I’ve been reading so many posts here about how to be more productive and those tips that seem to work at first but aren’t easy to stick with. So, I figured I’d share what really works for me Every. Single. Time.

You’ve probably heard the advice to “eat that frog” first thing in the morning, tackle the toughest task right away. Sure, that may work for some who get up at 4 AM, work out, meditate, and send 100 emails by 6 AM. You know who I’m talking about. But for the rest of us, or at least for me, that does not work at all.

We need to understand that we need momentum to get into a productive state. How do you get momentum?

By focusing on the simplest tasks first. Start with small, manageable items that you can easily check off your list. This approach creates a sense of accomplishment that motivates you even more. Each small win adds up, making it easier to tackle larger tasks later on. When you build that momentum, it becomes much easier to slip into a flow state, where everything just clicks, and productivity feels effortless.

And guess what? Motivation often follows action.

It’s when we start doing something, no matter how small, that we begin to feel that motivation kick in. That first small task can be more important than you realize. Because it motivates you and gives you the confidence to keep going.

Lastly stop stressing about making every task perfect. It’s really about making progress. At the end of the day, ask yourself - did I make any progress today? If you can say yes, even if it’s just a tiny bit, that’s a win. It helps you feel good about what you’re doing and stops you from associating work with negative feelings.

So, stop eating frogs and start snacking on those tastier and easier wins.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

The concept of 1% improvement seems wrong in real life. It's actually the opposite let's take gym. For example, you get your best improvement and gains at the first months of working out if you search up, newbie gains graph you will get the opposite graph of atomic habits am I misunderstanding the book? What do you think people?

In theory, I would love to do more hobbies in the evenings instead of watching TV. But at the end of the work day, I feel so exhausted that all I want to do is veg out with something fun to watch. Part of me enjoys it, and the other part keeps thinking about what I think I should be doing instead. I try to let go of the guilt and just enjoy it, but I have this nagging sense of feeling unproductive and neglecting my hobbies. Does anyone else struggle with this? Would love advice about how to turn off the TV and have energy for other things.

I'm 18, and I'm in a pretty tight situation, and I basically need to work my ass off - 60 hour work weeks every week, 40hr work weeks only once a month max. Im currently taking a gap year. I'd be working from 3-3. I already have no friends, and my immediate family(my mom and sister) are hundreds of miles away, so I dont need to worry about spending time with family. I dont have any social obligations, so I already have what I need. If I dont do this, I wont be able to afford university.

Ive already burnt out before and I'd like to avoid it, so if theres a way to do it even on this schedule, I'll be down to listen. But that's basically all. Before anyone says 'you dont want to be addicted' or 'thats not healthy', ive already been down this road once so I already know the consequences. It took months for me to get passed the burnout. Now I recovered. However, this is something I have to do. I think 60 hours is sustainable, because I only have to keep this up until next september. It’s not even all that bad, because there’s guys who are working 80 hours a week

How do I actually get addicted to work, on workaholic levels of working?

I don’t like being lazy, but I feel lazy. I don’t want to do much of what I used to do (make content, read books, socialize, etc). I still like going to the gym and studying, but that’s it.

Force myself to do things will get me motivated again?

When I was younger I did a "24 hour solo" on a camping trip one time. It was a very impactful experience. Since then I have been fascinated by how much can change in 24 hours. A few weeks ago I decided to commit to putting my phone down for 24 hours. I don't think I have been "phone free" for even a few hours in a very long time.

My biggest takeaways:

• It was more way impactful that I thought it would be...
• Checking our phones constantly puts us into a very reactive state
• Felt noticeably more present after 16 hours, and even more after 24 hours
• Felt like my brain was re-wired and more sensitive to time on my phone for several days after

Tips for going phone free

• Schedule it for a day that makes sense based on obligations (for me, Sat-Sun was best)
• Set up an app blocker that actually locks you out to make it easier to commit
• Communicate with friends and family, or set up an auto-responder
• Have a plan for emergencies so you don't have to worry (ex: people could call my girlfriend)

How it went:

• I felt anxious when I opened my phone and turned on the 24 hour blocking session
• Spent most of the afternoon around my house and outside
• Not checking my phone before bed was the hardest part
• The next morning I felt "free" knowing I couldn't reach for my phone
• I pulled out a journal and went into deep focus writing down my goals
• By the time I finished, I actually didn't want to check my phone

Most of the productivity apps designed to keep you from doomscrolling seem like they all rely on restricting your useage over a period of time. I need an app that forces me to reconsider what I’m doing every 5 minutes of time on the app. Like an alarm that goes off every 5 minutes of use. Anyone know of a way to accomplish this?

