You don’t need to learn any other thing about productivity. I promise.
- Identify your Most Important Task(s) for that day. Have maximum of 2, that require at most 6 hours of deep work.
- Do those first. Two reasons: 1) Everything else will seem so easy after that and 2) Even if you failed to do everything else, the day is a success.
- if not possible (e.g. you do your deep work best early in the morning or late at night), then block out a time to do them.
- Set expectations during those time: with co workers, with people you live with. Put on head phone, close the “door” or access to any space you have.
- Put. your. phone. away. And anything that might distract you. You can use different browser for your work research versus for non-work browsing. You could also use browser extensions and apps that help you focus and block distractions if needed.
- Use the productivity triangle.
- Divide your list of tasks into two buckets: Single player vs multi player. Solitary vs collaborative. Then chunk your working slots accordingly.
- That means you need to have a list of tasks clearly defined somewhere 🙂
#3 to #5 enable Attention
#6 to #8 allow Productivity
And finally: Experiment, practice, be patient. It does take time to get good and find your groove. Train that muscle.
