8 Skills Of Highly-Effective People

Almost. Not one power, but eight. Let’s talk about useful skills that make work as efficient as possible.

All unimportant — to outsourcing.

Many have already heard about the 80/20 rule: the Pareto principle, which says that 80% of your results come from what you do 20% of your time. Most of the time we are engaged in non-essential matters that can be safely outsourced.

• Do not work hard, but consciously, with maximum efficiency: this is the only way to save time and energy.
• Identify the most important 20% of tasks that generate 80% of the bottom line, and devote as much time to them as possible. For example:
• do not spend 80% of your money on something that will bring 20% ​​of the profit;
• don’t waste 80% of your time on 20% entertainment;
• devote 80% of your time to 20% of your activities (those that matter most to you);
• delete 80% of emails or delegate someone else to work with them.

Process automation.

Some processes take a lot of time. Automate them — and you will stop duplicating tasks, wasting time, and will not depend on other people or even on your memory.

There are several systems (in fact, there are more of them) that you can safely automate. This will help you work from anywhere in the world and will give you freedom.

• Calendar or diary. Use an electronic calendar or day planner like Outlook, iCal, or Google Calendar stored in the cloud. Ditch the little-known services: they are harder to sync with other users’ schedulers.
• Email. Eats up a lot of time. Synchronize accounts across all devices and make them easily accessible. Process each letter according to the principle “Make, delegate, postpone or delete”
• Dropbox. Store your files in the cloud. Versatile and easy-to-use services are Dropbox and WeTransfer. From anywhere in the world, you can access files, presentations, voluminous video, and audio recordings — and share it all with other people.
• Password protection. Having to enter passwords on every site is annoying. There are two solutions. The first is to download an application for storing passwords and hidden notes. The second is to use an automatic login software or a browser plugin. You can set up automatic login to almost all sites, but not the ones where you make payments.

Flexible planning.

Long-term planning does not work: of course, no one forbids us to dream, but it is better to set real goals for the near future. The interesting thing is, when we are creating a software product, long-term planning is impossible: there is too much uncertainty.

• Set three goals for your 9-week sprint, break them down into milestones, and track your progress each week.
• Each day, set three priorities and focus on them in the morning.
• Break tasks into 25-minute blocks with a 5-minute break (Pomodoro technique). Form good habits that you monitor every day.
• Keep a journal of daily achievements and gratitude.

This approach is more effective than setting a long-term, ambitious single goal. See for yourself.

The first thing is important.

Often we focus on things that are neither urgent nor important, which dissipates our energy. We do not know how to highlight accents and put off unimportant things for later. But we can learn this.

Among the many time management techniques, there is one “celebrity”: it is simple and has a profound effect on performance. Each morning, you have to choose three things (and only three!) That you want to do in a day. Such a short list of tasks does not mean that you are lazy. Of course, during the day you will have to answer calls and do other small things that fill your free time. But these three goals that you set for yourself in the morning will remain a priority.

This technique allows you to focus your energy on the important thing — that which leads you to your goal. You will learn to highlight accents and gain tremendous clarity of thought.

Ability to say no.

It’s one thing to help a colleague, client, friend. Another is to want everyone’s approval and encouragement. Learn to state your desires and give up what you don’t want to do. Others will learn to respect you, stop taking help for granted, and increase your self-esteem and confidence. So is energy.

Learn to set boundaries. Try the following exercise: give up something three times a week. For example: “No, no more additives,” or “No, I haven’t finished yet,” or “No, I don’t want coffee, thanks.” Keep it simple, insignificant, to make sure you get the job done. Exercise has three benefits.

1. You learn to assert your rights.
2. People around you cease to consider you weak-willed.
3. Your self-confidence is strengthened.

Daily regime.

“King of Horrors” Stephen King adheres to a carefully observed regime. He does not expect to be visited by mystical inspiration. “Your concern is,” he writes in his memoirs. to make sure the muse knows where you are going to be every day from nine to noon or seven to three. If she finds out, I assure you, she will start flying. “

By consistently associating the same job with the same ritual and setting, we can put high productivity on stream.

Productivity Practices:

- Associate your key behavior with specific clues or rituals.

- Use the same prompts / rituals consistently and regularly in front of the behavior with which they are associated.

- Associate key behaviors with a specific context: time of day, physical environment.

- If you have to work in different environments, consider portable prompts / rituals that can be used anywhere (eg deep breathing ritual, self-talk).

- The main thing is consistency. The most beautiful ritual will do nothing if you don’t do it regularly.

Good mood.

You can improve your productivity with … a good mood! As crazy as it sounds, research shows that sometimes, even by watching funny cat videos on YouTube, a person can increase their productivity.

It is equally important to move away from negative moods. Try to avoid people, places, and things that annoy you. How and with whom you spend time, especially before important tasks, really matters.

Self-development.

In fact, there are a great many techniques and methods of efficiency. Some are versatile, others are just for you or your friend. Here you have to try and choose. This is the only way to find something that will help you not to miss important things, to keep up with everything, and not waste all your energy.

Self-development is a prerequisite for growth and development. Successful people constantly read books and apply their knowledge in practice.