With the collective reset of the New Year — and after the holiday lethargy — you might be thinking it’s a good time to re-engage yourself with productivity. No more mind wandering, you might declare, no more confusion. But before you search for the next greatest tool for focus and optimization, consider that for generations, people have already been pretty effective at getting things done. “One hundred and fifty years ago, if we were on the farm, the sun goes down, you’re done,” said Alex Soojung-Kim Pangits author Rest: Why you work more when you work less“Or the factory whistle blows and you have to leave your tools and go home, or maybe go to the bar.”
These days, in a digitally connected, always-on world, there’s no endpoint to your day, no upper limit to what you can do. The pressure to constantly circulate is exacerbated by an industry that benefits from scheduling tools, distraction blockers, and complex journals and organizers.
Here’s a secret: There isn’t a “hack” or secret to ultimate productivity, it’s just a way to get it done. Every person has unique systems and approaches to getting their work done, so an influencer’s late-morning routine (which is … their work too) may be constructive for them but a bad time for you. Instead, experts say, tried-and-true methods are more effective than anything billed as a revolutionary new fix. “Computers cannot make hard work less difficult, no matter how complex their systems,” Cal NewportGeorgetown University professor and author Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Achievement Without Burnout, said in an email. “Some of the most productive people I know use the most basic tools; For example, a calendar and some text files.”
Instead of providing more “productivity hacks,” a reminder of how you’re already accomplishing enough — and some little reframes that don’t require you to wake up at 5 a.m.
You don’t need anything more intense than your to-do list
trend organizational system or the routine They have the unique ability to waste more time than they save. “Any productivity system that involves more work to maintain the system than to do the work itself – figure it out,” says Sahar Yusufis a cognitive neuroscientist and faculty member at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. An old-fashioned, low-tech method that succeeds with most people is the trusty to-do list.
Maintain a long list of things you need to do over the course of a few weeks and then create a daily to-do list. The key to an effective daily to-do list, Yousef says, is to prioritize the three “most important tasks” each day and use small gaps between meetings or other responsibilities to knock off a few “least important tasks.” Write your daily to-do list on a sticky note, whiteboard, or other visible location. Start fresh every day.
“The to-do list is on the back of a puke bag and it’s stuffed in my purse right now.”
Don’t overthink where you put your to-do list. For his long-term inventory, Youssef is currently using a disposable sick bag from a recent flight “The to-do list is on the back of a puke bag, and it’s now stuffed in my purse,” she says “I take that thing out every day, and I go, ‘Okay, this is the thing I need to do today.’ And then it gets pulled and put on a different list for my day and that’s my priority list.” Keep this long-term list for a few days or weeks and start fresh when you’re about to start a new week or project.
As for the timeline of when you’ll complete these tasks, many people naturally gravitate toward deadlines, Youssef says. Whether self-imposed or through the nature of work, the power of deadlines helps employees plan and act. “We know that’s what actually triggers a lot of dopamine in the human brain, that sense of urgency, that deadline,” she says.
The best productivity software is your calendar
If you want to map out your to-do list over your day, Newport recommends taking advantage of your calendar to schedule your work hours and meetings. Set aside time in your day to work on specific projects and those projects alone. “Work on one thing until you reach a stopping point,” he says. “Then check your email/Slack. Then work on something else at the stopping point.”
“If you’re working on too many things at the same time, you create a cognitive log jam that slows everything down.”
Scheduling your day can help you avoid the temptation of multitasking. “Recognize that if you’re working on too many things at the same time, you’ll create a cognitive log jam that will slow everything down,” Newport continues. “It sounds counterintuitive at first, but working on fewer things in the moment means you’ll accomplish more over time.”
But don’t be so strict with your schedule that you interrupt time spent in deep thought and flow, Yusef says. If you find yourself focused and absorbed in a task, feel free to go beyond your allotted time and embrace your natural productivity. “You have to allow yourself the flexibility to take advantage when the energy hits, when the focus is there, when the opportunity comes,” she says.
Protecting your free time can help others protect theirs
Until now, professional demarcation has become a mainstream way to prevent off-hour work and reclaim leisure time. Instead of seeing this pursuit as an individual one, Pang says we should think about protecting work time collectively. Ignoring email while you’re at the playground with your kids not only saves you (who can enjoy distraction-free time with your kids) but also the person on the other end who doesn’t feel pressured to respond immediately.
Everyone reaps the rewards “if everyone cooperates and works together to make time for other people, as well as make time for themselves,” Pang says. “Not only do you have to hack together a schedule that allows you to get the kids to soccer practice … just for you and your own family. But it’s an effort that’s supported by your coworkers and reinforced by your workplace schedule, work habits, and the social norms that enable it.” Understanding that everyone has a right to free time allows you to respect others and yourself.
Don’t try so hard to be productive
If you have a productivity hack, it’s to stop thinking about your output altogether. Spending time hacking productivity on TikTok can leave you feeling worse about your personal output than motivating you. “It’s creating the impression that you must do these things,” Youssef says, “otherwise things won’t get done.” In fact, the methods and systems that got you this far are probably what you need.
“The constant effort to optimize yourself is more exhausting than productive,” says Pang. “Too often, if we want to have a better life, to be more creative people, to be more fulfilled at work or in our personal lives, it’s wiser not to try so hard to do these things.”
