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Chewing gum is an alternative to coffee, which you shouldn’t overdo if you want to avoid the jitters and disturbed sleep patterns. Chewing gum has…

The last thing you want to do as soon as you wake up is to start idly scrolling through your smartphone. But you risk doing…

To avoid getting derailed from your carefully pre-planned list of scheduled tasks, put emails that need actioning on tomorrow’s to-do list. That way you can…

Warren Buffett would have you eliminate all your goals except for the top 5. That’s it – just your 5 most important goals. This exercise…

While some stress at work now and then is expected, excessive amounts will interfere with your performance, and impact negatively on physical and emotional health.…

Set deadlines for everything, even small things. When delegating, if others don’t know how urgent a task is they can’t know how to prioritise it,…

Much as we can try to control ourselves, there’s nothing like being held accountable by someone else to keep us on task. Try assigning a…

Set deadlines for everything, even small things. When delegating, if others don’t know how urgent a task is they can’t know how to prioritise it,…

Unless your job requires you to wear an actual uniform, deciding what to wear to work will take time out of your morning routine every…

Control your inbox, don’t let your inbox control you. It is all too easy to let the con- stant incoming flood of our inbox dictate…

Email can derail even those with the best of intentions, because every time a new one pings in, our instinct is to want to open…

Sounds pretty obvious, but non-essential emails need to drop down the list of priorities, if not fall off it entirely. Source: learn.filtered.com

The waiting-on list is for those tasks that are important to you but that someone else must do. Keep a log of such tasks as…

Open loops are tasks that need doing but have no deadline, plan or decision in place. They can be professional or personal (a unpleasant task…

Wherever you can (while allowing for deadlines), prioritise the hardest tasks. It might be the opposite of what you want to do – it’s so…

No need to reinvent the wheel with every new message. Speed up your outgoing email by using templates if you frequently send out emails that…

In a world of endless pings and text messages, answering a ringing phone can feel like a more “legitimate” reason to allow yourself to be…

“Zero” doesn’t refer to the number of emails in your inbox, but the amount of time your mind is in your inbox. Productivity expert Merlin…

Active listening: a perpetually underrated superpower. We may take for granted that we listen and are listened to over the course of a conversation, but…

Think about how much time you spend typing. Learning to touch type could, over a fairly short period of time, save you hours. You can…

Who doesn’t love a bit of sunshine? The health benefits of sun exposure include vitamin D, better moods and improved sleep. All these will help…

Probably the number one motivator for any activity is the amount of fun we have doing it. Injecting fun into even the most thankless of…

Many of these tips are about exercising greater control – over yourself, or your sched- ule, or your environment. It is important to have control…

You never know when a random idea that has no application now might be a game changer later on. Keep a log of all your…

Transpose popular project management methodology onto your own personal man- agement. Being “agile” is a desired trait for any business, so why not try to…

Eric Schmidt, software developer and business powerhouse, created 9 rules for email. Here are his top 5 – See if any of these make you…

Do you brush your teeth every day? Hopefully the answer is “yes, of course!” It’s a ritual that was probably ingrained in you by your…

For this to work you need to ensure you do only reward yourself AFTER you have completed your task, NOT before. Hands off that chocolate…

A technique used by athletes and successful entrepreneurs alike, visualisation is a powerful tool. Having a clear, compelling and inspiring vision for your goal will…

It’s difficult enough trying to keep yourself motivated, let alone an entire group of peo- ple, like your team. Setting shared goals is a surefire…

Reclaim time that would otherwise be lost to you. Standing in queues, travelling from place to place, sitting in a waiting room… these pockets of…

Malcolm Gladwell popularised the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practise to master any skill. Following this principle should allow you to eliminate…

If it isn’t scheduled in, it isn’t getting done. To-do lists are essential in that they clarify what needs doing (see tip #7), but they…

To ensure your meetings are productive and not soporific, assign specific roles for participants, e.g. timekeeper, notetaker, chair. Active involvement will keep attendees engaged, and…

