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Tired of the same old tips for how to manage time? We asked productivity experts to weigh in with what they consider their \u2018weirdest\u2019 tips.<\/em><\/p>\n Want to be more productive? Get up earlier, work in small bursts, exercise, and drink water. If I had a dollar for every article on the internet telling me to do these, I\u2019d be richer than a Kardashian.<\/p>\n What about the things that you don\u2019t hear constantly: the experiments, and the personal discoveries? The Eureka moments when those of us desperate to eke more time out of our day realize if I do this small thing I work so much better!<\/p>\n Employing some lesser-known hacks might be what you need to transition from stress-preneur to entrepreneur. Don\u2019t worry, though, we\u2019re only advocating legal techniques, unlike micro-dosing LSD which is currently the trending productivity hack in Silicon Valley<\/a>.<\/p>\n To find some brand new productivity hacks, we asked some experts what they do to get the most from their day. Think you know it all already? You\u2019re about to find out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of us work much better with deadlines. A study done by MIT professors<\/a> to try to stop their students from procrastinating shows that deadlines help us work faster and smarter.<\/p>\n When we\u2019re in school, we have the daily deadline of homework. In college, we have essays, and many jobs come with a boss who\u2019s all-too-willing to breathe down our neck if something isn\u2019t done within a certain timeframe.<\/p>\n When we become self-employed or freelance, how do we handle a freewheeling, deadline-less schedule? The answer, of course, is to set our own.<\/p>\n David Niu, the founder and CEO of TINYpulse<\/a>, does this by setting up imminent death\u2026 of his laptop:<\/p>\n When I really need to buckle down, I grab my laptop, head to a coffee shop – and leave my laptop cord at home. When I\u2019m at the mercy of my battery, I get focused faster and stay in flow state longer. I\u2019m less likely to get distracted because I know I\u2019d rather make the trip back with an achievement than a dead laptop.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Still not enough motivation when you really need to get something done? You can go out with a half empty, or even quarter empty battery. There\u2019s nothing like buying a coffee, sitting down, and committing to a working in a cafe\u2026 only to find you\u2019re at 20%. Why not artificially replicate this scenario?<\/p>\n Productivity apps for your Mac can only take you so far if you don\u2019t know your way round your Mac. And let\u2019s face it, most of us don\u2019t. These ridiculously powerful tools probably have a fraction of their potential used, so when it comes to hacking productivity, why not start by hacking your Mac\u2019s<\/a>?<\/p>\n Paul Minors<\/a>, a virtual consultant helping businesses set up their productivity software, has his Mac working as fast as it possibly can:<\/p>\n It sounds silly, but turn your mouse speed up as fast as it\u2019ll go (or do what I do<\/a> and hack your MacBook to go even faster). When you get used to the faster speed you\u2019ll be amazed at how much quicker you can navigate and get things done. And while you\u2019re at it, learn as many keyboard shortcuts as you can or use tools like TextExpander<\/a> to speed up your typing!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you\u2019re planning to spend a lot of time using your Mac, then take some time to familiarize yourself with the shortcuts, and then practice using them until they\u2019re second nature. Just as being able to touch type will free up time, not having to think about shortcuts will mean running many programs and systems at once will shave seconds off that add up to hours and days.<\/p>\n Now we have our Macs working as fast as possible, so why don\u2019t we train our brains to do the same?<\/p>\n Divya Parekh<\/a>, a motivational speaker working with entrepreneurs, teaches them to make decisions faster. By automating the decision making process, she says, you can save time, energy, money, and be more productive.<\/p>\n To do this, she advocates a 3×24 rule.<\/p>\n Making a simple decision, like what to wear in the morning, or where to go for lunch? Take a pause of 24 seconds and evaluate your choice, before telling other people.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re making a more complex decision, take 24 minutes to reflect and think it over. You can set a timer, get coffee, and make space to breathe.<\/p>\n For life-changing or critical decisions, sleep on it and take 24 hours.<\/p>\n This ties in well with our first tip: setting deadlines. Rather than agonizing and feeling pressure, having an automatic process in place of taking set amounts of time to think can help you make clearer decisions, as well as speed them up. Knowing you have 24 seconds, minutes, or hours helps with time and stress management by simultaneously giving you space to think, and setting a deadline.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve touched on repeating tasks<\/a> before on the Timing<\/a><\/em> blog, but we haven\u2019t shone the spotlight on them before.<\/p>\n When we asked Frank Buck<\/a>, author of Get Organized!: Time Management for School Leaders<\/em><\/a> and member of Global Gurus \u201cWorld\u2019s Top 30 Time Management Professionals for 2018<\/a> for a tip, shine the spotlight is exactly what he did:<\/p>\n I am a fanatic about repeating tasks. Any responsibility that is going to come around annually, monthly, or weekly goes on my digital task list (I use Toodledo) with the proper repeat applied. Repeating tasks are great for freeing up your mind, and the great thing is, you don\u2019t have to do them all at once. After a dentist trip, schedule the next in for every 6 months, on repeat. Know how often you go through staples like milk and bread? Set up repeating tasks when you run out.