If you have a lot on your plate, you need a way to be sure the right things get done at the right time. The higher the stakes, the higher the need for efficiency and planning. This is why many people focus on building productivity systems at work and home.
Productivity gets a lot of attention in the workplace. However, not everything that makes you more productive is beneficial. Burnout, performance anxiety, and attention fatigue can transform healthy productivity into something far more toxic.
Today, everyone has some productivity hack or tip to help you maximize your workday and increase your productive time. These tried-and-true tips can help you power through tasks and stay motivated for more consistent results.
Productivity tips to help you make the most of your days
The secret to strong, healthy productivity is identifying and taking the steps to create a path forward. Find out what you need to do, the resources you need to do it, and the strategies to use.
Here are 14 of the best productivity tips to help you stay on track when getting things done.
1. Reduce your obligations
Evaluate and prioritize your commitments, reducing the activities that don’t serve you. Focus on tasks that align with your goals. Delegate tasks and say “no” where needed. This “addition by subtraction” approach creates more mental space and energy for what truly matters.
2. Learn prioritization techniques
Master the art of prioritization to elevate your productivity. Begin by identifying urgent and important tasks with tools like the Eisenhower Matrix. Allocate your energy wisely, tackling high-impact activities first. For ideas, consider checking out a few books on productivity.
3. Schedule out your week
Take a strategic approach to your weekly plan. Block out specific times for deep work on urgent tasks, use short breaks to maintain focus, and allocate slots for low-priority activities. This structured approach ensures you efficiently manage your time while keeping energy levels high.v
4. Create a routine
Establish a consistent routine for repetitive tasks. Set specific times for these activities each day so you can anticipate and prepare for them. In the best-selling productivity book “Atomic Habits,” James Clear uses the example of establishing a running habit.
Schedule your run at the same time slot each day as part of your morning routine. Set out your exercise clothes and running shoes in advance. This way, you can avoid skipping your run since you’ve cut out obstacles and objections up front.
5. Try time blocking
Use time blocking to prioritize different goals. Divide your day into dedicated chunks for specific tasks. Start with critical work during your peak energy hours, and assign fixed times for meetings, emails, and breaks. This method ensures focus, reduces multitasking, and maximizes efficiency. Stick to the schedule rigorously.
6. Use timers
Set a timer for each task you undertake. This will create a sense of urgency that fosters concentration and efficiency. This method, known as the Pomodoro Technique, breaks work into manageable intervals with short breaks.
A typical Pomodoro is a 25-minute focused work session followed by a 5-minute break. After completing four cycles, take an extended break of 15 to 30 minutes. The balance of deep focus with regular breaks keeps you on track without burning you out.
7. Use artificial (AI) apps
AI is finding a home in every area of daily life, including productivity. Try using AI apps or ChatGPT prompts to automate mundane tasks, track productivity, organize your schedule, improve project management, and optimize your workflows.
Allowing AI to handle repetitive duties frees up mental space and time to concentrate on creative and complex tasks. Embrace AI for a smarter, more efficient workday.
8. Practice body-doubling
If you’ve ever noticed how watching a cleaning TikTok or an organization show makes you want to jump up and clean out your closets, you know the power of a body double. Body-doubling is a technique from the ADHD world where you work alongside someone to keep motivated and on task.
The presence of another person is a reminder to stay focused, even if they’re not actively redirecting you. If you’re neurotypical, body-doubling may offer you an extra boost of motivation to get through boring or routine tasks. Doubling can take many forms:
- Working in a group setting such as a coworking space
- Calling a friend to be a phone-based double for a specific task
- Watching content similar to your desired task and “doubling” with the content creator
9. Work on your focus
Focus and concentration exercises help you train your mind to block distractions and hone in on tasks. With more focus, you can accomplish more in less time. Concentration games and exercises sharpen your cognitive abilities and may enhance your overall work quality.
