💯 Best productivity habits to enhance your career

TalentGeist Newsletter

Immediately-actionable career insights for ambitious individuals.

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Hi friends,

Ah, it’s that time of the year……The Holidays….a perfect time if you’re just in the mood for relaxing and hanging out with love ones 🥰.

For those of you trying to squeeze out a bit more work or get ahead on career goals, however, it can be challenging. Motivations are low! I’ve definitely felt it too.

Thus, for today, I’m sharing 8 productivity tips I’ve consistently practiced over the years (collected from sources like the book ‘Atomic Habits’ — IYKYK). I’ve personally found these to be the most helpful in getting work done. Try them out for yourself!

1. Self-control is overrated. It’s much better to get rid of the source. E.g., putting my phone in the other room so I can’t be distracted during deep-work time.

2. Make it as easy — reduce frictions. E.g., laying out my gym clothes next to my bed so I put them on first thing in the morning. No excuses for skipping now!

3. Make it enjoyable. E.g., listening to my favorite music when doing monotonous tasks or churning out decks.

4. Make it specific. “I have to find a job” = way too vague, and your brain will want to procrastinate. Instead, break it down into small, manageable action items.

   E.g., this morning = send 5 networking messages to Product Managers from Google, this afternoon = review slides 30-60 in interview course and practice the frameworks for 2 hours, tomorrow morning = XX, etc.

5. Reframe — ‘I have to’ vs. ‘I get to’. E.g., it’s not ‘dang it I have to network / talk to all these people’, but rather ‘I GET TO learn about someone’s background and make a few friends while I’m at it!’

6. Habit over motivation. The latter is a feeling, and feeling are fleeting. Instead, build a habit (research shows that doing something consistently over a 1-2 months period = habit formed). Even Michael Phelps didn’t rely on motivation to get in the cold water at 5AM every morning. In other words, he didn’t just go “the water’s cold but LETS DO THIS we’re winning a gold medal, I’m so pumped!”……instead, most days it’s more like “ugh I’m sleepy and this water is cold as hell, but eh it’s just what I do.” Personally for myself, I’ve established the habit of meditating for 5 minutes every morning, sending out 2 networking messages every afternoon, and……writing a newsletter every week 😉.

7. 5-minute rule — it’s much harder to start something than continuing. ‘Trick’ your brain into thinking you’re only going to do it for 5 minutes (which makes it easier to start), but after 5 minutes you’re much more likely to just keep at it.

8. 2-minute rule — if something takes 2 minutes or less, just do it on the spot instead of taking note and coming back to it. Saves a ton of time and unnecessary mental space.

Happy Holidays, everyone! We’ll be taking a short break end of the year — see you all in January 2025!!

Best,

Vincent (LinkedIn)