<\/p>\n Amazon Subscribe and Save stops you running out of toilet paper and toothpaste, but repeating tasks automate your whole life.<\/p>\n Want to be busy? Then\u2026 stop being busy. At least that\u2019s what Aytekin Tank, CEO & Founder of JotForm<\/a> advises:<\/p>\n One thing I strong believe in, even though it\u2019s counterintuitive, is NOT being busy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As an entrepreneur, I certainly can\u2019t get caught up bragging about being busy. I need to produce. It took me a long time to learn this. When I was starting my company, I felt like I always had to be busy or I wasn\u2019t doing it right. I would work 16 hour days<\/a>, even though it wasn\u2019t productive to do so.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But these days, I get more done by doing less. I take weekends off. I take week-long vacations with my family. I recharge. And I also focus on what\u2019s actually important to get accomplished instead of burying myself in the weeds trying to always be working. It quickly turns into a race to the bottom.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We\u2019ve grown to subconsciously measure a person\u2019s worth based off how many hours they work, how much is on their plate and put simply\u200a\u2014\u200awhether or not they are running around like a chicken with their head cut off.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You might have heard of gamification. It\u2019s described by Bunchball as<\/a> \u201cthe process of taking something that already exists \u2013 a website, an enterprise application, an online community \u2013 and integrating game mechanics<\/a> into it to motivate participation, engagement, and loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n Gamification is how Mica Gonzalez, who blogs about entrepreneurship and productivity at MindofMica<\/a>, sticks to what she starts on:<\/p>\n I like to stay productive by gamifying my goals and habits. Apps like Habitica<\/a> work great for that, since you have a character whose progress depends on your ability to stay committed to your habits \u2014 but if I\u2019m not using an app, I like to think of myself as my arch nemesis and I have to get better, get more work done every day, week, or month. I make myself my biggest rival basically, and that\u2019s always a great motivator for anyone as Type A as myself.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you\u2019re Gamifying your productivity, why stop there? You can apply it to your fitness goals, healthy eating goals, or quitting a habit. After all, life\u2019s too short to stop playing.<\/p>\n As an entrepreneur, founder, or freelancer, taking time off can range from complicated to downright impossible. For most new freelancers, convincing them that they can ever go on vacation is about as easy as convincing a pig to ballet dance.<\/p>\n Maura Thomas<\/a>, though, author of Personal Productivity Secrets<\/em> and Work Without Walls<\/em>, says her biggest tip is to take time off:<\/p>\n Many people think you can\u2019t be productive unless you are working and constantly on task. However, recent studies make a convincing argument that not taking vacations is detrimental to your health. A vacation provides a crucial opportunity to recharge, refresh, refocus, and rejuvenate. Studies show that vacations are good for your weight and cardiovascular health, they lower your cortisol levels and your blood pressure, and may aid in recovery from diseases such as cancer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You can actually be putting your physical, mental, and thereby fiscal health at risk when you skip vacation. The lives of Millenials and Gen-Xers include multiple devices that you are connected to all day, a constant deluge of hundreds of emails and other communications, and a \u201cspinning\u201d brain that keeps you awake at night trying to get everything done. A vacation gives you the opportunity to temporarily escape these demands.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Because we acclimate to increased stress levels, most people don\u2019t recognize the toll this environment is taking on them, until that environment changes. But you only get the full benefits if you actually do disconnect from work. A change in environment not only provides a mental and physical break, but it allows us distance from our work and our lives that provides a new perspective, a creativity boost, and a clarity of thought. As an entrepreneur or freelancer, your success depends at least in part on the wisdom, experience, and unique perspective that you bring to your work. Your supply of unique creativity is not endless and, therefore, taking the time to recharge it means increased productivity and better results when you return.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Here are few quick fixes to help you take small breaks and be more productive, although they may seem contradictory.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Do you find that the hours and minutes slip away without you knowing where they\u2019ve gone? Mike Schmitz<\/a>, who produces the Productivity Show Podcast<\/em><\/a>, and writes about cool new apps and tricks at Asian Efficiency<\/a>, recommends a planning everything from dawn to dusk.<\/p>\n If you really want to get the most out of your day, make sure you plan every waking hour with what you want to do. You are far more likely to get your important tasks done if you schedule the time on your calendar for it to be completed. You see, everything you need to do must get done within the context of time. That doesn\u2019t mean that you have to put every task currently on your to-do list on your calendar, but you do need to make the time for the things that you\u2019ve decided are important to happen. You MUST put the things you want to do on your calendar before that time gets assigned to something else by someone else.