The following is a guest post by Paul Smith. Paul is a versatile author at custom writing service. He enjoys writing guest posts about social media, business, health and self-development. Paul can be contacted at Google+.

Productivity is not an innate skill, but the right mindset supported by the way one acts regularly. It’s hard to find someone who wouldn’t be dissatisfied with his productivity levels. We all want to be more proactive, more productive, and always be on time for everything. We look up to those who are efficient at everything they take up, and think that they probably have some kind of secrets for acting this way. So, what are their secrets?

There are 7 key habits of productive people, and you can start applying them yourself today.

Start your day with doing the most unpleasant task. This will really benefit to your whole day. At first, having completed the unpleasant task (or having “eaten the frog”, as it’s often called), you’ll feel relaxed for the whole day. At second, you form a really useful habit of doing unpleasand and important things instead of procrastinating on them. And, at third, you feel uplifted as the task is already completed and doesn’t hang over you as the sword of Damocles. Do a single task at a time. It’s proven that only 2% of people can multitask successfully, for the majority of us, it reflects in lower productivity, distracting and procrastinating. So, when you work, focus on the one thing you currently do. Close all unnesessary windows, social media alerts and take away the phone. You will complete the task faster and with higher efficiency. Divide your major goals into plans of action and write it down, step by step. When all your goals are kept in your head, it’s unlikely you will be able to evaluate the situation clearly and make right decisions. Always write down your long-term and current goals, this will help to distract from them and understand how to achieve them better. Use The 80/20 Rule. Remember that if you spend 20% of your day completely focused on working on something towards your long term goals (the important stuff), you’ll garner 80% of the desired result. Use this rule to get the most out of your time. Get rid of unimportant tasks, time-consumers, and daily routines which are not getting you closer to your goals. Focus on the actions which are useful and either make your life better now or will help you to achieve your goals in the future. Cut down the distractors ruthlessly, and you will find enough time for doing the things you really want. Take breaks. The fact that you work more doesn’t mean that you’re productive – it’s just the opposite. When you feel tired, take a short break and switch off to something not work-related. This will help your brain relax and restore optimal productivity levels. Set timelines for every task you need to do. The truth is, if you don’t set timelines, you’ll be doing this concrete task for eternity. So, when you plan several tasks and set the timeline for each one, by the end of the day you’ll notice that you’ve completed much more than usual.

Photo credit: Madame Love