How to Be the Most Successful Person in Your Class – Simple Ways to Stand Out, Proven Lessons, and What to Do in Your Youth

He is the CEO of Tesla and the most recent host of Saturday Night Live. How do successful people like Elon Musk manage to do it all? OnDeck, the global online small business lending company, recently analyzed the work habits of forty prominent business leaders to find out how they achieve superhuman feats without burning out. Can studying their routines help us balance our own daily tasks? These are simple ways to succeed and stand out.

Here are five work habits of the world’s most successful people that will change the way you approach your day – they are simple ways to succeed and stand out.

Work Habit #1: Multitask Strategically

Whenever possible, Elon Musk combines multiple tasks in a productivity breakthrough known as batching. While studies have shown that multitasking in general is less efficient than single-tasking, there is another option. It involves assigning time slots to similar tasks to minimize distraction and maximize productivity. Every time we are interrupted, it takes an average of 15 minutes to regain focus. Batching reduces the amount of distraction that occurs in our increasingly connected lives. Some examples include processing all emails, phone calls, and other communications at once, or updating several spreadsheets simultaneously. To find items you can batch, write down all your general activities for the week and identify those you can group together. Musk has been quoted as saying, “But what I’ve found is that I’m able to be with [my kids] and still be on email. I can be with them and still be working at the same time… If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be able to get my job done.”

Work Habit #2: Avoid Meetings

According to billionaire investor Mark Cuban of Shark Tank, “Meetings are a waste of time unless you are closing a deal. There are so many ways to communicate in real time or asynchronously that any meeting you sit in should have a defined duration and defined outcomes before you agree to attend. “For example, if you have a meeting where people are giving you status updates, ask them instead to send you a daily email summary. Make email your default mode of communication. If someone wants to set up a meeting, ask them to send their questions via email instead. If that doesn’t work, talk about it over the phone. If the meeting must happen, request a copy of the agenda, then complete everything on the agenda before the meeting. This will eliminate the need to attend the meeting so you can work on another project instead.

Work Habit #3: Develop a Routine

How does Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour manage her packed schedule? She has impeccable work habits. Wintour shares, “I have a very consistent structure to my day that I follow, and I find it really suits me.” Anna Wintour’s daily routine starts early, usually between 4 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., when she begins reading British and American news. After that, she typically plays tennis and makes a Starbucks run for coffee and breakfast. Wintour is also well known for wearing similar outfits every day to reduce decision fatigue. Afternoons are usually reserved for off-site meetings or lunches with designers, event planning, or public appearances. Then at 5 p.m., she returns home to work in the evening. Wintour adds, “It’s very important to me to get everything done at night so I can keep up with the work and no one is waiting for my reply.”

Simple ways to succeed and stand out

Work Habit #4: Write It Down

When asked about things he always takes with him wherever he goes, Sir Richard Branson identified one item as the most important. “It may sound ridiculous, but the most important thing for me is to always carry a small notebook in your back pocket. I think the first thing I take with me when I travel is a notebook… I could never have built the Virgin Group to its current size without those few pieces of paper.” Getting into the habit of writing daily has multiple benefits. For one, putting your goals in writing increases the likelihood of achieving them. It also improves the clarity and focus of your thoughts and helps declutter your mind so you can solve problems more effectively.

Work Habit #5: Schedule Creativity

It may seem counterintuitive, but creativity does not happen by chance. You have to work hard and systematically to achieve it. Take poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou as an example. She used to go to a hotel room to write – arriving at 6:30 a.m., writing until 2 p.m., then returning home to do some editing. Daniel Ek, co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify, believes in scheduling creativity. Ek says, “People think creativity is this free spirit with no boundaries.” “No, actually the most creative people in the world schedule their creativity. That is the paradox. So I try to do the same thing.” Schedule is the system that makes your goals a reality. If you don’t set a routine for yourself, your only option is to rely on motivation. Remember, you can’t always depend on inspiration, but you can depend on consistent effort.

Effective work habits are essential to success. And last year taught us that time is precious. Make the most of it.