It is far too easy to get pulled into checking work emails at home, or even on the way home on your phone. This age…

Ahh the commute. The bane of every office worker’s life. This is essentially dead time, but you can utilise this to get more things done.…

It’s such a pain in the neck when you have… well, a literal pain in the neck. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair or using equipment…

Start and end on time – no exceptions. Simple rule, big results. Just knowing that there’s no flexibility on this will change everyone’s behaviour, allowing…

For faster, error-free work, set up a system so that you can’t fail. Automation is the name of the game. It could be something as…

Dwelling on the past never made anyone more productive. Mindfulness, the idea of being present in the moment, has helped countless people in all areas…

When you feel helpless…help someone else. In doing so, not only are you making the world a better place, you are empowering yourself and reinforcing…

You’re happier, more productive and more efficient when doing something you LOVE. Sometimes you may struggle to love your job and its challenges, but having…

The overwhelming majority of things that prevent us from being productive are just a result of bad habits. We open Facebook and next thing we…

We all know how distracting our electronic devices are at the best of times. Their allure can become all the more powerful during a snooze-worthy…

Ensure that your goals are as clear as they can be. Setting vague goals deprives you of the focus you need to achieve them. Consult…

Perfectionism is enemy to productivity. In setting goals, we should choose ones that stretch us but that still reside in the realm of possibility. Having…

Some of the most innovative ideas come to us in the space between doing tasks. It’s difficult for inspiration to hit when your mind is…

For most people, we are most alert and productive within the first few hours of waking, typically 9-11am. You probably already have an idea of…

Nobody’s perfect. We all procrastinate sometimes. However, you can upgrade your procrastination time to make even that productive. Get non-work related tasks done while procrastinating:…

Though this might not be for everyone, working from home can boost some people’s productivity significantly. There are any number of reasons why this might…

We all get irrationally attached to certain ideas or ways of doing things, either because we are used to them, because we came up with…

Start at the start. Be on time. According to a recent study by Bain & Company, a meeting that starts five minutes late will be…

It’s easy for meetings to get hijacked by the biggest and loudest personalities in the room, but showy doesn’t always equal best. Do your part…

Incorporating a strict “one-time only” read policy on your emails will guarantee that you read with greater care and attention, and will retain the information…

While it’s important to keep looking forward and barrelling toward your goals, it’s equally important to take a moment and acknowledge the things you have…

Simply telling someone else about a task makes you more likely to do it. Once made public, a mix of pride, shame and sense of…

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that, when properly employed, can up our energy levels and productivity game significantly. Get too reliant, however, and it’ll be…

It hydrates your body and fuels your mind. So simple, yet something many of us fail to do. Being well hydrated promotes better focus, energy…

Getting into a state of “flow” means being completely absorbed in an activity: focussed, in control, and creative. Read: productive. While we  have all experienced…

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Even the biggest achievements are composed of hundreds of small actions. Incorporating small, incremental changes…

After a meeting, having a clear list of actions which are assigned to specific people with set deadlines is essential to ensuring things move forward.…

There is a direct link between self-control and positivity. Think about it: are you more likely to cave in and eat an entire pack of…

There’s nothing like a time limit to spur you on to get more done. Setting yourself time limits on your tasks, and then timing yourself…

While regular, short breaks are important to keep you fresh and focussed, don’t skimp on taking a longer break during the day – typically the…

Being slumped over a keyboard in the same artificial lighting for hours on end, day in and day out, is going to harm your productivity…

Can you remember being more productive and encouraged at work as a result of something you saw in the news? News outlets make money largely…

Only do the work that only you can, and delegate the rest wherever possible. Try outsourcing to others who have the relevant skills and can…

Before getting efficient, first prioritise effectiveness. Efficiency allows you to do some- thing quickly and well, but effectiveness determines what you choose to do in…

This is a little mind hack you can employ with yourself to laser-focus your efforts and keep you motivated when the going gets tough. Think…

