Más contenido relacionado Similar a 50 Productivity Tips (20) 1. Forget All The Productivity Tips You’ve
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We compiled 50 of the most actionable, successful tips
to improve your productivity.
Organic Marketing Analytics
Missy Randall, Content Director
mrandall@omalab.com
January 2014
2. #1. Start your day the day before.
Kathryn McKinnon, Time Management Expert & Author
When we interviewed Kathryn McKinnon, one of her most actionable tips was to start your day… yesterday.
By planning out your agenda the night before, you’ll get a clearer idea of how much needs to be
accomplished. From there, you can properly manage your time.
"I start the day before by looking at what I need to do the next day. And then, I begin each day, even before I
get out of bed, I just think for a minute, What do I need to accomplish today? And what would I really love to
experience today? And my mind sort of goes into gear." says Kathryn.
#2. Exist in the present.
Craig Jarrow, Author of “Time Management Ninja”
It’s easy to get lost in thinking about future projects, but if you want to stay on task, don’t. To avoid getting
overwhelmed, don’t think beyond the tasks for that day.
“We all spend too much time worrying,” says Craig Jarrow, Author of “Time Management Ninja”. “You can’t
change yesterday, and you can’t predict the future. Live in the present.” he advises.
3. #3. Go into “monk mode”.
Greg McKeown, Author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
If you find yourself constantly distracted, go into ‘monk mode’. Author Greg McKeown, while working on his book
shut himself in a room and turned on an email responder. He alerted friends, family and coworkers that he was
facing a deadline, and was unavailable for certain parts of the day.
Try finding a quiet space and removing all distractions put up social media blocks, keep your phone away, and
power through the task at hand.
#4. Use Chrome extensions.
Wade Foster, Cofounder & CEO at Zapier
Chrome extensions are versatile and that versatility extends to staying efficient. Wade Foster, Cofounder &
CEO at Zapier, is a big believer of using Chrome apps to get more accomplished, including plugins such as
ToDo, which creates a striking visual that reminds you to stay focused.
6. #9. Don't OverDo Your Methods.
Thorin Klosowski, Writer for Lifehacker.org
There are hundreds of methods for effectively managing your time, but if you spend all your time utilizing all
methods, tools and apps, you’ll be less productive. Thorin Klosowski, Writer for Lifehacker.org encourages
professionals not to go into time management overload.
A good rule of thumb is the more complicated your methods, the less likely you’ll stick to them.
#10. Limit Your Work In Progress.
Mark Shead, Founder and President of Xeric Corporation
Don’t have multiple projects that are “pending”. Mark Shead, Founder and President of Xeric Corporation,
suggests “don’t start on anything else until you finish” whatever you’re working on.
Start by consolidating or reducing your workload, only allowing a certain amount of pending projects at any given
time.
10. #17. Take 18 minutes each day.
Peter Bregman, Author of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus,
Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done
Over a work day, you should take on average, 18 minutes to plan and monitor your progress. Peter Bregman,
Author of 18 Minutes, mastered a daily time management strategy that includes five minutes in the morning, one
minute per hour, and five minutes in the evening.
The time should reflect on your productivity whether or not you’re actually getting your work done.
#18. Do your work, especially on the bad days.
Jeff Haden, Owner, Blackbird Media
Having a rough day? Don’t slack off. Jeff Haden, Owner of Blackbird Media, compiled a list of seven ways to
achieve extraordinary productivity, including that you should do your best work even on the worst days.
“Remarkably successful people don’t make excuses,” says Haden.
13. CEO & President of Human Business Works
Long, elaborate lists of tasks are too daunting. Instead, cut it down, and only set out to do three important things
day. Chris Brogan, the CEO & President of Human Business Works, advises identifying three main tasks or
projects that you want to complete each day.
#24. Find a way to care.
Jonathan Mead, Founder of Paid to Exist.
How much of your work do you actually care about? It’s easy to not care about mundane, day to day tasks,
especially if your heart just isn’t in it. Find a way to care, otherwise, it’ll be even harder to get motivated. “If I don’
actually care about what I’m doing, it’s very unlikely that it will ever happen,” says Jonathan Mead, Founder of Pa
to Exist.
