These are the ways billionaires have organized their lives to maximize efficiency.
Leaders of the largest companies in the world are constantly trying to figure out how to spend their time. They all seem to have reached the same conclusion: Work.
Everybody works at least 70 hours per week, weekends included, regardless of the fact that it may mean sacrificing aspects of life that others value.
It pays to have a strong idea and be determined to succeed. Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are some of the most successful people in the world. They also use technology that has the potential to transform society irreversibly.
Each one has their own methods to make the most of their time.
These three men have some unusual and efficient tips, including not wearing the same gray shirt every day, going to the woods once per year, and sifting through piles of documents.
Many have written about Zuckerberg’s identical gray sweatshirts and T-shirts during work. They help him stay focused and save energy trying to choose what to wear each day. This simple way of living can be applied to virtually every aspect of your day.
The 31-year-old billionaire-turned-prodigy and Facebook CEO goes to his office, not in the expensive Audis that his counterparts at other companies prefer, but in a rather modest black Acura.
He has just acquired three properties in the vicinity of his Palo Alto home, but he still maintains his modest abode, which is located a short distance from his offices, where he claims to work up to 15 hours per day. You can focus more on your work by removing quirkiness.
He said this last year during a meeting of investors:
“I don’t feel like I’m doing my job if my time is wasted on useless or frivolous activities. “I dedicate all of my energy to creating the most valuable products and services.”
Bill Gates was then the Microsoft CEO, president and chief software engineer. In 2006, he shared his method for managing his email using three screens.
In those days, I handled more than 100 emails per day. One can only imagine how many more people have gotten in touch with him through his charitable work as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair, social activism, and continuing to be Microsoft’s technical advisor.
One screen displays the inbound emails, while another shows the email you are currently working on. The other screen shows the normal desktop. This allows it to perform multiple tasks without losing sight of them. Gates is able to focus on his work and only open one email at a time. This allows him to give each correspondence the attention it deserves. This is something all entrepreneurs, young and old, can apply in their daily lives.
Gates organizes an annual week of reflection in a cabin in the woods. He is armed with books and documents. He can read and reflect in one week by avoiding distractions. Plan strategies, examine companies and organizations that you are involved with, and reflect on your senior year. You can achieve maximum productivity with this week of reflection.
Elon Musk, 44, has three executive jobs (including CEO of SpaceX, CEO at Tesla Motors and president of SolarCity) and five children. He also has a very ambitious vision for the future technology. It’s difficult to imagine how he manages to find time to sleep, even though he claims that he sleeps six to six and a quarter hours per night.
Max Chafkin wrote this 2007 biography about Musk:
Musk divides his time between SpaceX, Tesla Motors and both. He has also perfected multitasking, sending emails while simultaneously checking bills, conducting meetings, taking care of business and texting. Musk was seen bending over with his children (a confession that was widely criticized by the public).
He says he works hard, even though he doesn’t spend more than 15 hours at work. It is easy to see why it is so important to manage all of these responsibilities at once.
Few people have the time or desire to work for 15 hours per day or run multi-billion-dollar businesses. You will be able to do more in a shorter time and still have more time for what is important to you.
