Productivity Tips
10x your Productivity with 2 tools
These are tools you have now & are the only tools you need to improve your productivity
The Reminders App & Clock App: These two apps have been my go-to resource for productivity and time management.
The Clock App:
Setting a timer for your tasks or projects forces you to get as much done during the time limit. It keeps your brain focused during the time limit. Using a timer while you work or study or do whatever task, utilizes Parkinson’s Law.
Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill the time allotted for it.
Since I work on the computer, I use an online timer — vClock.com A simple interface that works as a clock, stopwatch, timer, and alarm clock.
When writing or studying, I often set a timer for 20 min or 15 min and start working. Typically, the time limit is lower than how long I think the task will take.
For example, if I think it will take me 20 min to write a story, I will set a timer for 15 min. This creates urgency forcing me to work harder to get finished in time.
Time Blocking:
Using a timer for work and focus also expands upon the Time Blocking technique.
You break up your day into blocks of time where you focus on 1 activity. Cal Newport in his book Deep Work talks about the benefits of scheduling your day in time blocks.
I won’t get into the specifics here, but here’s a
Summary of why Time Blocking can help:
- Reduce distractions. Focus on 1 task
- You don’t need to think on what you want to do. There’s no idle time in deciding your task, it’s already made on your calendar.
- Focused work for an allotted time block could lead to completion of the task or get you further than if you did not use the time block.
Time Blocking is a good technique for someone who loses track of time and gets overwhelmed by the choices of what to work on next.
The Reminders App:
Reminders can be your external brain.
Anytime I have to do a task in the future, I make a note for it in my reminder's app — set a date and time — and forget about until my phone reminds me.
Our brain is good for having ideas but not storing them.
Use a reminders app to store tasks you have to do in the future.
You can also use it to store ideas and have them.
In the photo above, I set reminders for tasks I often do such as log work time & tasks I plan on doing in the future (buying plane tickets). For saving ideas, I make notes in the description for specific ideas in a general category.
I use my reminders app religiously. Anytime I need to do something for the future, I set a reminder in the app & forget about it till my phone reminds me.
Each time I’ve downloaded another app — like Microsoft To-Do — has a similar functionality, but I always return back to the base reminders app because I’ve used it often and it works for my needs.
Getting Things Done System
Using the reminders app, the way I described above is a corner stone of David Allen’s Getting Things Done System described in his book Getting Things Done.
GTD (Getting Things Done) system is a capture and organize system. Capture your thought, organize it, store it for later, and review & decide if you want to engage further.
Using the Reminders app, the way I described above is a GTD-lite version. It’s not the same system but it is the same capture the task or idea in the reminder, organize it (give it date and time for reminder), and review it when your phone reminders you.
I highly recommend the book and trying out the GTD system if you want a rigid and methodical approach to productivity.
The GTD system is good for someone who gets many ideas but also has many distractions in life.
David Allen’s GTD system is summarized below.
