3 Secrets of How Successful People Stay Productive

A few things stand out about the daily habits of successful people. For one, they’re incredibly productive.

• Entrepreneur Tim Ferriss has written 5 bestsellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek, yet also found time to be an angel investor to some of the world’s top companies and record more than 500 podcast episodes.

• Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu has penned hundreds of pieces of music for concert halls and film soundtracks, while still managing to write some 20 detective novels and become a celebrity TV chef.

• Swimmer Michael Phelps has set the record for the most Olympic medals with 28 wins, competing in games in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, and Rio, while also authoring two books and starting a family.

The more successful you get in life, the busier you will find yourself. A flourishing career can really fill up your calendar.

However, staying busy isn’t necessarily the secret to success — in fact, it can lead to burnout.

So, what’s their secret? you may be wondering.

Despite the fact that there are many keys to success, these three simple and effective productivity habits may surprise you:

• Getting organized.
• Taking time to relax.
• Valuing good communication.

Here’s some advice on the topic from successful people in their own words, plus tips on how you can can apply these habits to become successful in your own career.

The Productivity Habits of Successful People

There are different opinions on what the productivity habits that make you successful are — making to-do lists, journaling, focus tricks, daily exercise, good nutrition, meditation breaks — and all these and more can be helpful.

But it’s rare to find a successful person who doesn’t prioritize organization, relaxation and communication.

As a company focused on helping people be more productive, we can confirm these 3 habits are really important. But don’t take our word for it.

Here are some quotes on the productivity secrets of successful people in their own words.

On Getting Organized

Of successful people habits that lead to increased productivity, organization is one of the most important — and for good reason.

As Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said,

Knowing what your plan of action is for tackling your day is must. Your most important goals should start with a plan that allows you to work towards them efficiently.

The most successful people take this point on organization to heart. Jim Rohn, the entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker, once advised his listeners to, “never begin the day until it is finished on paper.”

Why is it so important to be organized, you may ask? Because “life is too complicated not to be orderly,” says Martha Stewart.

Although, it’s important to realize this part of success often isn’t glamorous. “Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation,” as Robert H. Schuller, author, televangelist and motivational speaker once said.

Famed salesman Zig Ziglar once explained that, “Unless you have definite, precise, clearly set goals, you are not going to realize the maximum potential that lies within you.”

If you haven’t been as clear as you should’ve about your goal or realized your full potential yet, it’s not too late to start.

“The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done… you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do.” – Lil Wayne, rapper, record executive and entrepreneur

Maybe it’s just time to start thinking about how you can get organized, set some goals, and determine what you want to accomplish next.

On Taking Time to Relax

Knowing the importance of rest and relaxation is another one of the key secrets of successful people. A schedule that is too hectic makes it harder, not easier, to accomplish your goals.

Rest is important because it recharges you. According to Miranda Kerr, famous model and businesswoman, “If you want to relax, watch the clouds pass by if you’re laying on the grass, or sit in front of the creek. Just doing nothing and having those still moments is what really rejuvenates the body.”

For many successful folks, rest isn’t just about getting ready to tackle a new day. It’s also about focus. “There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to remember what your priorities are,” points out Amy Reed, best-selling young adult fiction author.

How you relax depends on your needs. While some people like to do nothing, others exercise or meditate.

Drew Lydecker, president of AVANT Communications, says, “Working out has become my fuel that helps me meet the demands of the day. But even more than that, mindfulness has been my biggest point of evolution during these crazy years.”

Knowing the importance of taking time for relaxation isn’t new. This secret has been known for a long time.

Years ago, famed vaudeville performer, actor and author Eddie Cantor once said,

As Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh summarizes, “We will be more successful in all our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time, and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. And we’ll also have a lot more joy in living.”

It’s true that relaxing for productivity almost sounds counterintuitive. After all, we don’t tend to think about very productive and successful people sitting around relaxing. But it turns out that relaxation is an important key to their success.

On Valuing Good Communication

Good communication is another key to productive success in business and life, so it’s not too surprising that it is also one of the top daily habits of successful people.

As Theo Gold, the motivational and self-help author, once said, “Communication is your ticket to success, if you pay attention and learn to do it effectively.”

Effective communication is key, because you have to work together to achieve success. Alex Langer, a journalist and activist, once explained that, “Effective communication helps to keep the team working on the right projects with the right attitude.”

Communication helps your team work not toward just any goal, but a shared goal. Consider Henry Ford’s famous line:

To ensure the success of your communication, everyone should participate, exchange information, and work toward the same goal.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
– Babe Ruth, Red Sox and Yankees Hall of Famer

If you worry your communication and teamwork isn’t where it needs to be, it’s not too late to change it.

As Brian Tracy, the motivational speaker and self-development author, says, “Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”

Learning to communicate well can be life-changing. It’s an important quality for leadership and for overall success.

Whether on the field or at the office, valuing communication is one of the things successful people do that really stands out.

Taking Action on the Habits that Make You Successful

How successful people stay so productive really comes down to a few simple principles that you can apply in your own life.

Think about what you can do to be:

• More organized.
• More relaxed.
• More communicative.

These are not only habits that make you successful, but ones that can greatly increase your productivity.

At Amitree, we care about helping people become more productive and successful. It’s one of the reasons we created Folio.

Folio is our email add-on that uses AI-powered algorithms to automatically organize and streamline your email communications, so that you can get more done in your day and still have time to relax. It’s a simple tool that helps you be more organized, relaxed and communicative.

With Folio for Gmail and Outlook, you can save hours a week, with no extra effort. It’s time you can spend recharging and preparing for your next great success.

Start your free trial of Folio today.