While there’s no denying the necessity for meetings, they are a frequent productivity drain. Minimise this by simply having fewer. This will free up time…

Jumping from one disparate task to the next is inefficient and wastes precious brain juice as your mind scrambles to grasp each new task randomly…

More often known as time-wasting, sleep-inducing group torture sessions, meetings are frequently badly run. It’s a lose-lose and a waste of everyone’s time. However, if…

We all know sleep is holy, essential for the proper running of every bodily function. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormones, and wrecks your ability to…

When you need to engage in deep work, the most likely distraction is a visual one. So hide the phone, turn off pop-up alerts, and…

Heed the timeless advice inscribed over the temple of the Greek Delphic oracle: know thyself. Know your most and least productive times of day, and…

Also known as the Pareto Principle, this rule states that that across all industries, activities and contexts, 80% of results come from 20% of causes…

Start with writing down the first thing you need to do, however basic. You’re much more likely to get started on a task (i.e. not…

The moment you are assigned a task, it looms in your face: big, important, unforgettable. However, if often does end up being forgotten. Oops! We’ve…

Research proves that people who listen to music generally finish their tasks faster and are better at generating good ideas in comparison to those who…

Do one thing at a time. Do NOT multitask. This is very difficult. Even if you minimise distractions from devices, tech etc, there are still…

Sounds like a no-brainer. We all know that proper planning helps us make better use of our time. So plan ahead. At the beginning of…

Tech might be responsible for the majority of our distractions, but it can also be harnessed for greater productivity. There are a whole host of…

Why expend precious energy on exercising self-control, when you can simply remove all temptation? There are numerous programs available to block access to your most…

The Babylonians created the concept we now call an “hour”, though they probably didn’t have 21st century business meetings in mind at the time. An…

Alerts alert. That means they get your attention. That means they take your attention from whatever it was you were doing. That’s fine if the…

With increasing workloads, varied work, colleagues in multiple timezones and devices pinging all around us, it’s no wonder we’re a more stressed workforce than any…

Not easy, but simple and effective. From Richard Branson to Michelle Obama, high performers are often also early risers. Whether it’s to fit in a…

And keep it organised. Spending several minutes excavating the detritus on your desk as you frantically try to find a document is not a good…

Every time we get a ping indicating a new email, comment, or notification of any sort, our brains get a dopamine hit. Dopamine is the…

Taking a sneak peek at what your friends are up to on Facebook during the working day is common. But social media can be a…

If a task can be done in less than 2 minutes, don’t write it down or put it into a system or discuss it or…

Loading up on sweets and crisps won’t sustain you over hours of hard work, and will almost certainly result in a crash. This is particularly…

To-do lists are fundamental. They aren’t a complete solution to time management (time-boxing takes the idea further) but they are essential. Think of a typical…

Building regular, short breaks into working time increases focus and productivity, studies have shown. One popular way to implement this is the Pomodoro Technique, named…

Don’t let them control you. We check our phones between 150-221 times a day, depending on which study you’re reading. Even having your phone in…

Moving does a lot for you. It gets the blood flowing round your body, can break you out of that daydream and helps stir creative…

Stop trying to please everyone! It’s much easier said than done, we know, but by overloading yourself with work, not only do you risk being…

The modern worker has a thousand things to do at any one time. These should be ruthlessly and methodically prioritised. Otherwise you’ll consistently add less…

Time-boxing will improve your life. At the core it’s simple: assign a fixed period of time to a task, schedule it and stick to it.…

Unroll.me is a tool you can use to manage and declutter your inbox. Quickly unsubscribe from unwanted subscriptions or ‘“rollup” your favorite subscriptions into one…

For the record: I am not a tab person. I’m a little OCD about keeping my workflow clean and minimal. I prefer to bookmark my…

Some people get really into survivalism: life preparation for worst-case scenarios (freeze-dried food, generators, etc.). Many of those precautions are worthwhile to take if you’re…

If establishing a home for every item fails (#Hack 71), use a tracking device as a contingency plan for your most important things. For example,…

