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Blog/Start Here!/Lessons learned from productive people.
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Hi, I Am Nick Meadows

CEO of 80/20 Blueprint 

Visionary and gold medalist jaw jacker  
and River our mascot! 

Lessons learned from productive people.

Friday, December 23, 2022

Lessons learned from productive people.

How to be more productive: productivity hacks from to do lists, to compounding wins.

Productivity is a skill that can be learned and developed, and it's something that we all strive for in our daily lives. Whether you're a student trying to get through your exams, or a working professional with deadlines to meet, we all have moments where we could use a little boost in productivity.


Luckily, there are some simple productive habits you can do to increase your productivity levels. In this blog post, we'll share 5 tips on how to be more productive. Take a look and see if any of these strategies work for you!

Lesson 1. Kill your to do lists!

A to do list as a concept has for too long commanded us throughout the day leaving minimal room for new ideas and instead focus on taking one task at a time.

As the lists grows many people are left to feel overwhelmed and have their days run by other distractions than they intended on focusing with.

Creating a productive day plan around a day mission to stay focused.

What we've learned is that those who are successful create daily missions that have multiple tasks to help them increase productivity. Important tasks should be given special importance in your day planning and then including the repetitive tasks that will help you accomplish those important tasks.

This creates focused peak productivity around big ideas that truly move you forward and make your days highly efficient.

Why a day plan works better.

A to do list is typically a long list of random different items that lack the clarity of knowing what the important tasks really are. Most people get caught just trying to complete tasks without thought of how the second and third string effects will change the next task.

How to implement a day plan.

If you're the kind of person who struggles with staying focused and are looking for how to be more productive, then here is how to implement the day plan technique.

Start by taking your total to do list and group them into lists of small tasks, daily tasks, and key tasks. On another list place all your other tasks.

Of your key tasks start with the question, "whats the most important thing I accomplish first?" place that task on your planner.

Then add the small tasks and daily tasks that go with it that will allow you to be successful. repeat this process for each day until you have planned out each key task.

Congratulations, you've successfully created a series of day plans focusing on your most important tasks.

Lesson 2. Time management and your productivity habits.

Deep work cycles.

Deep work cycles happen when you intentionally set aside time blocks for improving productivity. During these cycles you remove any distraction to allow for longer periods of focus.

Only people who have dire need or emergency are allow to interrupt, thus allowing productive people the chance to stay focused. Any new task that arises during these periods have to be set in the other task category as described above.

Peak hours.

During your day you may have noticed that during some hours you feel more productive. Your body has natural rhythms when it wants to do certain tasks at certain times of day. When you figure out what your internal rhythm schedule looks like you can pair your deep work with those cycles to create a state boosting productivity!

Taking breaks.

Taking regular breaks is one of the key work habits of successful and productive people. During your time management and planning sessions make sure to include regular breaks to give your brain a chance to recover much like a muscle needs regular rest at a gym to preform at its best.

Short breaks are even used in productive techniques like the Pomodoro Technique.

Team meetings.

Meetings with teams can be a challenge when not managed correctly. As a rule successful people believe that more hours should be spent outside the meeting than in the meeting.

Smaller tasks should be scheduled and managed outside of the team gathering allowing a rule that each topic of discussion last no longer than two minutes.

This two minute rule keeps the pace of the meeting moving forward and is one of the key productivity habits of successful organizations.


Some tasks may require more time spent on conversation over a tasks however if you are able to facilitate conversations via email prior to the meeting you will achieve much more and save time.

Lesson 3. Bad Habit elimination.

How many hours do you spend on social media?

Most people spend more time throughout the day on social media than they realize, especially in their home life.

The number one most cited way to master time management, get more self control, and focus is to reduce or eliminate social media time.

We understand the power of connecting with family members however research shows that algorithms have adapted to be better able to keep your focus longer and prevent you form achieving that new project you want to do.

Productive people focus on positive habit creation.

