Secret #6: They use a notebook.
Richard Branson has said on more than one occasion that he wouldn't have been able to build Virgin1 without a simple notebook, which he takes with him wherever he goes. In one interview, Greek shipping2 magnate Aristotle onassis said, Always carry a notebook. Write everything downThat is a million dollar lesson they don't teach you in business school! Ultra-productive people free their mind by writing everything down.
Secret #7: They process email only a few times a day.
Ultra-productive people don't check email throughout the day. They don't respond to each vibration3 or ding to see who has intruded4 their inbox. Instead, like everything else, they schedule time to process their email quickly and efficiently5. For some that's only once a day, for me, it's morning, noon and night.
Secret #8: They avoid meetings at all cosplayts.
When I asked Mark Cuban to give me his best productivity advice, he quickly responded, Never take meetings unless someone is writing a check. Meetings are notorious time killers6. They start late, have the wrong people in them, meander7 in their TOPics and run long. You should get out of meetings whenever you can, hold fewer of them yourself, and if you do run a meeting, keep it short.
Secret #9: They say no to almost everything.
Billionaire Warren Buffet8 once said, The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no' to almost everything. And James Altucher colorfully gave me this tip,If something is not a hell, YEAH! Then it's a no!
Remember, you only have 1,440 minutes in every day. Don't give them away easily.
Secret #10: They follow the 80/20 rule.
Known as the Pareto Principle, in most cases 80% of outcomes come from only 20% of activities. Ultra-productive people know which activities drive the greatest results, and focus on those and ignore the rest.