Are you constantly losing your car keys? How about the drill for that home improvement project? The hard truth: these misplacements steal your time. And…

Know this: your environment is either creating clarity or complexity. Stay minimalist by throwing out or donating one item for every new thing you acquire.…

Consider all the times you’ve needed to go to the store for a single item that’s run out. This can be avoided by automating purchases…

Maxing out storage on your mobile device can lead to poor battery life and performance. One of the biggest data Draculas? Your photos and videos.…

I never used to have a system for managing my mobile apps. I believe that sloppiness spilled over into other areas of my life. My…

Let’s talk about the dreaded password reset process. How much time do you routinely lose trying to remember passwords? It’s about as fun as identifying…

Mac OS users: you know those icons in the top right corner of your computer? That’s the menu bar. Improve your workflow by organizing your…

Does your computer’s desktop look like a cluttered antique store? Fix it by creating a “desktop to review” folder on your desktop, where you can…

Lethologica is the inability to recall the right word— also known as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. Very common, very annoying. But get this: how would it…

In Evernote, I’ve created a cheat sheet for every life topic of interest to me—ranging from negotiation to the ketogenic diet. Only the best of…

It seems that learning how to read a book is an undervalued skill. Here’s what I recommend: start reading the table of contents—which acts as…

Doctor Atul Gawande elaborates on this hack in the Checklist Manifesto: “…the volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability to…

The simple truth is that—with the proper training— nearly everyone is capable of tripling their reading speed (without sacrificing understanding). It might just be the…

Here’s a pro tip I picked up from author and entrepreneur Alex Hormozi. He says, “If you listen to the audiobook while reading the eBook…

I’ve been listening to audiobooks and podcasts at 1.2-2x speed for many years—though I’m sure other productivity enthusiasts have recommended this tactic. The reason? It’s…

I read on Kindle because all my highlights are automatically digitized. You can access your device’s Kindle notes here or use software like Readwise. I’ve…

Joe Rogan says the best advice he ever received: “Live your life like you’re the hero in the movie…Live your life like there is a…

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “It is the knowledge that I am going to die that creates the focus that I bring to being alive.…

Jerry Seinfeld, the famous comedian, wanted to write every day. So, he started marking the completion of each session with a big “X” on a…

In sports, they say that winning fixes everything. Is there an equivalent for life? I believe it’s purpose— having a strong “why” for doing what…

Five-time Male CrossFit Champion Mat Fraser has a sign in his home gym that reads: “Success is the best revenge.” CrossFit is a grueling sport.…

The sunk-cost fallacy teaches that we tend to overvalue things we’ve already invested time or money in. Tim Ferriss recommends using the sunk-cost fallacy (in…

An implementation intention is “a plan you make beforehand about where and when to act.” A study by the British Journal of Health Psychology found…

Atomic Habits’ author James Clear shares the two- minute rule: “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”…

The Alter Ego Effect, by Todd Herman, teaches the power of creating an alter ego of your ideal self. He shares that creating an alter…

Realize this: emotional management is vital for productivity and staying focused. I’ve found selective ignorance of the news is often helpful towards this end. A…

StickK allows users to set a public or private commitment and add monetary stakes to increase accountability. One notable feature is setting negative stakes: if…

Create momentum in your day by completing a celebration blitz. In the words of Stanford Professor BJ Fogg, in Tiny Habits: One of my favorite…

The ritual of calling upon a muse before a creative act is powerful. Here, we put our ego aside and become open to receiving higher…

The Phone Charger Challenge is a quick win that will kickstart your day in the best way possible. Discover the simple behavioral hack of moving…

A 201243 study found that people who practice meditation develop more folds in the outer layer of their brain. This development (known as gyrification) is…

Consider the following statistic: In countries where organ donation is the default selection (also known as “opt-out”), more than 90 percent of people register to…

A few months ago, I was looking for a daily vitamin to round out my wellness system. Thankfully I came across Onnit’s Total Human. More…

