10 secrets of productivity from billionaires

1. Always carry a notebook with you

In one of his interviewsRichard Branson shares his travel tips for CNN, Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, mentioned this healthy habit:

The main thing for me is to carry a small notebook in my back pocket. It can be used to record important thoughts, contacts, suggestions, solutions to problems. I could never have built the Virgin Group without this paper notebook.

According toTake note, it's time to take notes Branson, 99% of his acquaintances in leadership positions do not take notes, and in vain. This opinion is shared by other business sharks. For example, the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who says: “Write everything down. This is a million dollar lesson that for some reason is not taught in business school. "

Nike CEO Mark Parker, entrepreneur and writer James Altusher, chief operating officer Facebook CEO Sherrill Sandberg - they all prefer paper notebooks over Internet services for notes.

There are several reasons. The paper is internet independent and does not need to be charged. In addition, a blank notebook gives you more freedom: you can keep lists, draw graphs and draw in it, and finding an application that can do all this at once, you still have to try.

It is very important to record all your ideas, thoughts, sudden insights, deeds and contacts. The human brain has an unpleasant tendency to forget everything, but the notebook has no such flaw.

2. Simplify decision making

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, tries to live a simple life. This is reflected in his clothing preferences - for example, he always wears the same blue jeans, gray T-shirt and hoodie.

In 2014, during a public Q&A session on Facebook, Zuckerberg was askedHere’s The Real Reason Mark Zuckerberg Wears The Same T ‑ Shirt Every Day about this approach to your own wardrobe. And this is what he replied:

I want to cleanse my life of unnecessary things so that I have to make as few extraneous decisions as possible that are not related to work. It seems to me that I can use the stored energy more beneficially.

This is how Mark copes with tiredness from decision making. And he is not alone. Steve Jobs constantly wore the same black turtleneck, blue jeans and New Balance trainers. Tucker Hughes, managing director of Hughes Marino, plans a week ahead of what to wear and what to eat.

Former US President Barack Obama once saidObama's Way Vanity Fair that wears only gray or blue matching suits because it wants to cut back on options and focus on other, more important decisions.

Make your wardrobe, menu, exercise list, daily plan, schedule, and then just follow the regimen. This will save you time and effort.

3. Spend less time negotiating

Most of our usual meetings last an hour or more. Richard Branson's meetings take 5-10 minutes. The billionaire often mentionsWhy you should stand up in meetings about his aversion to long, useless conversations:

I have never been a fan of long negotiations. Therefore, I prefer to conduct meetings standing up. First, it makes the discussion shorter, and people are forced to immediately speak the most important thing. Secondly, excess physical activity. I also don't like PowerPoint presentations.

In his book “15 secrets of time management“Kevin Kruse, interviewing the rich about their habits, says that Jack Dorsey and Steve Jobs also tried to make meetings shorter and to have them on the go.

In addition, this also applies to correspondence. Sheryl Sandberg sets herself a limit on the length of her emails. She claimsSheryl Sandberg reveals her No. 1 timesaving work hackthat he prefers typing a short, quick and incomplete answer, rather than sitting and thinking about what else to say.

Do not drag out meetings and negotiations by grinding all kinds of nonsense. Focus on discussing the most important issues.

4. Do simple tasks first

If you are overwhelmed with things to do and you feel sick from the to-do list, consider whether all of the items on it will take the same amount of time. Most likely, you have simple, small assignments that will be easy for you, and only a couple of really difficult assignments. In the book "10 leadership lessons"Zuckerberg also mentioned his habit of helping him deal with a heap of worries:

The simplest rule of business is this: choose the things that are easier for you first and do them. Then you can really make a lot of progress.

Do the simplest tasks first, which doesn't take a lot of time. There are two reasons for this. First, it saves you more time on really difficult projects. Secondly, you will feel the moral satisfaction that you crossed out half of the elements in your task list without spending too much energy. An obvious but powerful strategy.

5. Go in for sports

The fact that sport helps to maintain mental activity has already been said quite a few. And Branson in his interviewRichard Branson on Exercise and Productivity FourHourBodyPress also notes that it achieves twice as much when it keeps itself in shape. In his free time, he plays tennis, walks or jogs, and also rides a bicycle or kitesurf. Mark Zuckerberg has also mentioned the relationship between exercise and productivity:

Staying in shape is very important. It takes energy to do something well, and you have a lot more energy when you are in shape. I try to exercise at least three times a week, usually right after I wake up.

