Comments on: Ask The Readers: What Are Your Productivity Tips?

By: James

James — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:20:30 +0000

Thanks for the comments so far, great tips!

By: Al at 7P

Al at 7P — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:05:30 +0000

Hi James. I would say the best productivity advice is to prioritize. I think Stephen Covey's story about putting big rocks and small rocks in the jar sums it up well. I read different versions of the story, but I like the version by Leo at Zen Habits.

By: Nick Cernis

Nick Cernis — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:06:07 +0000

Mine would simply be this – simplify first, systematize later.

By: Alex Shalman

Alex Shalman — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:46:09 +0000

I would say batch similar tasks to save time. I’m often guilty of checking IM and email as it comes in. However, on days when I’m careful and set times to check it, I can get more uninterrupted focus on the project at hand.

By: Ariel Birnbaum

Ariel Birnbaum — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:22:21 +0000

If you’re going to eat a frog you might as well put some spice on it! Experiment with ways to make annoying tasks more pleasurable. The expectation of dessert after the frog is good, but why not making the frog itself taste better?

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:21:26 +0000

My best one (already mentioned it) is to chop things into smaller pieces. You can’t eat the whole cake at once, but after a week you will notice it is gone nonetheless. If “now” is not possible or just too much to handle, deal with the individual bites first – it will lessen the workload and the whole cake becomes much more easy to digest.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:22:23 +0000

I think the biggest productivity tip I could offer is to organize your inbox. I only check in at certain times throughout the day and have many filters, away messages, signatures, etc. Also, I follow the FAT system which means for all emails you either file it, act on it, or toss it. Nothing in between.

By: Shanel Yang

Shanel Yang — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:36:30 +0000

My favorite ones are from Brian Tracy’s Eat that Frog! with twenty one practical, simple tips that I summarized on my blog. But, if I had to pick just one, I’d say do the most important, most dreaded task first and with a singularity of purpose until it is complete, then relax and enjoy the amazing feeling of success.