“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better,” Maya Angelou once said. Wealthy and successful people must have taken a leaf out of Ms Angelou’s book, for you never see them losing their thirst for more knowledge, or reaching for new heights.
We’ve compiled a list of some habits highly effective people have, which you can easily implement into your daily routine, and watch as your life improves.
1) Acknowledging your mistakes
As any great leader will be able to tell you, they’ve made plenty of mistakes along their way to the top. The collective wisdom they gained as they made a string of bad decisions would have given them the skills they needed – seeing opportunities where others cannot, and preparing for all the unexpected outcomes. Invaluable lessons can be had when you try enough new things outside of your comfort zone.
2) Asking yourself why you want to do better
No matter how tough the situation may get, it’s always important to stick to your goals. Sometimes, it only takes a moment of weakness to distract you from the task at hand. Creating a list could help you to stay self-disciplined. Something to always keep in mind: Think of your self-discipline as a muscle. Each time you refuse to indulge in instant gratification and stick to your resolutions, you grow stronger.
3) Optimising the use of your energy
Social media is so prevalent in our daily lives that it can be difficult to ignore the noise and achieve what we’ve already begun. Research has suggested that people should time their work and break sessions in order to become more focused and have maximum productivity. Specifically, it’s not about working hard for a longer period of time – it’s about working smart with 17 minutes of break after every 52 minutes of work.
4) Thinking of your time as money
If you haven’t already learnt how to manage your time wisely, you’re going to be swamped by the sheer amount of tasks and people clamouring for your attention. You want to achieve that work-life balance, but how to do so? There’s no need to say “no” to everyone, but you could learn the art of delegation or asking for help. As such, the remaining time could be freed up and spent where it is most valuable.
5) Planning and starting in advance
The early bird gets the worm, and highly effective people sure know how to start their day earlier than the rest of the rat pack. Then there’s making sure you have the ability to prioritise; putting all the critical time-sensitive items in one pile and another pile containing the rest – to be delegated, delayed or disregarded. One tip is for you to plan a to-do list a day ahead, so you can hit the ground running.
6) Eliminating negative thoughts
Negative thoughts: even the best of us have to deal with them at one point in time. They’re normal, but the worst is when we allow them to drag us down, ultimately affecting the rest of our day. Keep a list of short-term goals somewhere easily seen on your desk, to stay motivated throughout the day. While having long-term goals is important, short ones allow you to celebrate the simpler things.
7) Meditating and disconnecting
When you’re feeling good about yourself, optimism and excitement aren’t far behind. Meditation seems to be the way to achieve that, with various neurological benefits linked to the ancient practice, such as improving attention and concentration. Power off all your devices at the end of the day; this habit gives you time to disconnect from the never-ending demands of the real world.
8) Networking all day, every day
Networking is possibly the most important habit one would need to cultivate in order to gain an advantage over their peers – your own secret weapon. It’s not only for landing you good career opportunities, you’d also be able to secure key clients. You’d also be getting valuable industry-related trends in addition to a large pool of resources for a variety of your career needs. Sold yet?
To conclude
“When you work on something, you get the feeling that you’ve achieved something,” said Masako Wakamiya, the 82-year old app developer. Also known as Japan’s ‘golden coder’, she never let her age deter her from self-learning code to make a game app for the elderly.
If you’ve read this far, take heart from Ms Wakamiya’s story and never stop reaching for new heights. You already have eight new habits to learn, so good luck!
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