“People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let
things happen to them. They went out and
happened to things.” Leonardo da Vinci
Highly successful people don’t wait and hope for
desired results. Success is never accidental for
them. It’s the direct result of preparing, planning,
and aligning their time with their most important
goals. Here are eight ways that successful people
make the most of their time:
1. They save their decision-making muscles for
important stuff
Obama only wears blue or gray suits. Zuckerberg’s
uniform is a gray shirt and jeans. Steve Jobs wore
blue jeans and a black turtleneck almost every day.
Highly successful people simplify their wardrobe.
They minimize the amount of decisions they make
on trivial matters.
Only a few decisions truly matter. They’ve
internalized that every decision doesn’t have to be
optimal or perfect. This frees them to make quick
decisions most of the time. They automate and
simplify decisions.
They don’t think about whether they will go to the
gym. They don’t deliberate about what they will eat
for breakfast. They workout at the same time every
day. They eat the same breakfast every day. They
use their willpower and flex their decision making
muscles on the highest impact decisions they face
each day.
2. They have a consistent morning routine
They create momentum at the start of the day
through consistent morning routines. Successful
complete a combination of the following activities
in the morning: meditate, read, journal, exercise,
prioritize their day, envision a successful day, and
eat a nutritious breakfast to fuel their day.
For example, motivational speaker Tony Robbins
takes a cold plunge to reset his system and reduce
inflammation in the morning. He also does
breathing exercises and expresses gratitude during
a ten minute priming exercise. What we focus on
expands in our minds. Through his morning
routine, he chooses to expand gratefulness over
fear and anxiety.
A precise formula that produces an effective
morning routine doesn’t exist. Highly successful
people experiment with different activities until
they find the morning routine that fits their lifestyle
and sets them up for a successful day. They also
create routines for the end of the day…
3. They have a consistent nightly routine
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to
success.” Alexander Graham Bell
Successful people don’t wait until the morning to
prepare for a successful day. They start the night
before. They unplug from their devices, read,
meditate, and plan for the next day. They wake up
relaxed and stress-free because they have already
designed the blueprint for a productive day.
However, they don’t start planning the night
before.
4. They plan ahead thoroughly
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will
spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham
Lincoln
One of the major differences between highly
successful people and average performers is
detailed and strategic planning. Successful people
spend more time thinking about their big picture
goals and ideas. They zoom out regularly to
analyze their lives from a 50,000 foot view.
This enables them to make key decisions
deliberately, methodically, and strategically.
Average performers make those decisions in a
reactive mode while they’re in the thick of the
forest of their lives. Successful people plan
thoroughly and reap the rewards down the road.
Their detailed planning provides clarity on what
they should be working on at any given time. They
produce at high levels because they separate the
planning and creation processes. They don’t plan
when they feel like it.
5. They have a system for planning
While Bill Gates was the Chairman at Microsoft, he
secluded himself from the distractions of daily life
twice a year during Think Week. Visitors were
banned during the week. He read many papers (his
record was 112) about Microsoft as well as new
ideas in technology during Think Week. The space
and time he carved out during the week allowed
him to take a step back to review the projects and
ideas at Microsoft.
Greg Mckeown, the author of Essentialism: The
Disciplined Pursuit of Less, advocates conducting a
quarterly personal review to define your most
important objectives for the next three months.
What doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done.
Successful people regularly schedule time to
review their priorities, goals, and road maps to
achieve them. They schedule time to monitor their
progress on key objectives and iterate their plans
based on results and lessons learned. They
schedule their projects on a daily and weekly
basis. They set aside time to plan and strategize
as well as time to execute those plans.
6. They prioritize
Successful people understand that if they don’t
prioritize their projects, they will be swayed and
pushed around by the agendas of others. They
consistently evaluate their priorities and re-
organize the order as circumstances change.
Since their priorities are crystal clear, they quickly
a$$ess whether a request fits into their big picture
plans. They cultivate the habit of turning down
requests that don’t align with their most valued
goals. They learn to say no in a firm and graceful
manner to requests that don’t fit their plans.
Effectiveness trumps efficiency for them. They
focus on working on the right things over getting
more done. They strive to produce at their highest
quality for their highest priorities.
7. They focus on important projects
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent
and not enough time on what is important.”
Stephen R. Covey
In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey
lays out a quadrant with the following categories:
urgent and important, not urgent and important,
urgent and not important, and not urgent and not
important. The quadrant where you spend the
majority of your time determines your life’s
destiny.Average performers live in the urgent
quadrants. They are constantly putting out fires.
On the other hand, highly successful people focus
on activities that are important and not urgent.
These activities don’t yield instant results.
However, they produce ma$$ive long-term results.
8. They work on the most important project first
Willpower is a limited resource. As we make
decisions, run errands, and work on various
projects throughout the day, our willpower is
depleted. Successful people leverage the full tank
of willpower in the morning by working on their
most important project first.
In the morning, the stresses and obstacles that
arise throughout the day haven’t cluttered their
mind yet. They take advantage of their fresh and
clear mind. In addition, they take advantage of the
lack of distractions in the early morning. They get
a head start on the world by making progress
towards their most valued goal in the morning.
By Jose Ramos
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