As saidArnold Schwarzenegger asked Mark Zuckerberg about his workout routine - Here’s what Zuck said Arnold Schwarzenegger, no one can justify their unwillingness to train because of the lack of time, because even the Pope and presidents find a minute to do their form.

Take care of this, too, as physical activity not only improves health, but also has a positive effect on mental abilities.

6. Make time for idleness

It may seem that the words "billionaires" and "idleness" cannot be combined in the same sentence. But Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, claimsThe Importance of Scheduling Nothing the opposite:

I enter into my calendar time intervals during which I do nothing at all. I just sit and think. This usually takes one and a half to two hours a day. Use this time to catch your breath.

Even the most productive people in the world are unable to do business all the time. Take some time every day to be idle. Think about anything other than work. Meditate. Make some diary entries. So you unload your brain and avoid overwork.

7. Read as much as possible

Rafael Badziag, an expert in entrepreneurial psychology, interviewed 21 billionaires while writing his book The Secret to the Billion Dollar: 20 Principles for Billionaire Wealth and Success. He found that all rich people are united passion for reading. They regularly read biographies of other successful people, trade magazines and business books, but not only.

Bill Gates confessedWhat Bill Gates is reading now, from 3 standout non-fiction titles to ‘every word’ written by the late beloved novelist David Foster Wallacewho reads about one book a week and 50 a year. And that's why:

You don't start getting old until you stop learning. Each book teaches me something new and helps me to look at things differently. Reading fosters a sense of curiosity that has propelled me forward in my career and work.

Petter Stordalen, co-owner of Nordic Choice Hotels, told Badziag that he is very fond of detective stories. Investor Warren Buffett spends 80% of his time reading, and it annoys him that he has a pile of unread books all the time. Businessman and investor Mark Cuban reads three hours a day, mostly about his field of activity.

there is many reasons read regularly. It develops mental abilities, trains the imagination, slows down the aging of the brain, makes your speech clearer and more literate, improves sleep. Finally, it's just interesting.

8. Don't try to do it all alone

Great people are always backed by those to whom we pay the least attention - family members, friends, colleagues and subordinates, without whom all their achievements would be impossible. Alone, you will not do anything, no matter how stubborn and gifted you are.

Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon, once said10 unexpected productivity lessons from Jeff Bezosthat the myth of a "lonely genius" who creates great ideas out of nowhere is just a myth. Here is what Michael Dell, the American billionaire, founder and CEO of Dell, thinks about it:

If you try to control everything alone, then you are very limiting yourself. Imagine that all decisions within the company had to be carried out by one person. It's like a bottleneck holding you back.

Surround yourself with people who will support you and teach you something new. Learn to share your responsibilities with others. Listen to the opinions of those you trust, even if they differ from yours.

9. Set realistic goals

When you dream of owning your own business, it's easy to start imagining your company as the future Apple killer or even something cooler. But aiming at too grandiose achievements, you risk wasting resources and energy, never getting close to the goal. Mukesh Ambani, oil tycoon from India and chairman of the board of Reliance Industries Limited, warns against overly ambitious plans:

I don't think the word “ambition” is bad for an entrepreneur. But our ambitions must be realistic. You must understand that you cannot keep up everywhere.

Choose less ambitious goals for yourself and start small. It's better to have a small but stable business than trying to create a big startup that will eventually go out of business.

10. Set aside separate days for different work

When CEO Jack Dorsey worked on Square and Twitter at the same time, he remained productive in a way he called "theme days." He set aside Monday for management, Tuesday for product development, Wednesday for meetings, and so on. Here's how the billionaire explained it:

It is impossible to work without distractions. But I can quickly deal with the cause of the distraction, and then remember: so, today is Tuesday, so I am in the food, I need to focus on them. And so I am less confused.

In addition, some managers, on the contrary, prefer not to engage in this or that business on certain days under any pretext. For example, Dustin Moskowitz, co-founder of Facebook and CEO of Asana, establishedHow does Asana approach No Meeting Wednesday? taboo to meet on Wednesdays.

It has been said many times that multitasking harmful to productivity. This division of your affairs into thematic days allows you to better focus on the highest priority for today.