Elevate your efficiency game with seven habits

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Make Yourself More Efficient With These Seven Unconventional Habits

Ellen Goodwin
4 min readJan 26, 2023

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Are you a highly efficient person or “just” an efficient person? Odd question, right? I only ask because my podcast co-host, Lee, has convinced me that highly efficient people are different than your regular, run-of-the-mill efficient people.

Up until a couple of months ago, I would have told you that if you were efficient in any way, you were doing well. (Keeping in mind that being efficient can be different than being productive.) I never spent any time thinking that there were different tiers of efficiency. (And you probably haven’t, either.)

As I learned, it’s the unconventional habits that highly efficient people use that make them rise to the upper levels of efficiency.

Luckily, being unconventional doesn’t mean the habits are impossibly complicated.

Lee and I identified seven of these unconventional habits. Then we put together a seven-part podcast series and an infographic* for our listeners, designed to keep all of these habits top of mind. You can quickly ramp up your efficiency game by incorporating these habits into your life.

1. Energy-Based Planning
Use your high-octane energy on high-octane-worthy tasks and low-octane energy on low-octane-worthy tasks.

Optimize your daily schedule to take advantage of your personal energy levels. Do the things that require a lot of energy, for example, creative work, when your brain is happily firing on all cylinders. Commit to working on low-energy tasks‚ like returning emails when your energy levels are lower.

2. Prioritize Themselves
Being the center of your universe is the best way to go when it comes to being highly efficient. This doesn’t mean you are arrogant and conceited, but rather that you prioritize your goals and the things you need to do each day to achieve them. You make sure you set aside time to work on your important projects (not just the urgent stuff other people thrusts on you.) Say no, without excuses, to the things that don’t work for you.

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Ellen Goodwin
Ellen Goodwin

Written by Ellen Goodwin

Productivity Consultant, TEDx Speaker, Podcast Co-host, Author of DONE: How To Work When No One Is Watching. Learn more at Ellen@EllenGoodwin.com

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