There are the six rules of 'insane productivity' that Elon Musk lives by

As the CEO of Tesla, founder of SpaceX, and new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk doesn't have a lot of time to waste.

Productivity is key for Musk and to make sure the people around him are on the same page, the 51-year-old has a list of behaviors he implores others to use too.

Musk has emailed staff at Tesla, and now Twitter, giving suggestions to improve productivity.

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The email to Tesla employees has leaked, providing an inside look at Musk's managing style and productivity analysis.

Here are six points he mentions.

1. Reduce the frequency of meetings

According to Musk, "excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time."

To make meetings more effective Musk suggests fewer of them unless there's an urgent matter to address.

2. Leave meetings that aren't valuable

Similar to rule one, if an employee finds they cannot contribute successfully to a meeting then they should be allowed to leave with no repercussions.

"It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time," Musk says.

3. Don't use acronyms or nonsense words

The best way to communicate effectively is to be direct about what you're saying, this means "don't use acronyms or nonsense words for objects, software, or processes."

4. Don't use "chain of command" to communicate

"Communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done," Musk told employees.

Musk finds it unnecessary for lower-level employees to communicate issues through the chain of command, rather than approaching a person directly.

"Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves working elsewhere," he added.

5. Use common sense

While it may seem obvious, some people need a reminder to use common sense in most situations.

Musk used the example of following a "company rule" that would be "obviously ridiculous in a particular situation."

6. Avoid big meetings

“Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get [out] of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.”

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