Some might believe that being productive means working in long periods of time and that there is one simple fucking change that can make you productive. Ain't like that.

So instead of crying about it, let's start with small changes you can implement, and it'll help you with the productivity. You will do more, faster and feel much better because you will be accomplishing things. And I promise you'll see the progress.

Plan the day ahead in the evening, prioritize important over urgent

Simple. Just sit down in the evening for 15 minutes and plan what you have to do. Make a list of all the stuff you have in your head for tomorrow, categorize them (personal tasks, work-related ones, meetings – whatever works for you) and then pick a maximum of 5 you want/have to do tomorrow – I recommend to choose only 3.

The rest of them is, as we say in production, below the line, and therefore replaceable. Prioritization is important. Focus on important, not urgent. Because these days everything is urgent, but just a few things are really important. And what is important? We'll cover that some other time, but in a sentence – whatever brings you closer to your goals.

Schedule time for your deep work, and work in small time periods

A lot of talk about the theme of "deep work". I'm not getting into it right now, there are people with much more expertise that can talk about it. I only say – make time for your work based on your energy peaks and in that times do the most important work without any distractions. That means to get your phone in airplane mode, sign out of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever. Just close it. Do the work.

You don't have to work for 6 hours straight. 90 minutes is enough, then take a break, refresh yourself, relax a bit and take another 90 minutes. But still, be in do not disturb mode! And if 90 is too much, make it shorter – whatever works for you.

Make a “Don't do” list

Everyone says you have to have your to-do list (even I said so, to make a plan for the day ahead of you). But as important as a to-do list is a don't-do list. Because productivity is not just about what you've done, but a lot about what you haven't done. So write down things you won't be doing, that take up your time, energy or resources and don't add any value or they don't help you move towards your goals.

Some examples might be:

  • Don't read the e-mail before 12:00 and don't have it open in a tab all day long
  • Don't open social media until 13:00 and then only on breaks
  • Don't eat sugar in the morning, because it drains your energy (or you get headaches, like me)

Because the power is in saying NO to the things that don't provide any value to you.

Focus, stop multi-tasking

Human brain ain't made to multi-task. It is essentially just switching between tasks and not doing either one of them properly. So stop with that. Focus on one task, one thing, do it as well as you could for as long as you need (or can). And then move to another one.

Disclaimer: it's better to finish the damn thing (and if it's a big task, divide it into smaller tasks and deal with one after another); otherwise it stays in your subconsciousness and will crawl up on you every fucking hour.

Eat the fucking frog

No, no, no, no, no... I don't mean it literally. But we all have the task we have to do, and we don't want to do. Doesn't matter the reason. We just don't. That is the task you should start your day with. Because in the morning, you got the most mental strength to tackle it and get rid of it. So do it. Let me know how awesome you felt when it finally is gone from your mind.

Bonus: Be consistent

You won't become productive because you spend once a month whole Saturday on your project. You will become productive when you make 30 minutes every day for a month for your project. That's where the productivity lies. Took me years to realize, but that's the truth.