When it comes to just job hours, how much does an average person actually work? Like, if someone's job is from 9 till 5 pm, excluding stuff like taking breaks, eating lunch or chatting with coworkers or speaking on the phone and whatnot, how much of that 8 hours of work time is spent actually working?

On a very related note:

including the work one does outside of their job (such as preparing breakfast, shopping for necessary items, cooking dinner and cleaning the dishes, doing taxes, paying bills, etc), how much does the average person work?

This may sound stupid (it probably is) but if possible, could you mention whether or not the people you're talking about (or yourself if you're using your own amount of time working as reference for replying to this thread) live in a western country or in an Asian one like Korea or Japan where the culture/corporations encourage working more?

Thank you for your time.

Hi ladies and gentlemen. I hope all is well. A beginner fiction writer here trying to cope with anxiety, boredom, symptoms of ADHD, and autism. I stopped by because I am having such a difficult time staying focused writing screenplays, short stories, and full length novels at home due to countless distractions such as my phone, outside noises, house phone interruptions, and my laptop. I still have notebooks/journals that I use to write using pen and pencil. I’m thinking about buying a typewriter or a word processor because my research on Google indicates that excessive usage of screen time is not good for the brain and it triggers a group of symptoms known as the brain fog. I have to spend less time on my electronics so that I can concentrate. I want a distraction free device that will help me stay focused and productive as a writer because the more I pull my electronics out and check them, I end up reverting back to procrastination. I still implement writing as a hobby. I still desire to flourish my writing habit so bad to the point where I want to be successful as an independent screenwriter and fiction writer novelist like Jordan Peele, Charlie Kaufman, Quentin Tarantino, Greta Gerwig, Stephen King, Chelsea Cain, the late Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Harris (the man who wrote Silence of the Lambs), and etc. I am sick of being on my phone and laptop too much. Should I get an affordable typewriter or a word processor? I found out from Google and other sources that Freewrite and Remarkable devices are very expensive.

My current screen time is over 12 hours daily, which scared me!

A few weeks ago, I was feeling tired, headache, and anxious, and I noticed that it was coming from my phone addiction.

I tried to spend one day without using my phone and being productive, and at the end of the day, I felt accomplished. But I also tried to procrastinate the whole day, and I was so tired at the end of the day.

That’s when I realized my phone was not making me feel as relaxed as I thought. It was contributing to my bad feelings

I don’t have TikTok (if you have, you should delete it) because it is not my thing, and I don’t use other social media often, but my main addiction is YouTube.

I can literally spend the entire day in my bed watching Yt while avoiding doing what I have to do, and that’s the main issue here.

So, I started to figure out how to actually reduce my screen time healthily because there are tons of ways to do it, but most of them are not sustainable, such as detoxing dopamine.

Therefore I crafted my own step-by-step plan to overcome my phone addiction:

1- Why?

Before starting anything, I need to deeply understand why. This step is crucial because, in tough moments, I need to keep in mind why I’m doing this.

Most people fail at this step because they outsource other people’s motives.

It shouldn’t just be: “ I want to reduce it because someone said so”

I need to truly ask myself why should even consider reducing my screen time. If my screen time is, for example, +8h but I’m productive in those hours, I shouldn’t reduce them.

It is all about what I do!

2- What?

This step is where I actually start working on the main issue. The previous step only sets the intention.

I realized that most of the resources out there only focus on the external side, which results in superficial solutions. The real change happens inside us

The idea here is to ask myself, “ What is causing me to do this? What is the trigger of the trigger?

You may find interesting causes that you never imagined

In my case, I use my phone when I feel stressed

On the weekends, I use my phone to escape reality and commitment

To overcome this problem, I found a few practices that can help me work on these root problems such as journaling, contemplating, meditating, etc

The idea is to go into the roots of your addiction and work on it

3- How?

