My Top Five Productivity Hacks

I’ve written a lot about productivity, including posts on how to be productive while depressed and using an hourglass for productivity. I like thinking up ways to be productive because productivity is essential to happiness, which is essential to productivity, and so on.


We have finite mental resources, like time, talent, and opportunity, and maximizing our potential with what we have to work with is challenging. So let’s make this short. Here are five things I do to maximize my productivity with my minimal resources:

• Working out. I sacrifice at least three hours of time, per week, doing top rope climbing, strength training, or swimming. Exercise keeps my mind is clear and refreshed while re-energizing my body. Workout time is also to practice mindfulness which can improve productivity.

• Creating reasonable to-do lists: I make a daily list with no more than five tasks for the day. Everything on the list is something that can be accomplished in one day. If I have a big project, I break it up into bite-sized assignments I can spread over multiple days.

• Going off the grid: When I need to hunker down, I put the phone in do-not-disturb mode and close all extraneous browser tabs. To focus solely on my work, I try to get as close as possible to my mental vision of living in a cabin in the rural Montana woods.

• Minimizing paper:  A lot of productivity gurus push the benefits of writing down your thoughts and ideas. I’ve attempted this exercise and what I ended up with was a garbled mess of random notes, thoughts, ideas, and a lot of paper. If you feel the need to preserve that unforgettable, killer idea, use voice memos or send a text to yourself. Don’t bother jotting it in that ratty, little Moleskine in your back pocket. The technology exists for a reason - use it.

• Keeping the inbox clean. I have no outstanding emails in my inbox. Everything has either been snoozed, archived, or answered.  Letting emails languish is procrastination. And, not every email requires a response: let go of the guilt of not replying when you have nothing to say.  

Only you control your productivity. Being mindful of your resources will ensure that you harness all your potential with the time and talent you have.

Looking for more ways to boost your productivity while managing your happiness? Check out the new Mood and Productivity Journal, created for people who understand that mood and productivity are deeply connected.