Think about the impact your work has on your company or organization, or how it will positively add to your
resume or career. Take pride in the work you produce.
#25. Treat yourself.
Ali Luke, Writer’s Huddle
15. Jerry Seinfeld has been credited for the popular “don’t break the chain” productivity technique. Although he
denies it, during his Ask Me Anything segment on Reddit, Seinfeld revealed another handy piece of advice:
“Writer's block is a phony, made up, BS excuse for not doing your work.” What excuses are you creating to
procrastinate?
Once you identify it as an excuse, you can work on proactively changing your habits.
#28. Think of future you.
Reddit User, via Reddit thread
The version of you that’s currently frustrating and burned out won’t benefit you three months from now.. Althoug
you’re currently stressed, the future you is “feeling a calming sense of accomplishment,” that you can only achiev
if you get there.
Envision yourself finished with a significant task, instead of focusing on your current state.
#29. Only handle it once.
Dominique Jackson, Freelance Writer
16. Don’t keep tapping a project or task get it done as soon as you can. A popular acronym for this is OHIO which
stands for Only Handle It Once. Writer Dominique Jackson recommends this strategy to “prevent small tasks from
adding up.”
Answer that email, or call your client back as soon as you think of it.
#30. Help someone else.
Leo Widrich, Buffer.com
Leo Widrich of Buffer.com uses a strategy established by Adam Grant, author of “Give and Take”, to help keep
his momentum up. “Helping others often seems like a huge task,” says Widrich, but can make you happier, thus,
more energetic and productive.
When you’re feeling hopeless, try helping someone else.
#31. Find one app that works for you.
Hrishikesh, ProductiveMotion.com
17. Once you find a productivity or time management app that works for you, stick with it. ProductiveMotion.com
compiled a list of 20 useful websites to boost productivity, including popular tools such as calm.com,
getpocket.com, and rescuetime.com. Choose one app to work with to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Browse and explore various apps and sites to find productivity tools that fit your needs, then roll with it.
#32. Get happy actually happy.
Shawn Achor, Author of The Happiness Advantage
Shawn Anchor’s Ted Talk discusses using happiness to produce better work, and how most of us get that
backwards. Once you’ve gained a certain level of happiness, Shawn says you can “change every single
educational and business outcome.”
It’s no surprise that the less cheerful you are, the less productive you tend to be.
#33. Let the bad things happen.
Tim Ferriss, Author
18. Instead of worrying or bracing yourself for something bad to happen, prepare yourself for it. Accept the possibility
that those things can happen, and find a way to cope with it. Author Tim Ferriss advises to stop worrying about
worst case scenarios, and instead, strategize how you’d overcome them.
#34. Make a list of questions.
Danny Meyer, Restaurateur
Don’t get stressed about issues that pop up throughout the day. Instead, make a list of them to look over later, an
proactively solve. Restaurateur Danny Meyer gets a daily list of questions from his executive assistant from his
team. “She aggregates them so she doesn't have to interrupt me repeatedly during office hours. I'll respond to
those right away,” says Danny.
Stop stressing out over trivial issues by writing them down, then returning to them later.
#35. Examine your content consumption habits.
Belle Beth Cooper, Attendly
19. To defeat your procrastination, identify your biggest time wasters. How much time are you spending on Twitter or
Reddit? Understanding what your distractions are, whether it be Yahoo News or Inbound.org, will help you avoid
them. Belle Beth Cooper of Attendly recommends cutting down on content for a few hours a day, or even taking a
content sabbatical.
#36. Take a day to plan the future.
Roman Stanek, GoodData CEO
On a day to day basis, we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture. In a recent article with Business Insider,
GoodData CEO Roman Stanek discussed how one day a month should be spent “outside of the office on a bike
or something,” considering future plans.
Take a day off of work, and consider your progress from the past month. Use that time to plan out the next month
bringing you closer to your overall goal.
#37. Automate what you can.