10. Manage your dopamine
Effectively managing your dopamine levels ensures you’re motivated and focused when needed. Look for reward opportunities in your tasks:
- Complete smaller tasks and mini-milestones to act as rewards
- Check items off the to-do list once completed
- Vary tasks within a larger goal to maintain interest
- Avoid instant gratification traps like scrolling, shopping, gaming, and binge-watching
- Use a dopamine detox to recalibrate your dopamine and reward sensitivity
11. Declutter your working environment
Decluttering your space eliminates distractions, allowing you to focus better. A tidy environment reduces stress and enhances your ability to process information. When you prep your workspace, you create an atmosphere conducive to productivity.
12. Minimize distractions while working
Minimizing distractions streamlines your attention so you can stay on task. Ignore unnecessary phone calls or social media notifications, close your office door to avoid interruptions at work, or use noise-canceling headphones to tune out chatter. Crafting a distraction-free zone makes even a few minutes of work purposeful and impactful.
13. Take breaks
Though it seems paradoxical, taking breaks helps recharge your mental batteries. By stepping away from work, you allow your mind to rest, rejuvenate, and return with a fresh perspective. This strategy can boost focus, foster creativity, and enhance productivity.
14. Try a productivity coach
Engaging a productivity coach (in-person or through online coaching) gives you an outside perspective on identifying and overcoming your efficiency barriers. They can tailor strategies to your needs, optimize your workflow, and help you with time management skills.
Why improve your productivity?
High productivity means you can achieve more with less, optimize resources, and improve your performance and results.
Here are some reasons to work smarter, not harder, to improve your productivity:
- Boosting your productivity propels you to achieve goals faster and more efficiently
- Increased focus ensures you don’t waste time on trivial tasks
- You maximize the use of your time and improve the quality of your work output
- Productivity can create more satisfaction in your personal and professional life
- Working on productivity opens you up to techniques and tools to elevate your work
- Increasing productivity helps you meet deadlines with greater ease
- Organized, productive work can offer stress relief and create space for growth and learning
Being productive is not the same as being busy. Working to achieve better productivity should also allow you to manage your energy levels and find work-life balance.
What inhibits productivity?
It’s impossible to work at the same level every day. You come to each day with different energy levels, types of stress, workloads, and circumstances:
Distractions
Phone notifications, background noise, household needs, to-do lists, or internal monologues can divert your attention. Avoiding distractions helps maintain focus and increases productivity at work and at home. This is especially true for neurodiverse people who struggle to filter out distractions.
Multitasking
Multitasking also splits your attention span between tasks, making it harder to achieve a deep focus. So, while juggling several tasks at once might seem efficient, it can lead to poor work performance. It can also increase the time you spend on projects.
Lack of sleep
The brain needs rest to function optimally. Lack of sleep and poor sleep hygiene can impair focus and concentration. It can also dim decision-making skills and overall energy levels, affecting your work.
Poor time management
Failing to prioritize tasks or underestimating the amount of time they’ll take leads to rushing and stressing, sapping your productivity. For those with ADHD, time blindness may play a factor in your strategic planning and time management skills. Wasted time is another form of poor time management. Participating in unnecessary or ineffective meetings drains your motivation and takes away time from more productive activities.
Procrastination
Putting off tasks until the last minute prevents you from doing your best work. Procrastination can also impact deadlines when unforeseen obstacles arise. Those with ADHD are more prone to procrastination and may use it as a tool to create urgency.
Lack of motivation
When a task feels uninteresting, or the details are murky, it can be hard to get to work. Feeling unmotivated due to a lack of motivation can lead to procrastination, self-sabotaging behavior, or task avoidance.
Overwhelm
Much like feeling unmotivated, feeling burdened by too many tasks or expectations can spike anxiety. This anxiety makes it difficult to focus on any single task effectively. When overwhelmed, you may experience “analysis paralysis” or show signs of burnout or declining productivity.