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Some people think I\u2019m crazy for scheduling every hour of my day, but I always ask them, \u201chow much of your time is important to you?\u201d For me, it\u2019s all important. I want to be intentional about how I am spending every hour of every day. And the way that I\u2019m intentional about how I spend my time is I put it on my calendar. If you really want to make the most of your time, you have to tell it where to go.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If that sounds intimidating to you, don\u2019t worry. Just because you\u2019ve planned your day down to the second, doesn\u2019t mean the world will end if it doesn\u2019t go that way.<\/p>\n My second tip is to roll with the punches. One mistake I see people make all the time is trying to stick perfectly to this idealistic schedule that they\u2019ve created. But life happens. Just because you\u2019ve planned your entire day doesn\u2019t mean that your day is entirely rigid. In fact, you may never have a day go exactly as you\u2019ve planned it! But that\u2019s ok. Former U.S. president Dwight Eisenhower once said, \u2018plans are useless, but planning is everything.\u2019 It\u2019s the not the plan for your perfect day that helps you be more productive, it\u2019s the thought you\u2019ve given to directing your attention in the direction you want it to go.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Writing about productivity for Timing<\/a><\/em>, I\u2019ve become a bit of an expert myself. The tip that\u2019s helped me the most, that you won\u2019t hear other people say, is, simply \u2014 don\u2019t compare yourself to others.<\/p>\n If you ask the average person to name a super productive entrepreneur, Tim Ferriss will be one of the first names they say. After all, he\u2019s built himself an empire from doing things in only 4 hours a week<\/a>: earning 6 figures, getting ripped, cooking a week\u2019s worth of food\u2026 how can anyone who writes these books not<\/em> be productive.<\/p>\n But my favorite post by him isn\u2019t one about how productive he is, though. It\u2019s an old one about how he isn\u2019t productive<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. About how some days he snoozes the alarm for several hours, how he doesn\u2019t like being alone, and how he fights the urge to escape the world.<\/p>\n More than anything, it\u2019s about how he\u2019s\u2026 wait for it\u2026 normal. Which means that the rest of us must be, too.<\/p>\n I love to read productivity blogs, but often they can leave me feeling less motivated at the end than at the beginning. These Titans of productivity fit so much<\/em> into each day, what happens when they\u2019re having an off day? Do they ever want to not deal with things, hit snooze, or grab a coffee with a friend?<\/p>\n When reading productivity blogs, it\u2019s far too easy to compare. I find myself mentally going round in circles and beating myself up for not having as consistent a routine.<\/p>\n Which is why the biggest productivity hack that I never hear is: stop comparing yourself. What have you done that you\u2019re proud of? What have you achieved? What\u2019s your<\/em> version of winning, rather than the version of your productivity idol?<\/p>\n There are literally thousands of ways to be productive, many specific to the individual. As shown by our experts, the possibilities for hacking your time are endless. You can train your Mac, your brain, and your body to work efficiently. You can turn your goals into a game, or take time out completely. If you\u2019re looking to manage time effectively, start with a basic routine and some of the best productivity apps for Mac, like Timing<\/a><\/em>. One day you, too, will be getting amounts done in a month that present day you can only dream of.<\/p>\n Want to know where you\u2019re losing time, and what you\u2019re really accomplishing in a day? Download a free trial of Timing<\/a>, and find out.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. Work Against a Ticking Clock<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n2. Turn Your Mouse Into Speedy Gonzales<\/h2>\n
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3. Don\u2019t Just Hack Your Mac, Train Your Brain<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n4. Use Productivity Apps for Your Mac to Set Repeating Tasks<\/h2>\n
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\nI have repeating tasks that remind me to give the dogs their heartworm pills, change the air filter, write the monthly pledge check to the church, and renew my driver\u2019s license every four years. That\u2019s just for starters. My list includes 211 repeating tasks. If you could trap all of yours in one place, you would likely have that many as well.
\nSure, I would probably remember to do lots of them. But why chance it? And why endure waking up in the middle of the night racking my brain about what\u2019s been forgotten? When you throw all the little things into your system on the front end and let your system toss them back when it\u2019s time to act, you start to realize the total control and peace of mind that lets you graduate to the bigger things.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n5. Stop Being Busy and Start Being Productive<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n6. Gamify Your Goals to Form Habits You Keep<\/h2>\n
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7. Get Some Downtime, From Vacations to Morning Meditation<\/h2>\n
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8. Plan Every Moment of Your Day<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n9. Stop comparing yourself to \u2018productive\u2019 people<\/h2>\n
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