If you want to feel productive, then its important to focus on your most important tasks. You're only able to accomplish this by setting up positive habits that push you into increasing productivity.

By taking this list and finding one item that you can implement daily you are pushing yourself away from long hours of frustration and toward productivity.

Wasting time vs Investing time.

If you really want to own productivity then you have to first take a look at the way you're using time. We routinely look at how we can better invest our time each day to increase productivity as opposed to just spending it.

When you invest your time you are doing so in ways that move you toward being productive overnight while you sleep as opposed to constantly spending time one task at a time.

Lesson 4. Stop Multitasking.

Task swapping and productivity peaks.

If you really want to learn how to be more productive, this is our number one tip. Its even more powerful than eliminating the to do list.

The most productive people eliminate multitasking as a part of their time management plan.

When you multitask you believe that you are able to split your focus, however the human brain isn't capable of doing so effectively.

You are better serving yourself by focusing on a certain task life a creative project, one at a time and taking breaks than you would be by trying to split your focus.

By focusing on an individual task you are able to block out distractions and work more deeply on specific tasks and achieve more.

Work productivity and dealing with the work environment.

Work environments can be either incredibly helpful or harmful when it comes to your journey of how to be more productive. If you're one of the people who see their productivity levels rise during work hours then these productivity tips might be for you!

Dealing with co workers.

Co workers will inevitably cause you stress when trying to end your multi-tasking. This happens when others attempt to add their to do's to your todo list, especially the hard stuff.

In order to be more productive you need to have harder boundaries that are established and agreed upon by your employer.

Some of the most profitable companies are hyper focused on productivity, however they are setting time aside to do deep work. and avoids to do list sharing.

By setting boundaries and having clear expectations you are able to prevent the distraction of others who do not understand the power of focusing on their own tasks.

How to facilitate create the productivity conversation with your employer.

If you really want to know how to be more productive, you have to create the work environment that supports it. Start with asking your boss for an honest conversation.

Let them know that you are looking for ways how to be more productive. Let them know you are looking! This simple question will help your boss see that you're working on productivity and that will help you further down the line.

Once you've had a chance to hear what they say, and have a better plan that you're able to make with them.

The final step is to bring up deep work and how you're working with it. Request that you're able to set up deep work hours based on your peek hours and during those times to have the power of not being interrupted. Ask for a chance to prove its effect on your productivity.

Other work productivity tips.

There are countless other tips that can help you increase your productivity, from being mindful of the way you use technology to ensuring that you're eating well and getting enough sleep. And if all else fails then remember to take a break and do something for yourself!

Being productive doesn’t have to be a struggle, but it does require you to create positive habits and with some strategic planning you can achieve even greater heights.

Lesson 5. Physical Exercise.

Exercise time blocks.

As we talked about above, you need to be working on your time blocks to help you have more productive power hours. However, during your planning process, it's important to set aside dedicated time for exercise.

The biggest reason is that your ability to focus and become more productive lies in your body's ability to function. Those who are physically fit have been found to have higher levels of productivity. It is for this reason that large companies have been spending large amounts on employee wellness, due to its link to productivity.

Exercise at work.

While not everyone can achieve high levels of exercise during work hours, there are some simple ways to be able to increase how productive you are through exercise.

Use simple timed breaks inside of planning your days. Set aside 5-10 minutes to walk a lap through a building. This simple trick will help improve blood flow and thus become more productive.

How to be more productive: what productivity tips are you going to implement?

Now that you've gone through the lessons of the successful, you no longer need to ask the question of how to be more productive. You know that you have to focus on what productive habits will get you to success.

We encourage you to take some time over a long weekend to help you plan your future and what you want to achieve. If you need more help check out our other articles and resources!

Let us know what habits you're working on!

Let us know what habits you're working on and what levels of success you're achieving! We'd love to know how we might be able to continue to help you!

Looking for a planner that will help you achieve these results?

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