6 Non-Negotiable productivity rules to keep you from going crazy (and focused on your goals)
~ Busy isn’t the same thing as working hard.
“I know I can click less than what I’m clicking now!!! Where’s the answer?!?!”
I admit. I spent hours of my life on YouTube watching videos on how to be more efficient.
6 tips on how to study more productively
5 tips on how to work more productively
10 tips on how to cook productively
And the more I watched, the more I felt my life was chaotic.
I looked at the beautiful Notion dashboards and thought “If I had a Notion page like this, I’d be organized forever”.
It’s fine to strive for excellence. But what’s the limit?
Is watching the 13th video with the same productivity hacks productive? Or just a way to feel good while procrastinating?
After years in the productivity rabbit hole, I’ve developed 6 mental rules I follow to keep me grounded in reality.
Let’s go over each of them.
Mindsets
Focusing and getting the right things done comes down to 3 simple mental rules.
1. Reality Check
I used to feel good waking up with 21 tasks on the go.
By lunchtime, I’d complete half of them, thinking I had a productive morning.
The problem?
I did all the wrong things. I updated spreadsheets. I ordered books on my bookshelf. I organized (once again) my notes in Obsidian.
And my bigger goals? Status not started.
This went on for months. Months worried about crossing items off a to-do list. And no f*cks given to my life goals.
Like Morgan Housel said in this piece:
Busy isn’t the same thing as working hard. Busy is the waste that occurs when you don’t know what to do with the free time that’s fallen into your lap, so you squander it on something unproductive and disappointing.
Now, every time I start to get overwhelmed by my to-do list, I remind myself that I only have 24 hours. And just like a river, it keeps moving along. With or without you.
And since time is limited, it’s on you to make the hard choices. Complete 27 useless tasks that won’t get you anywhere. Or focus on your goals for 2 full hours to focus on your goals, without task count in mind.
(if you don’t know what to work on, see rule #2 in the Frameworks section)
2. Another productivity hack won’t save you
4 years ago I discovered the beautiful world of productivity. I watched and read about every hack I could find to be more efficient.
I got to a point where I scheduled my cleaning habits like this:
Monday: clean bathroom sink
Tuesday: clean bathroom toilet
Wednesday: Vacuum kitchen and living room
Thursday: Vacuum bedroom and clean kitchen
Friday: Clean something else I don’t remember now
Saturday: clean the rest of the house
Sunday: rest, but clean whatever got dirty
The reason for the insanity above was simple. Clean every day and you won’t have a dirty house!
The problem?
Breaking up your day into micro sections.
So on Monday, instead of spending 1 hour writing, I’d spend 20 minutes writing. Then another 20 minutes cleaning. Then another 20 minutes writing. Same for the other days.
Do you think I saved time doing this? I’d like to think so. In reality I didn’t. I wasted time. Because instead of entering a writing flow state, I’d screw myself over with a different task in the middle.
Thankfully I got over my insanity. Now every Saturday I clean.
But I’m not here to talk about cleaning hacks. My point is that another hack won’t save you.
It feels good to shift blame from you to “a silver-bullet hack you don’t know about”.
I did that a lot. I moved from framework to framework, thinking someone would save me from my own mess.
But whenever I tried a new system, it was too hard. And the learning curve too steep.
I wasted time trying to learn a more efficient way of working. Instead of doing actual work.
Stop looking for a silver bullet. You ARE the silver bullet. Just do the work.
3. Productivity comes down to habit
Every month a guru is promoting a new productivity system.
“By switching to the Pineapple method, you’ll be able to save 1 hour per day! The best part? It’ll only take you 2 hours to plan your day! Win-Win!”
Completing tasks is not rocket science. You focus on one thing. You do that thing. You move on.
If you do it every day, you eventually build a habit. And doing will become automatic.
And it’s hard to accept chaos is part of the game.
For example, I hate my current production flow. I have to look at 130+ article ideas in Todoist. Organize myself in Obsidian. Start a new doc in Google Drive.
This process is dumb. But do I want to change? No. It works. I’ve done this so many times that’s now part of my muscle memory.
Are there better ways to do this? Yes. This is far from perfect.
But the thing is… There’s no perfect system.
