The Best Productivity Advice is Time-Negative
Productivity advice is great. But you have to make that time back—and then some.Estimated Reading Time: 55s.
Articles.
Ideas on productivity, focus, and living with greater intention.
The Rule of 3
One of the best prioritization rituals is defining three priorities every day, week, and year. Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes, 15s.
To become more productive this week, try working less
By working less—including by working fewer hours during the week or by scheduling less time for your important work—you do two things at once:…
What did you spend the last 40 minutes doing?
Throughout the day, be aware of how you spend your time. One way to increase your time awareness is to create an hourly awareness…
My favorite email tactic is to do message sprints
Takeaway When you get a bit of time throughout the day, set a timer, and then blow through as many email messages as you can.…
The Rolling Time Block Method
If time blocking hasn't stuck for you, become less rigid with it. Trying jotting down how many hours you'll want to have worked on…
Some practical tips for slowing down
Slowing down can be tough these days, as I found during a month-long sabbatical. Here are a few tips that helped me take pause…
The easiest way to track your time
Track only the time you spend on your most important tasks. This makes the exercise less of a pain, and allows you to see,…
Here’s how to calculate, in dollars and cents, the value of your time
It's worth calculating, in dollars and cents, what your time is worth to you. Chances are the value will orbit around four things: how…
The Joys of Writing Slow
If you have difficulty writing, give yourself permission to write slower. This makes writing more fun, and you'll likely produce more. Be sure to…
Every Yes Is Also a No
Motivate yourself to say "no" to unimportant projects and commitments by bringing to mind the important things you're saying “no” to when you agree…
How to keep time from moving so fast
The fewer new and rich experiences we have, the quicker time passes. The solution is two-fold: make an effort to experience more interesting things,…
Our life span is really only 17.5 years
The average life expectancy in the US is 79.3 years, but if you subtract from that time the tasks we are obligated to do,…
A foolproof way to get up early every morning
If you have trouble getting up at a certain time, try scheduling a costly social media update to go out at the time you're…
Why I’ve disabled the clock on my computer
Disabling the clock on your computer sounds like a stupid hack—and it is—but it’s also a nice nudge to become more organized, and more…
Here’s what my daily routine looks like
My daily routine is structured around how much energy, creativity, and flexibility I have over the course of the day. A productive daily routine…
The busier we get, the guiltier we feel
The busier we become, the guiltier we feel—both because of our culture, and because of the uncertainty that busyness creates. Feeling guilty about your…
Why the Protestant work ethic is broken
There is immense value in working hard—but only up to a point. When you work through tiredness and fatigue, and don't take time to…
If you want to die later, buy this book
Eating better is a way of earning back time. Certain foods have been scientifically proven to help you live longer—namely unprocessed plant foods. The…
A simple trick that will let you live 13.6 years longer
By the time you die, if you're average, you'll have spent 13.6 years of your life watching TV. That's a lot of time. Estimated…
100 time, energy, and attention hacks to be more productive
My 100 favorite time, energy, and attention hacks that will let you get more done.
How to determine the highest-leverage activities in your work
To identify your three highest-leverage activities in your work, first capture all of the tasks you’re responsible for in your job. Then ask yourself:…
How to tame ‘springy’ life elements, the reason you never have any free time
Springy life elements are elements of your life that expand and contract to fit the amount of free time you have available. Structure them,…
Want to get more done? Take more breaks!
Breaks let you step back from your work, recharge, come up with better ideas, slow down, reflect on your work, and ultimately make you…