Neurodiversity
Inattentive ADHD, along with other types of neurodiversity, can significantly affect productivity. ADHD affects focus, information processing, motivation, and executive functioning, making meeting conventional standards or expectations harder.
Recognize and honor your neurodiversity by tailoring strategies to your unique needs. Embrace productivity tools like visual aids, timers, and healthy habits that align with your strengths. Avoid forcing yourself into a one-size-fits-all approach. Experiment to find what enhances your concentration and efficiency, and use it to boost productivity on your terms.
The link between productivity and self-discipline
Self-discipline is the ability to control your feelings, impulses, and desires when performing a task. It’s an important skill for success because it empowers you to stay focused and committed despite challenges.
Self-control directly influences productivity. It enables you to manage impulses and focus on all types of goals. Self-control acts as a bridge between your goals and their attainment. By staying disciplined, you are more likely to meet objectives, overcome obstacles, and maintain motivation.
Discipline, like all things, requires moderation. It’s possible to take the drive to achieve too far. Toxic productivity is an unhealthy obsession with productivity. It may make you prioritize work and achievements over well-being or create a scenario where you’re always working. When this occurs, it can impact your mental health and physical well-being.
When your lack of productivity isn't about discipline
Sometimes, your productivity hurdles aren’t a reflection of poor discipline but stem from underlying issues. If your energy is depleted, you’re ill, or you’re struggling to take care of your mental health, understand that your body needs time to heal and recover. In these moments, prioritize self-care over productivity and allow yourself the space to recover physically and emotionally.
You can use a framework to help you set a plan, such as using the Eat the Frog method.
Create a productivity plan for when you're tired
When you’re tired all the time, it’s harder to stay on task. Craft a productivity plan for times when your energy levels dip. Use these guidelines to create your plan:
- Start by outlining your most important tasks. Identify the must-dos and save less critical tasks for when you’re more energized.
- Break your work into smaller, manageable chunks. This approach makes tasks seem less daunting and allows for easier starts and stops based on your mental fatigue level.
- Incorporate short, frequent breaks to maintain your energy level
- Leverage the power of delegation and redistribute tasks if possible
- Adjust your environment to boost alertness. Open a window, adjust lighting, or play background music.
At the end of the day, make sure you prioritize recuperation. Get a good night’s sleep, pay attention to nutrition and hydration, and set yourself up for success the next workday.
Create a productivity plan for lower mental health days
On lower mental health days, it’s important to acknowledge your current state and set realistic goals:
- Prioritize tasks that are light and fulfilling, perhaps those that offer a sense of accomplishment without much strain
- Simplify your to-do list, focusing on one small task at a time
- Integrate activities that nurture your well-being such as meditation, short walks, or listening to soothing music
- Allow flexibility in your schedule to accommodate fluctuations in how you feel throughout the day
- Set boundaries with others to manage expectations and minimize stressors
You should still balance your priorities with well-being and self-compassion. Anything that isn’t critical can wait until the next day.
Create a productivity plan for recovering from sickness
Illness can throw your goals and priorities off track. Even after the symptoms of illness subside, your body is still working hard to recover. Use these tips for crafting a productivity plan for reentry to work:
- Be sure you’ve taken enough time for initial recovery before diving back into work
- Set achievable goals the first day back to align with your current energy levels
- Begin the day by assessing how you feel, and adjust your tasks accordingly
- Stay hydrated, eat nutritious foods, and continue any prescribed treatments to aid your recovery
- Delegate tasks to conserve energy whenever possible
As you move through your day, listen to your body’s signals and focus on yourself. Healing and recovery make future productivity possible.
Become your most productive self with BetterUp
Sustained productivity relies on practical strategies for your daily routine. Prioritizing, minimizing, delegating, and saying “no” can help you focus on what matters.
Show up for yourself by making small adjustments to how you work. With some patience and consistency, your professional and personal life can become more productive and fulfilling.
Take control of your time and priorities with the help of a BetterUp Coach.
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