I have two pretty basic ones that have made a huge difference in my productivity.
The first habit you already mentioned. I wake up before 6 am every morning regardless of whether I have to be up or not. After a couple weeks, I naturally started waking up early without an alarm. Today, for example, is Saturday. I have no plans but woke up around 5 am. Made some coffee and caught up on a couple RVF threads. I then got some reading done. On weekdays I use the time to hit the gym before work. If you aren't getting up early, you are wasting the most productive hours of the day. I rarely get important things done in the evening.
The second habit is physically writing out my to-do list the night before for the following day. I write everything down. It might look something like this on a typical weekday:
Monday:
-Wake up by 6 am
-Read
-Duolingo
-Go to gym at 7:30 am
-Pack lunch
-Work 9 am-5 pm
-Dishes
-Laundry
-Coach 7 pm
-Clip fingernails
-Walk dog
I include everything whether it's a personal chore, meeting, returning a call, already a daily habit, or anything else. It takes thirty seconds the night before and allows me to have an idea of what I have going on the next day. Physically crossing each item off the list makes me address each item. I'm not going to end my day if something is left on the list.
I also keep a weekly/monthly list in my phone of things that need to get done eventually. Those get added to my daily list when the time comes.
The first habit you already mentioned. I wake up before 6 am every morning regardless of whether I have to be up or not. After a couple weeks, I naturally started waking up early without an alarm. Today, for example, is Saturday. I have no plans but woke up around 5 am. Made some coffee and caught up on a couple RVF threads. I then got some reading done. On weekdays I use the time to hit the gym before work. If you aren't getting up early, you are wasting the most productive hours of the day. I rarely get important things done in the evening.
The second habit is physically writing out my to-do list the night before for the following day. I write everything down. It might look something like this on a typical weekday:
Monday:
-Wake up by 6 am
-Read
-Duolingo
-Go to gym at 7:30 am
-Pack lunch
-Work 9 am-5 pm
-Dishes
-Laundry
-Coach 7 pm
-Clip fingernails
-Walk dog
I include everything whether it's a personal chore, meeting, returning a call, already a daily habit, or anything else. It takes thirty seconds the night before and allows me to have an idea of what I have going on the next day. Physically crossing each item off the list makes me address each item. I'm not going to end my day if something is left on the list.
I also keep a weekly/monthly list in my phone of things that need to get done eventually. Those get added to my daily list when the time comes.