Lauren Licata, Base CRM
The more processes you streamline, the more time and energy you have for other tasks. Lauren Licata, Base
20. CRM uses examples of social media, data entry and email campaigns as tasks that can be easily automated.
“Things you can automate throughout your workday will save you precious time,” Licata says.
When you have an opportunity to use an automation tool or resource, jump on it.
#38. Location, Location, Location.
Andrew Laughlan, blur Group Plc
If you’re feeling unproductive, your environment may be to blame. Andrew Laughlan of blur Group Plc makes
connections between various tasks and location to establish where he works the best. “The place, room,
location massively affects how productive I am,” says Laughlan.
Try switching up desks or working outside, if possible. The change in scenery may just be the boost you need.
#39. Work backwards.
Ilya Pozin, Founder of Open Me
21. When writing out your goals, start at the top. Begin with your most challenging goal, and from there, break it dow
into actionable projects and smaller tasks. Make an outline, from end to beginning, on how you’re going to
accomplish your goals or you’ll never get started. Ilya Pozin, Founder of Open Me, points out that a daunting
task, without a strategy, won’t work.
#40. Use your commute.
Robin Sharma, Author
Stuck on the train for 45 minutes every morning? Use that time to your advantage. Author Robin Sharma
recommends using that time, even if it’s just 20 minutes, to learn something new. Whether it be a Ted Talk, a
podcast, or a book, reserve that time for enhancing a talent or skill. Little by little, you’ll improve.
#41. Confidence is everything.
Jessica PryceJones, The Source
If you convince yourself that a project is too daunting, you’ll never finish it. “Confidence is the gateway to
23. author, revealed that she keeps her clock an hour earlier than the actual time. Without any distractions from othe
people, she gets up earlier and calls this time her “most productive hour of the day.”
#44. Recognize that you’re not a machine.
Courtney Carver, bemorewithless.com
Despite popular belief, there is such a thing as being too productive. The more work you produce, the less time
you have to rest and recharge and the sooner you’ll crash. “We are people, not machines,” says Courtney Carve
of bemorewithless.com. In the end, having less tasks and more rest will ultimately make us more productive.
#45. Set small, specific tasks.
Neurolove.me
When setting out to get something done, start by breaking up larger projects into those small, manageable tasks.
Neurolove.me recommends more specific tasks, and a “set estimated time to do each task” that won’t allow you
to put it off.
24. It feels great to get a huge project done, and each project consists of little tasks.
#46. Each day, chip away at a huge project.
Demian Farnworth, Copyblogger
In a brilliant article for Copyblogger, Demian Farnworth explains the various productivity tactics he picked up from
his grandfather. A dynamite example was chipping away at a huge project, a little at a time. “It didn’t matter if it
was only for 30 minutes, he worked on building his house,” said Farnworth. “Over time a house rose out of the
earth.”
Choose a looming project that can be broken up into little, tiny tasks, and set out to just one task every day.
#47. Celebrate your wins.
Emma Chapman, CoAuthor of A Beautiful Mess
When you do finish a huge task or project, don’t forget to celebrate your win. “It's ok to feel super pumped and
proud when you complete a tough goal,” says Emma Chapman, CoAuthor of lifestyle blog, A Beautiful Mess.
Instead of pushing on to the next task at hand, try relaxing and finding a way to feel happy about your success.
25. Recognize your victory.
#48. Believe in the benefits of rest.
Tony Schwartz, The New York Times
We’re hard wired to be as productive and busy as possible. So much in fact, we refuse to believe that anything
good can come from stopping. In an article by The New York Times, Tony Schwartz reveals that science backs u
the benefits of taking breaks.
Whether it be a nap, a lunch away from your desk, or a vacation, studies have proved that you’ll be much more
productive when you return to work.
#49. Listen to your body.
Raquel Miranda Ramirez, rmrsocialmedia.com
Don’t ignore basic physical needs eating, sleeping, etc. in the midst of a looming deadline. Raquel Miranda
Ramirez, a social media coach, advises listening to your body’s “cues” to establish what you need. “As adults, we
manifest [stress] in other unhealthy ways: anxiety, moodiness, depression, or agitation,” which in turn, are bad fo