You can take ideas from courses you take (like scheduling time to develop your notes, or having a content calendar). But don’t make it your life’s mission.
Build your own workflow. Be on the lookout for new ideas of doing things. Try and adjust. But don’t expect other people’s workflow to save you.
Frameworks
3 mindset rules above keep me from feeling productive while wasting all my time.
But mindsets don’t get shit done. Frameworks do.
And the good news is that I only have 3.
1. Make love with the tomato
I’ve been doing this “productivity” thing long enough to notice trends.
One that’s very clear is when I use the Pomodoro technique Vs when I don’t.
Setting a 25-minute timer is the difference between finishing an article in 2 days, instead of a full week.
Just like your muscles when you’re at the gym, your brain also need breaks.
The idea is simple. Set a timer and get to work.
Here’s a step-by-step on how to apply this:
First, decide what you’re gonna work on.
The biggest mistake I made (and still do) was to work on something without an end goal. The timer goes off and you can’t stop. You keep going like a wolf looking for juicy meat in winter.
Avoid this by choosing a goal for your task.
Second, block all distractions that can interrupt your flow.
Getting into a flow state takes time. I don’t magically sit on my desk and start writing the next masterpiece for my newsletter. I write complete garbage, like a monkey banging away at the keyboard.
But by the time I’m in my 2nd or 3rd pomodoro, things start to click. And words flow from my brain into my Google Docs.
Blocking distractions means:
Put on headphones to signal you don’t want to be interrupted
Block email messages from showing up on your screen
Put your phone in another room
Block all social media pop-ups
Third, put on some weird sounds.
The best way to concentrate is to listen to sounds that don’t catch your attention. That’s why I hate listening to music when I’m trying to concentrate.
Much better to listen to the ocean, rain, or whatever floats your boat.
I recommend 9h-YouTube videos instead of Spotify (the sounds are too short, and the constant change in “songs” is distracting)
Having noise-canceling headphones helps a lot (with this step and the previous one)
Fourth, start the clock and do the work.
This is the hardest part. Doing the actual work.
The amount of time depends on you. I like to keep work/break at 25/5 minutes. Play around with it. Increase or decrease as you wish. Do what feels natural. Don’t worry about the Pomodoro police.
2. Have 3 goals every single day
All the work above doesn’t matter if you don’t have goals.
That’s why I like to have 3 goals I want to accomplish in my day.
Of course, 3 is a random number. I’m comfortable with 3. I know I’ll get it done. You might want to push for 27 and get overwhelmed and stressed by 8pm because you didn’t complete them.
Anyway… I recommend 3 per day.
And these aren’t dumb goals like “have breakfast”. They have to move the needle of your goals in life.
For example, I want to write.
So my daily goal is something that involves writing. Either writing a new piece. Or editing an existing one. Or developing my notes a bit further.
Going to the gym is important. But it’s not a daily goal.
Why? Because it’s already a habit. I don’t need to force myself. But if your goal is to create the habit of exercising, then obviously include it.
Keep in mind what you want to accomplish in your life. Set your daily tasks to move you closer to them. Repeat.
3. Have a day to chillax.
Productivity on cocaine dictates you should work 8 days a week.
Some individuals see success doing this (e.g. Elon Musk).
While I do think you need to work hard on your goals, you also benefit a lot from downtime.
The best ideas I have come when I’m doing nothing. When my brain is wandering while I wash the dishes. Or when I’m walking to the supermarket. Or when I’m vacuuming the house on Saturday morning.
For me, Saturdays are no-work days. But that doesn’t mean I shut off my brain like the heater here at home.If the inspiration bug bites, I sit down and start writing (like I am this Saturday) until there’s no creativity fart left inside. Or if ideas are flowing in my brain, I write them all down.
The rest of the time?
You chill. You enjoy time with people you care about. Not every breath you take has to be productive.
What this means for you
Above I gave you 3 mindsets and 3 frameworks you can use to have a more focused day and maximize your output.
I suggest you don’t try to apply everything everything all at once.
It never works.
What you should do is play around with it.
Try setting 3 daily goals for 2 weeks. Then assess.
“Does this work for me?”
“How easy is it to implement into my flow?”
“Am I more productive than before?
Nothing ever fits like a glove. Experiment, assess, and adopt (or ignore).