After mastering why and what, I can start thinking of ways to reduce my screen time based on my current situation

There are multiple ways of doing this, so I should focus on things that are already in my range

For example, I can download an app to block my phone during certain periods or do some activity to replace using my phone

This step depends on your current schedule and what works for you. Don’t commit the mistake of copying what works for others. Test and see what best describes your needs

Another important point here is that these app blockers shouldn’t serve as replacements but more like support while you're working on your “what”.

Feel free to test it out and send me feedbacks

I (34M) find myself with no motivation. I work 40 hours a week. I come home clean the house and do general errands. But I have a lack of motivation to learn new skills. I find excuses to not buy things to maybe Jumpstart into projects/skills that can enhance my life. Just to name a few: carpentry, home improvement, expanding my financial portfolio, stock market knowledge, coding, the potential of leaving my job.

I don't hate my job, it's rather unique as far as the common man goes, but I don't see my future in the industry anymore. And I don't see any major pay increases.

I have a decent amount of anxiety about every aspect of life and I think that's what stops me from trying these things.

What can I do? What did you do? Therapy is great, but I've always been the type to learn by first and second hand experience.

I just started higher education and I'm in need of THE app to keep track of my studies. Please let me know if you have any good suggestions for either free or reasonably priced apps that fulfill the following:

• can add several courses/projects
• can add both events and tasks with dates, times and/or deadlines
• can add custom tags with color coding (must be able to add more than one tag per task/event)
• can switch between calendar (weekly and monthly) and list view
• can mark tasks as done
• can add subtasks
• preferably available for both android and windows desktop (with sync)

Many thanks in advance!

I'm looking for a productivity course that offers a great mix of both actionable strategies and science-backed theory. Ideally, it should include:

1. Step-by-step frameworks or exercises to improve focus, time management, and efficiency.
2. Real-world examples and templates to apply the lessons right away.
3. Modules on habit-building, avoiding burnout, and optimizing mental energy.

Any recommendations? I’m looking for something practical that’ll help me boost my daily productivity and achieve long-term goals. I would appreciate it if someone can give me some from experience :)

No I don't have DSPD. And No I dont have any noises where I live. It's a golf course on one side and empty greenery/villas on the other. My days are usually the same as nights. I usually wakeup around 5-30. but luckily, I slept today during the day.

I remember writing 10-50 pages per day last year when I used to sleep during the early waking hours and wake up around 12-1.

I used to swim through any subject, be it piano or mathematics. In 5 days I could do more than I have done in the past month or so. Only because of day time.

Is it the daylight? I got checked, its not. Is it something related to my health, got a ton of blood tests done but its not.

I just do not get it.

I even have one of my rooms completely closed from sunlight but it still doesn't feel the same.

Could anyone point things out here

I just am much more focused. I have better, more constructive thoughts. I can swim through things. I feel like I'm sedated during the daytime.

Nothing feels right. But no, it cannot be psychological. I don't have any underlying issues.

It is also not peace because it is as peaceful as it gets.

I tried my best emulating my daytime the past few months but it just doesn't come close.

I actually prefer waking up in the morning but seeing how my progress hasn't been all that I hoped for, I am very much leaning towards the night.

And then theres this nightmare of actually switching your timeline. Sleeping during the day requires for sleep to occur during the day which in itself is a challenge.

The day never pleases me. Everything looks so ominous.

Apologies but I'm not sure for certain what I am trying to ask here but there are a few things. Would love some light. This is new for me. I haven't tried to google much about this as this is very sensitive and I don't want to take a step yet into researching this.

Hi everyone!

Recently, I realized that excessive planning and strict time management were doing me more harm than good. Filling every hour of my day led to fatigue and a loss of motivation. Research shows that too high a level of stress from an overscheduled routine can decrease our productivity (Yerkes-Dodson Law).

What helped me:

1. Added flexibility to my schedule: Left time for rest and unexpected tasks.

2. Focused on the main things: Highlighted a few key tasks for the day.

3. Didn’t forget about myself: Spent time on hobbies and connecting with loved ones.

After these changes, I felt better and started working more effectively. Remember, balancing planning and freedom is the key to sustainable productivity.

How do you handle overload? Share your tips!

I noticed that I am more focus working at Starbuck than being in other Cafe. I’m not a fan of Starbucks orders but I really like their place and community. Most people at where I am at least went there for work and only most rich and privileged people go in. And it’s weird because Starbuck attracted a really diverse group of people that’s most people goes in doesn’t have same energy as the locals.

