Some of the most successful people have daily rituals they swear by. I’m sure you’ve heard of some of them, and maybe they don’t really work for you. 

Well this blog post is going to talk about six daily rituals that are backed by science to boost your productivity and focus throughout the work day.

1. Get on The Same Page Before A Meeting

Jack Dorsey, the cofounder of Twitter, swears by taking time out of the day, before a meeting, to get everyone up to speed. “Most of my meetings are Google-Docs-based, starting with 10 minutes of reading and commenting in the doc,” says Dorsey. It allows him and his team to understand what the meetings about and gets everyone to critically think faster.

Research agrees with this. One study found that taking the time to make sure everyone is on the same page creates a “team” feeling among coworkers and allows you to get to critical thinking faster. 

2. Train Your Mind to Say ‘No’

Saying no minimizes our obligations and attain greater focus, according Morten Hansen, a professor at UC Berkeley. People who struggle to say ‘no’ tend to experience stress, burnout, and sometimes depression.

"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done." – Steve Jobs, 1997.

3. Recharge

Take time to get outside, walk to work, listen to your favorite podcast, or spend time with family. Giving yourself breaks is necessary for your headspace to stay focused when you get back to work. 

4. Work in 90-Minute Sprints

Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project says the secret to productivity and high performance is to work the way track and field sprinters train. Schwartz suggests making your morning hours should be high intensity, before you take your first break. 

Work on your most challenging and important task first thing in the morning. Complete it in 90 minutes (if you can) and give yourself a break. 

5. Schedule To-Do List Items

"Scheduling forces you to confront the reality of how much time you actually have and how long things will take. Now that you look at the whole picture, you're able to get something productive out of every free hour you have in your workday. You not only squeeze more work in but you're able to put work into places where you can do it best." – Cal Newport, professor of computer science at Georgetown University. 

6. Turn Off Notifications

According to research by Dscout, the average person touches their phone 2,617 times per day. Turning off your notifications are a proven way to minimize distractions and be more productive.