Winston Churchill credited his daily nap as an invaluable tool in raising his effectiveness: “You must sleep some time between lunch and dinner…You get two…

From iconic entrepreneurs to presidents, outlier performers have streamlined their decision-making around clothes. Some notable figures that come to mind are Steve Jobs and Barack…

Building a blog can be lonely. There are a lot of unseen hours in isolation, developing original thinking and new content. I’ve found that going…

“Sitting is the New Smoking” is a phrase coined by Dr. James Levine, director of Mayo Clinic at Arizona State University. I wouldn’t go that…

What do Steve Jobs, Nietzsche, and Aristotle all have in common?34 Each used walking as a strategic tool for clear thinking. In the words of…

Arianna Huffington’s Sleep Revolution opened my eyes to the fact that our society wears sleep deprivation like a badge of honor, when lack of sleep…

Wim “The Iceman’’ Hof teaches that cold showers improve metabolic rate for weight loss, reduce stress levels, and increase immune response.33 If you’re new to…

With HIIT, users alternate between intervals of high- intensity and low-intensity exercise. (Example: 60 seconds high, 45 seconds low.) HIIT offers many benefits. My favorite?…

Soylent is a comprehensive meal replacement shake. There’s a reason soylent became so popular in the coding community. Software engineers could drink soylent and stay…

I’m a big fan of drinking “bulletproof coffee” (often referred to as “butter coffee”) throughout my morning deep work time block. I’ve found bulletproof boosts…

In the words of Tim Ferriss, “The ketogenic diet, often nicknamed ‘keto,’ is a high-fat diet that mimics fasting physiology. Your brain and body begin…

As much as 75 percent of us are regularly dehydrated. And it turns out that even being dehydrated by as little as 2 percent can…

How much time do you waste in a state of morning grogginess? I used to waste A LOT. Now, I jump rope for two minutes…

Cooler room temperature increases concentration—as evidenced by the following Scientific American Study: Researchers asked participants to proofread articles in 67- or 77-degree temperature rooms. The…

Scoring your day (like a movie) is a great tactic to elevate your mood and encourage focus. Recently, I was fortunate to stay at a…

Research shows blue lights suppress melatonin, a chemical that makes us sleepy. So, I strategically use blue light throughout my home office in the morning…

Scent can be powerful in creating a productive state, so take advantage of this power by using an aromatherapy diffuser. From Jim Kwik’s book Limitless,…

Batching is a productivity principle that involves grouping similar activities together for efficiency. Jack Dorsey—the current CEO of Square and former CEO of Twitter and…

Protect time for high-value work by organizing your calendar for 1) deep work in the mornings and 2) meetings/managing in the afternoons. The goal here…

As shared in the documentary Social Dilemma: “There are only two industries that call their customers users: illegal drugs and software.” The takeaway: we need…

Specifically, how much do you value your time? Before Naval Ravikant—founder of AngelList—became wealthy, he prized his time at an aspirational rate of $5,000 per…

The author of Indistractable, Nir Eyal, provides a helpful autoresponder script for your mobile phone to minimize distraction during your deep work. He suggests: Hi!…

James Clear teaches that the ultimate productivity hack is saying, “No.” Another way to think about this from entrepreneur Derek Sivers: If your immediate reaction…

Pareto’s Principle says that 20 percent of our actions lead to 80 percent of our results. You can take this a step further and ask:…

Upgrade “top-of-funnel” tools that have a positive, cascading effect on your productivity. Two compelling examples: increasing the speed of your device’s trackpad (or mouse) and…

I try to minimize phone pickups throughout the day— to limit inbound distraction—and voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Google can be…

Cal Newport says in Deep Work: “In this new economy, three groups will have a particular advantage: those who can work well and creatively with…

I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a life-changing book by Ramit Sethi, shows readers a system for automating their personal finances. The system involves…

We’ve mentioned Parkinson’s Law—work expands to fill the allotted time—already. Well, just as it applies to you individually, it also applies to meetings. You know…

