The 7 habits of really effective people

Today, due to the competition that exists in the world of work, companies pay close attention to the effectiveness of its workers. But being effective is not only important if you work for someone, but if you want to undertake a project or if you are a student, being effective is going to be decisive when it comes to achieving success in any task that you propose.

Has it ever happened to you that you do a lot of things but you don't seem to make progress? Do you waste a lot of time on a task and you can't finish it in the indicated time? Do you think that you are very active but not very productive? If so, you may not be as effective as you thought.

Habits to be more effective at work and in life

In today's article, and inspired by the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" from Stephen R. Covey, we are going to review the most outstanding customs of people that are highly effective in their day to day.

1. Be proactive

The proactive person assumes conscious control and responsibility over their own life

, he sets realistic goals and does not stop working to achieve his goals. Being proactive has to do with going out and looking for opportunities, since the proactive understands that these opportunities will hardly come alone. Therefore, the proactive person creates her own destiny based on responding to her ambitions and challenges.

2. Start with an end in mind

This custom is closely related to the Personal development and the motivation of individuals. Refers to personal leadership and to action, since an appropriate vision of the future can have positive consequences for the emotional health of an individual.

It is important to understand that the end in mind must be realistic. Any goal we set ourselves must follow the rule SMART (They must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and must be achieved within a specified period), since unrealistic goals negatively affect individual well-being.

3. Put first things first

This point refers to the administration of their own resources and the rational application of these, and allows individuals make a distinction between what is important and what is urgent. You can have many goals, but you must always set priorities. Therefore, having a well-defined action plan and prioritizing each objective or goal is going to be crucial in order not to do a thousand things at once and not finish any of them.

4. Think win / win (mutual benefit)

This custom refers to mutual benefit and it is beneficial for the balance in interpersonal relationships, since it promotes the common good and equity. Cooperation and teamwork can bring many benefits: productivity increase, stress reduction, higher creativity and learning, etc.

This habit is based on the study of the paradigms of human interaction, which are 6:

• win win;
• I win / you lose
• lose / win;
• I lose / lose
• won
• win / win or no deal

The first of these paradigms is the important one to be effective, and it is the opposite of win-lose, that is common in many people because we have grown up in a society that values competence.

5. Seek first to understand and then to be understood

This habit also refers to cooperation and effective communication, and is based on the benefits of emotional intelligence. In addition, it is important for a correct social climate and for mutual respect and coexistence. Effective people have developed a capacity for empathy and active listening, to later be understood. In this way they build successful and constructive interpersonal relationships.

6. Synergize

This principle also refers to teamwork and collaboration. The synergy It refers to working as a team (adding the talent) the collective result is greater than the sum of the members. In other words, teamwork allows the talents of each individual to complement each other to create a final product that could not have been achieved individually.

7. Sharpen the saw

Sharpen the saw refers to continuous improvement and personal development in all areas of the personality, and it has to do with the wellness. For the author of the book, sharpening the saw is based on the metaphor of a lumberjack. The lumberjack can use the saw for a time, but then he needs to stop and sharpen it in order to continue with his work.

Effective people use rest (sharpening the saw) productively, since taking a few vacation, reading or training, meditating, exercising, etc., helps to continue giving a good service. When people are not able to make a stop on the road in their life and recharge their batteries, they suffer negative consequences on their personality: physical, mental and social-emotional.