I've learned a lot about productivity and what makes some people more productive than others over the last few years. I interviewed a group of successful people a few months ago, from top students to CEOs and millionaires, to learn more about how they get things accomplished quickly and efficiently.

My interviews focused primarily on these habits: how they plan their schedules, what their daily routines are, how they get more done in less time, task delegation, running effective teams and how they manage overwhelming messages and emails. I've compiled all of their responses and summarized them into lessons you can use to boost your personal productivity.

First, plan your schedule based on your top priorities, and then act with a clear goal in mind.

• Organizing your priorities by importance and urgency can help you identify time wasters.
• Revise your daily schedule the night before to emphasize your priorities.
• Spend a few minutes at the start of your day reviewing your priorities — tasks that you must complete by the end of the day no matter what.
• Send a detailed agenda to all participants in advance of any school/work meeting.

For more helpful tips on this topic, you can read my article: The 7-Step System for Setting and Achieving your Goals

Second, create effective techniques for dealing with information and task overload.

• Some decisions are crucial. The vast majority aren't. Consider outsourcing or eliminating daily decisions if you want to be more productive.
• Make daily tasks, such as getting dressed and having meals, into routines so you don't have to think about them.
• Instead of checking your phones' screens every few minutes, check them once every hour.
• Repetitive tasks are ideal for shortcuts, delegation, or automation. Eliminating them from your schedule can save you a lot of time and energy.
• Divide large projects into smaller pieces and reward yourself for completing each one.

Three, understand your team's requirements for short meetings, efficient communications, and clear directions.

• Effective meetings should last no more than 60 minutes. End each meeting by highlighting the next steps and assigning responsibility for those steps.
• For any team effort, establish clear objectives and success metrics.
• Carefully examine how you and your team currently operate in order to identify inefficiencies and possibilities for improvement.
• Learning how to reflect on past projects and accomplishments is an excellent way to learn and grow as a team.

If you want to read more articles about productivity, click here!