The Forest App is a gamified mobile timer for productivity. The longer you stay focused, the healthier the trees in your virtual forest will grow.…

Cal Newport defines deep work as “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capacities to their limit. These efforts…

IFTTT (if this, then that) is an application that helps you automate your workflow by connecting the apps and devices in your toolkit. Just a…

Trello is a Kanban-style project management board that visually displays tasks. Easily organize everything you need to complete your personal and professional projects (attaching related…

TextExpander (or WordBoard’s functionality for mobile) is a desktop application that allows users to program keyboard shortcuts for commonly used messages. Save time by setting…

Email Ninja is a Udemy course that teaches a powerful method for organizing your inbox.4 The system will show you how to set up three…

3-21-0 is a popular system for batching email processing in time blocks.3 The method involves processing email in three sessions per day, 21 minutes per…

Otter is an AI-powered speech-to-text translation application that offers real-time streaming of transcripts with searchable text. Perhaps most valuable is the tool’s ability to identify…

Spotlight is a built-in search feature for Apple’s Mac OS and iOS. Simply hit Command+Spacebar on your desktop and type in the beginning letters of…

You can use habit stacking to use an existing habit to trigger another habit! You just need a simple brain tattoo for this: After [EXISTING…

If I have to summarize all productivity in one word. I’d say PRODUCTIVITY = HABITS. In fact, I’d go further by saying LIFE = HABITS.…

Remember: A Goal is the destination and the System is the journey. “I knew what I needed to do and how to do it.” Eddie…

While a lot of productivity content talks about Time Management, it’s important to replace TIME MANAGEMENT with ENERGY MANAGEMENT. We all have the same time…

There are a few key rules to get more from your life. And one of them is the 40% rule. Here’s how we can define…

Your first task each morning should be the frog. After you wake up, do something that brings your heart rate up, followed by a few…

Go to your phone settings and turn off all notifications. I run multiple businesses and I’ve been running and managing businesses online over the past…

A smartphone is a great tool. To be precise, it’s a great servant but a terrible master. While you can train and tame a smartphone,…

The biggest enemy of productivity is, without a doubt, the newsfeed. Yes, the newsfeed, not social media, is the enemy. The newsfeed is based on…

If you’re on the journey to productive use of the internet and you don’t have a framework yet, start by tracking your web activity. You…

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. This is really the key to remembering your mistakes, learnings, and experiments. Document what didn’t work. Document what worked. Document what got fewer results. Document what got more…

It’s easy to get distracted on the internet. One of the best ways I’ve found to maintain a habit of productive browsing is to: Step…

You should always keep learning something new. Learning doesn’t necessarily have to be about your work. Learning something new about a random topic works as…

Break down your work into deep sessions with short breaks in between. Usually, the work session is 25 minutes and the break is 5 minutes.…

Whenever there is a change, get a massage. Self-massage with oil daily. Massage is a recovery tool to recover from both deep work as well as physical…

80% of your outputs come from 20% of your efforts. Here’s a list of areas in your life and business you can audit, find the…

Learn a new language. Understanding how a new language works helps you think in new ways. Keep a daily habit to learn some new words,…

Classical music helps you go deep. Instrumental classical music helps you create an environment of consistency. I usually listen to any one track on repeat.…

Change your surroundings to boost productivity. Inner circle: Clean your workspace Clean your room Keep distractions away Make it hard to access what you don’t…

The best feature on a mobile phone is the one that makes it less of a mobile phone – The Airplane Mode. Use Airplane mode…

Get rid of energy monsters. Keep only the positive ones and the purposeful ones. Remove those who consume energy without giving energy back, remove the…

Do any kind of exercise. Practice movement of any kind. It is said that your brain only works when your feet are moving – Movement…

 Stop consumption and input. All the information you receive as input needs to be processed by the brain, thus taking up processing space and bandwidth…

 Include brain-optimization foods in your daily meals. Some food sources are known to optimize your brain. Here are some foods to include in your eating…