We all know someone—that one person who just crushes it all the time. They’re organized, down to earth, accomplished and successful.
What’s their secret?
They’re highly effective people. Highly effective people have cracked the code on living their daily lives in the way that best supports their professional and personal success.
Whether you’re ready to launch a new business or blog, want to become more efficient, or need to get organized, these 6 top habits of highly effective people will set you up for successful living.
They Prioritize
This is one of the most important habits of highly effective people. There are only so many hours in a day, and the most highly effective people among us know the necessity of prioritizing.
You’re only one human being. Productivity is ruled by prioritization. What needs to be done now? Is there a way to order tasks so that they’re more efficient in that they save you time or effort?
Everything is manageable when you can sit down and make a plan of action.
Consider deadlines, but also consider what a realistic amount of work to complete is in any given period of time.
Time Management
Time management goes hand in hand with prioritization. Highly effective people know that time is their greatest commodity.
There’s a reason people say time is money. We are, almost always, exchanging time for something—be it money or opportunity.
Bullet journal, set reminders, block distracting websites, schedule out allotted amounts of time for specific tasks. Do what you need to do to stay focused and on track.
Most people associate time management with using time wisely or efficiently, but learning how to leverage your time is just as important.
For example, if you’re a freelancer, charging a flat monthly fee vs hourly for services can help you leverage your time more effectively. This way your lifestyle and budget doesn’t correspond to your hourly time, but rather your lifestyle is supported whether you work 20 hours or 40 hours.
Bloggers may create digital products that create recurring income for a long time to come.
Find a way to make your time work for you.
Pick & Choose Battles
The most effective among us aren’t successful because everything always goes smoothly. In fact, it’s because they know you can’t win ‘em all that they’re able to be as efficient and productive.
Whether confronted with an issue at the office, a disagreement with a co-worker, business partner, family member, or significant other, one of the most important habits of highly effective people is to pick and choose their battles.
Compromise is a part of life. Know when to stand your ground and when to let something slide. You have limited energy, and as previously established, time.
Invest it into what is most important.
If that happens to be upholding a business decision that others disagree with, a value, or other sources of conflict, then, by all means, put the time and energy into it.
Instead, ask yourself if the consequences or outcome of doing the opposite will have last ramifications that don’t sit well with you or your needs. If it isn’t critical, just let it go. It probably isn’t worth your time.
Arguing with a co-worker about what color to make the powerpoint slides certainly isn’t the best investment of time or energy, so just be judicious.
They Communicate Openly
Communication is paramount to personal efficiency and success. Not only do you need to communicate your capabilities, but you also need to let people know your limits and expectations too.
This applies both in a professional and private life.
If someone needs a task done and you know it can’t be feasibly complete within a certain time frame, say something.
Highly effective people are open about their limitations and needs.
Communicate about what you need, whether its clarification, time, guidance, or support.
Clearly communicating what you need and expect from others as well as what you are able and comfortable giving saves time and boosts efficiency.
People also mostly happen to appreciate when you are honest with them. Bottling up stress or committing to something you can’t deliver on is far more detrimental than communicating from the onset.
They Take Action
Highly effective people can be dreamers, planners, and thinkers, but above all, they are doers.
No matter what the goal, highly effective people are able to make an actionable plan to achieve it.
Dreaming, planning, and thinking only go so far. In order to make anything a reality, you have to take steps to put some plans in motion.
If you have a goal and you aren’t sure how to make progress, do research on what others did and start creating an action plan made up of all of the steps you need to take to accomplish it.
For example, if you want to start a blog, you’ll need to choose a niche, register a domain name, create a website, and write posts.
Then, take the steps you need to accomplish these actions.
That’s actually a cornerstone of our Launch a Blog course. The course is designed to help you create a step by step strategy for launching your blog in just 30 days. You can sign up here.
They Take Small Steps
Highly effective people know the secret to accomplishing these goals and checking off tasks on their action plans: small steps.
Our long-term or larger goals need to be broken down into smaller steps. Not only does this make our goal more manageable over time, but it also helps us stay motivated.
If you need to choose a niche for your blog, write down the small steps you have to take to accomplish that one part of your overarching goal of starting a blog.
Highly effective people know that breaking larger steps down into micro-actions is a great way to boost productivity and stay on track with a goal.
When you have micro steps, there is rarely an excuse for not doing at least one thing that helps you achieve your goal every single day.
Take it one step at a time, and start integrating these top habits of highly effective people into your daily routine to boost your own efficiency.
Highly effective people know it’s slow and steady, so start forming your own habits that encourage and support your success.
