Whenever you see a very successful person, you may wonder how they have the time for everything, while you keep struggling to manage your work, kids and the essentials! Well, studies show successful people have high emotional intelligence. And the basis of emotional intelligence is self-control, a skill that helps you keep focus and be on track. But self-control is very difficult to achieve!

There are some things successful people do on purpose to be productive. You can try to adopt some of their best practices to help you do more in less time! Here are some tips you can try to adopt to be in control successfully…

Avoid Multi-Tasking

Anyone who is successful will tell you that you can do only one thing at a time and forget multi-tasking. It never works. It may make you think you are doing more, but, in reality you are becoming less productive. Multi-tasking, or switching tasks, will only reduce your time and accuracy for performing a job. So, increase your productivity by focusing just on one job at a time and see just how much more you can do.

Schedule Your To-Dos

Many people think that ‘to-do’ lists are great. But successful people avoid these non-productive ‘to-do’ lists. They, in fact, schedule everything, and their list is a calendar. It is the most important piece of advice we’ve been told since our schooldays, ‘Make a to-do list and keep ticking things off’. It may sound very good theoretically, but, the moment we start with our ‘to-do’ list, we discover that there is no end. Moreover, there are tasks that take longer to complete than we think and disrupt your plans. So, schedule your tasks intelligently taking into account things that might upset your other programs.

Don’t Let Work Take Over

Spending all your time working may turn out to be counter-productive. This way, you will burn out all your energy and miss out on all that you love doing. You may be surprised to know that successful people schedule even their non-work times. These are the times you spend with yourself, your family, friends, your hobby, or, maybe, just a show you love watching. This personal time allows you to recharge and helps you become more productive at work. These moments will give you something to look forward to as you enjoy them more over time.

 

Keep Some Time Tech-Free

Technology can be fantastic and, at the same time, terrible. Just think about the number of times you look at your cell phone and the notifications you get and how you feel as if you’ve got to check!

Successful people know this wastes time and drains energy. Make sure to keep aside a certain amount of time to go tech-free, or, at least, mostly tech-free. For instance, keep an hour to eat lunch or dinner without your favorite device—phone, tablet or computer. Scheduling a technology-free weekend every month or every other month can be even better.

 

Remember? Learn to Say ‘No’

No is a powerful word that will save your valuable time. When it’s time to say no, avoid saying things like ‘I don’t think…’ or ‘I’m not sure’. If you say ‘No’ to a new commitment, it means you want to give time to tasks you are already committed to and the chance to complete them successfully with a fresh mind. Research reveals that the more it is difficult for you to say ‘No’, the more it causes you stress, burnout and depression. So, learn to say ‘No’ with confidence and see how it makes you feel light and even more productive.

Make Time for Favorite Activities

Last, but not the least, you must have noticed that every successful person has that one thing they love doing—writing, reading, playing golf, surfing and so on. You may come to know about plenty of things successful people do, but taking the time off to do something to energize yourself does not come easily. So, find something that truly energizes you and makes you feel excited. Take out certain amount of time every week to boost your energy with such activities. It will help you reduce stress—have fun, and feel great. It will surely make you a much better productive person.

So, keep in mind that, to remain productive and in control, successful people schedule everything they do.