Nowadays, 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, since if you want to undertake a project or if you are a student, being effective will be decisive when it comes to achieving success in any task you set out to do.
Has it ever happened to you that you do a lot of things but you don’t seem to make any progress? Do you waste a lot of time on a task and can’t finish it within the specified time? Do you think you are very active but not very productive? If so, you may not be as effective as you thought.
In today’s article, and inspired by the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey we are going to review the most notable habits of people that are highly effective in their daily lives.
1. Be proactive
The proactive person assumes conscious control and responsibility for his or her 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 person understands that these opportunities will hardly come alone. Therefore, the proactive person creates their own destiny by responding to their ambitions and challenges.
This custom is closely related to personal development and motivation of individuals. It refers to personal leadership and 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 objective we set must follow the SMART rule (they must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and must be achieved within a certain period of time), because unrealistic goals negatively affect individual well-being
3. Establish first things first
This point refers to the administration of one’s 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 objectives, but priorities must always be established. Therefore, having a well-defined action plan and giving priorities to each objective or goal will be crucial to not do a thousand things at once and not finish any of them.
4. Think about win/win (mutual benefit)
This custom refers to mutual benefit and it is beneficial for balance in interpersonal relationships, as it promotes the common good and equity. Cooperation and teamwork can bring many benefits: productivity increase stress reduction, greater creativity and learning, etc.
This habit is based on the study of human interaction paradigms, which are 6:
The first of these paradigms is the important one to be effective, and is the opposite of win-lose, which is common for many people because we have grown up in a society that values competition.
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. Furthermore, 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, in order 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 talent) The collective result is greater than the sum of the members That is, 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
Sharpening the saw refers to continuous improvement and personal development in all areas of personality and it has to do with the welfare For the author of the book, sharpening the saw is based on the metaphor of a woodcutter. The woodcutter can use the saw for a while, but then he needs to stop and sharpen it so he can continue with his work.
Effective people use rest (sharpening the saw) productively, since taking a vacation, reading or training, meditating, exercising, etc., helps them continue providing good service. When people are not able to take a break from their life and recharge their batteries, they suffer negative consequences on their personality: physical, mental and socio-emotional.