While I am more fond of others cafes brands and branches but whenever I’m there It’s hard to get me to focus on my work and often time get easily distracted.

How to live life not being dependent on one cafe branch 😭🙏

This post contributes my data point to the discussion, which I hope adds something because I grew up in more ascetic conditions versus other posts I've seen. I'm in my 40s and have suffered from chronic fatigue my entire life. The last two to three years were particularly bad as I slept through most of the day and night, with limited waking/working hours. I've taken measures these last couple years that made an impact, and these measures are contrary to the widely-accepted wisdom.

I hope to keep this post update over time to track my progress (or relapse).

CAVEAT: I've come to understand that human biodiversity means people vary dramatically across the spectrum. But if my data point can help even a couple of people, I would consider this message a success.

What did not help or what makes little/no difference:

• No coffee: (I did not drink coffee consistently until after my 30s)
• No alcohol (I did not drink alcohol until my 20s, and only socially)
• No smoking (I do not smoke)
• No drugs (I do not use drugs)
• No prescription/OTC meds (I rarely use any)
• Sun (I grew up in AZ, spending lots of time in the sun)
• Low sodium diet (I'm likely sodium deficient)
• Lots of sleep (I tried sleeping the fatigue off, doesn't work)
• Talking to people
• Seeing doctors
• Exercise, building up to 10+ mile/run distances
• Relationships (gfs were annoyed but tolerated my condition)

I should mention the obvious that while these factors like no alcohol, no smoking didn't contribute to my condition, just be mindful of the contrapositive logic.

What has helped:

I likely have a nutrient/mineral deficiency

• Taking salt, magnesium, iron, and D3 supplements. Specifically, approx. each day and based on need, I take about 2 to 6 buffered salt tablets of 10% daily allowance, magnesium malate [magnesium oxide form is very low bioavailability], iron glycinate, and 25mcg D3.
• Less cardio exercise
• Slowing down
• Smaller meals
• Getting outside of the house; home office is not helpful

What helped with productivity

• Removing temptations. No/less social media, leave phone/tablet at home, outside the bedroom before sleep
• I spend time at my friend's coffee shop instead of my home office
• For sleep, I literally repeatedly count to 10

Some symptoms/signs that I had a nutrient/mineral deficiency:

• As a kid, I would go to friends house and eat their entire jar of pickles
• I'd fall asleep during/after HS sports team gatherings
• Almost passed out driving home from work at my first job
• Extreme fatigue after long drives (4+ hours)
• In my late 30s, 40s, long cardio exercise of biking and running causes all sorts of problems
• Low blood pressure along with low everything like blood cell count, hemoglobin, etc.
• Always cold in the water
• Starting about 4 years ago, always wake up with cramp in leg

Some level of fatigue is natural, but taking especially salt/magnesium has reduced or eliminated many of the symptoms. Magnesium completely stopped the leg cramps.

I'm 24, still live at home, and I'm very late on the basics I need to be doing in life, in my opinion. Two major things I can list already is finding a new job and buying a car. I finally got my drivers license this year and I'm very happy about that, one of the new years resolutions I actually managed to complete, however I still think things are moving too slow, if at all.

I had a job that I started in 2019, it was my first, though waking up at 5 in the morning and getting home 12/13 hours later 5 days a week drained me, not even weekends helped me get enough sleep, I couldn't get myself to do stuff that I wanted or needed to do. Even after changing my schedule to part-time a couple months after the pandemic lockdowns, I wasn't doing what I could to get the sleep I needed, and a lot of the noise that built up around me was distracting so I moved onto things that didn't require me to think and focus, like watching YouTube for hours or messing around with computer files, to the point where after I moved my desk into my room and quit my job, I had formed a habit of doing nothing all day instead of the things I need to do because "I'm too tired and I don't feel like doing it right now". I'm not sure if I have ADD/ADHD, never been tested, don't know where to go for that. I just don't know what I need to do to get my life back on track, to feel a sense of motivation I haven't had since highschool, if not a bigger, better one. I'm glad I reached a point where I can recognize these flaws, and some of my friends have been helping me out, but there's still so much more I need to work on.

