Daily habits of productive leaders: Stay hungry

Maintaining momentum and productivity can be a tall order, particularly in today’s economic climate. At Selligence, we understand that keeping you working efficiently can be key to everyday success, and improved efficiency and productivity is what our products deliver for all our clients.  

Sometimes, even working effectively, we can find momentum slowing. With Talent Ticker and Anaxym’s all-round solutions, we’ll save you hours of tedious research, but how else can you keep momentum up and stay at the top of your game?

Here are some more easy-to-implement changes you can start building into your routine to boost your productivity, improve your efficiency, and keep your momentum supercharged.

Every day is a school day

Learning doesn’t have to be boring; it also doesn’t have to be work related. In fact, learning a new skill, of any kind, has been proven to change your brain chemistry, which in turn helps improve performance on a number of tasks. It’s also true that the more you learn, the faster you learn. So, if you’re really wanting to step it up at work, take time to ensure you’re learning on a daily basis too.  

Top executives at companies such as Monzo, PensionBee, Intuit, and Quicken Loans are all clued in on the importance of continued learning. Monzo’s “learning budget” is dedicated to books, training courses, and conferences, while PensionBee’s “Lunch & Learn” sessions are designed to keep its employees engaged and learning. The company also provide an environment in which people can share their ideas and learn about different areas of the business and, proving that learning can be fun, PensionBee also hosts pub quiz events for the team to encourage learning and team bonding.  

Intuit takes a more direct approach with a tuition-assistance programme designed to help those wanting to learn more and develop their skills in subjects related to their current position or career development plans. Quicken Loans also offer an education reimbursement scheme to support those looking for further training, tuition or certification. So, whether a new formal qualification is on the cards, or whether it’s 10 minutes a day on Duolingo, learning can keep your brain ticking over faster than you realise and keep your productivity at its max.

Read, then read some more

Why? Reading improves brain connectivity and strengthens the brain. Studies using MRI scans have shown that those who read routinely display more complex and sophisticated mappings of brain connectivity. One study also found that participants showed increased brain connectivity in the part of the brain that responds to physical sensations like movement and pain.

Another study has examined how those who read understand human emotion better and have increased levels of empathy. The ability to be able to read, understand and relate to other people is key to the life of a recruiter in forming and maintaining strong relationships with clients and candidates. Indeed, strong relationships are often considered to be at the heart of a recruiter’s success.  

So apart from improving your vocabulary, helping to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and help stave off boredom, reading can help your brain develop more neurological pathways. These more complex pathways could be the key to unlocking deeper, more open and trusting relationships and people-reading skills.  

Although recent studies are exploring these connections in more depth, the powers of reading are not new to us. In fact, many successful leaders are regular readers. Bill Gates aims to pick up a new book every week and in doing so, reads around 50 books a year. Elon Musk credits much of his success to the fact that for years he read excessively.  

Oprah Winfrey even started “Oprah’s Book Club” to encourage others into reading and open discussion. In 2004, Winfrey made an acceptance speech at the United Nations Humanitarian Awards, in which she claimed reading allowed her “the power to see possibilities beyond what was allowed at the time.”  

So, before you pick up your phone on your next commute, or while you’re waiting for dinner to cook, try picking up a book. A minimum 15 minutes a day will help support brain health, while the more you can read, the better. You’ll not only reap the benefits of a better vocabulary, but you’ll also have more you can talk about with a wider cross-section of people. You’ll be better able to read and relate to your contacts, and will also hone skills such as increased attention, while being able to drown out distractions while you focus, too.

What next?

Looking for other ways to save time and boost momentum, efficiency, and productivity? Our all-round solutions can save you hours of time a day and put you up to three months ahead of your competition.

Book a quick 15-minute call with our team to see how you can spend less time doing business development and get more time to build stronger relationships with candidates and customers. You can also check out some other daily habits that will supercharge your efficiency, at home and at work.