON OPENFORUM.COM OPEN forum DESIGN BY PAPERCUT.FR TEXT BY BRUNA MARTINUZZI