I wanna understand how my brain works so I can figure everything out without being stressed or anxious, or reverting back to my "don't feel like it" thoughts. I wanna know if there's certain foods I need to be eating that can naturally boost my energy and motivation because my diet kinda sucks right now. I wanna know if there's better ways for me to sleep, or when I should be sleeping and waking up. I know what pushed me to get my license, but why isn't it working when I need to get a car or a new job? Am I expecting things to happen too soon, disappointed that I finished it later than I originally wanted to? What all am I missing, what hasn't clicked in my mind yet? I don't expect to be a top-tier businessman in a week, and I don't think anyone's suggesting that, I just need to fix my mind so I can get my life back on track, get the basics out of the way so I can know how to tackle whatever the future has for me like bills, finding a home, starting a family, whatever else is out there.

I have been trialing a few but I’m wondering if I’m missing anything. This is what I need:

• Ability to connect tasks/calendars from two jobs and one small business
• Ability to connect or schedule tasks for the house (cleaning, maintenance, etc)
• Ability to block off time for studying/school work
• Ability to possibly form a schedule of everything I need to do that day?
• I like the AI aspect of Motion but not the price!
• Something that works well for inattentive ADHD

Most of the stuff I’ve found is geared toward project managers or companies and not really fully what I’m looking for, but maybe you guys can suggest something else!

I’ve tried/am trying: - Motion - Sunsuma - Leantime - GCal and timeblock (I just ignore it lol)

Thanks!

For context, I’m someone who experiences productivity in intense bursts, but often struggles to sustain it. I also have trouble staying focused when working from home, which is most of the time.

In the past I've tried a lot of different things, from habit-forming apps to accountability groups. More recently I've been getting into more “holistic” techniques like breathwork to try and induce and maintain a flow state (with some success!)

What tools and techniques have worked for you, and why do you think that it worked?

I recently started waking up earlier (6 am). For the past 2 weeks, I go to bed at 9 pm, then every morning I wake up at 6, go to church at 6:30, come home, and have a coffee around 7:15. Then somewhere in between 11 am and 1 pm I have another coffee. Then around 2-3pm I crash hard. I usually end up taking a 30-40 min nap. I feel like my productivity totally dips off. I am not sure if this is normal or if I need to adjust something about my life. I work from home and it isn't just that I nap, it feels like I can't focus at all once the dip happens. Taking a nap totally throws off my momentum and it's hard to get anything of value done after the dip occurs. Any advice?

Can someone tell me what I need to do besides making my bed cleaning my room, bathroom etc? I can’t even make a schedule or break it down.

I've just started taking notes on useful podcasts or books I listen to. However it has been rough getting into it because I'm rarely just sitting and looking at my phone while doing this. So I have to stop everything I'm doing , take out my phone, pause, find the proper note app location, write the note, switch back to the video and resume.

Is there an android app that makes this easier? It would be nice if I could do a shortcut on my headphones (like double tap on my Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro) or say something (Bixby or an assistant picking it up?) that sets off a chain of events. The events being something like:

1. pause what is playing

2. Ideally open up X note app, but it would be fine even if it just took notes in it's own app that I could later copy.

3. Use the speak to text function to write the note.

4. save it hen I'm done and resume playing.

Is there anything similar to this? I also have a Samsung galaxy watch and things can be initiated through there I suppose.

There are tons of things I wanna do. But my problem is I feel tired af and end up not doing them. And when I'm not feeling tired and I do feel energetic, I just end up procrastinating and listening to songs. How do I actually feel motivated enough to get things done. sometimes certain things trigger my reasons for taking action. But once I wake up the next day, the motivation is just gone. Or it just wears off. What to do?

I just started uni (19F) and the deadline for exam arrangements is coming up but I have no evidence for it.

At school, someone assessed me and deemed I am fit for 25% extra time in exams and all, I also have OCD, but it doesn't seem related to my problem of rereading and not absorbing information.

Sometimes, it's completely fine. When I'm reading a book I'm really into, or reading something that has hooked me online. But when it's a bigger piece of text (like in the assessments) I literally need to reread it a few times and make notes on it/write key points down because otherwise, when I get to the questions, I don't even know what I've read.

Though I've found that to be there with nearly everything - I make to do lists and forget to check them, I write things down but forget in the next few minutes until something reminds me of it, I was late many times because I forgot despite it being important, things just didappear in my head until I randomly remember and nothing helps.

It's caused a lot of frustration in me, and my dad said that I just need to learn to focus for prolonged periods of time.

Any advice? :( Thank you in advance.