21 Productivity Hacks I’ve Picked Up Over the Years

I've been actively involved in the productivity space for over 16 years, reading, experimenting and eventually writing about what I've learned.

These learnings, along with noticing my work patterns, have vastly improved how I've worked as a professional software engineer for nearly 10 years and running a business for the last three.

So, here's a list of 21 such productivity hacks or methods that have helped me over the years and might be useful to you too:

1. Making a to-do list the night before. Instead of figuring out what I need to do at the start of the day, I plan my day the night before. This helps me approach the day knowing 90% of what I need to do (10% goes to ad hoc tasks that come my way) instead of wasting valuable high-energy hours finding the next task.
2. Writing the non-negotiables that'll make the upcoming week successful. Zooming out a bit, I write the tasks or project milestones that'll make the upcoming week well-spent. I do this at the end of the day on Saturday. This isn't a regular to-do list with granular tasks. Instead, it's the big-picture things, such as “ship a new update for Ducat”.
3. Planning for up to a quarter. I picked this up from Tim Ferriss, and this has worked quite well for me. Instead of planning for a longer stretch, such as a year or two, I plan my goals for the next 3 months. Why? Because life has too many variables, and things change fast. You can't guarantee your plan will hold up in a year. Also, a shorter time span helps me experiment and see results faster, and then scrap what's not working and move on to something that might.
4. Not paying too much attention to the news. I've wasted many hours being worked up over something I had zero influence on. Now I let the news worthy of my attention reach me through family and friends and sometimes through social media, instead of actively chasing it. Even then, I avoid spending too much time on such news.
5. Listening to familiar songs while working. Music has been a significant part of how I work, and I've spent countless hours being plugged in while coding or working on other things. But I've noticed I get distracted when I let the algorithm play new music while I'm working because my attention moves to the unheard music and lyrics. Listening to songs from my library, the ones I've heard many times, has the opposite effect. They tune out distractions and help me slide into the flow state.
6. Leaving work in a semi-done state for the next day. Instead of aiming for a clean break, such as finishing a section of an article or a feature in an app, I stop midway or in a nearly finished state. When I return, I already have a fair bit of work done, and I can slide into the flow without dealing with a cold start. It's like leaving the wires mounted, and upon returning, all I need to do is connect them and leverage the momentum to move on to the next task.
7. Not optimising my downtime. This is challenging nowadays, as I feel the need to do more to improve my business further, but I understand that road only leads to burnout and despair. So, I rest well whenever I can, and keep Sundays completely off-limits to recharge for the week ahead.
8. Pairing audiobooks with an autopilot-ish activity. I don't get much time to read books amidst the hustle of my business. Therefore, I listen to audiobook editions of my reading list while making my morning tea. A modest 30-minute session every day is often enough to finish a book in a week or two.
9. Using time as a filter. I get plenty of ideas around my work, and I need a filter to determine what's worthy of my attention. Time serves as that filter. When I have an interesting idea, I write about it in a note if it isn't something I need to take care of urgently. As time passes and I return to these notes, I find some ideas are not as good as I thought in that initial excitement. The list naturally shrinks, leaving behind the ideas worth chasing.
10. Investing in quality software. Not everything can be done optimally through free software. Sometimes, it's better to invest in premium software that is crafted for a workflow and will save you time and effort. Especially if it's a process you'll repeat.
11. Using email filters for a workable inbox. I heavily use email filters, such as the ones in Gmail, to automatically sort high-volume senders like e-commerce websites, banks, etc. out of my inbox and into their dedicated labels. This keeps my email inbox calm, and I have a tiny list of emails to read every day.
12. Keeping expectations matched with ground reality. Absurd expectations cause many projects to never live up to that unreachable standard. We lose motivation to work any further, and abandon the project before it has a chance to take off. Keeping success expectations for a project realistic increases the likelihood of crossing meaningful milestones and snowballing motivation to see it through.
13. Leveraging shortcuts wherever possible. I often use live templates from Raycast and the Shortcuts app to avoid typing or copy-pasting the same email whenever I do sponsorship outreach for my newsletter.
14. Setting up a social media redirection. I configured my iPhone to automatically redirect me to a reading app whenever I'm in a specific focus mode and open a social media app. This automatic intervention breaks my default habit and redirects me to an activity I'll benefit from.
15. Not engaging with trolls online. A side-effect of having an online presence is that it often attracts trolling and other hateful attacks. But the more I engaged to justify my point, the worse the conversations got, and I spent hours thinking about the exchange instead of working. I now reply once or twice to such comments and then cut off if the conversation goes astray.
16. Having a North Star metric for projects and goals. A North Star metric is a foundational guideline that defines a project or goal. This is the metric that will guide all actions regarding the project. Staying true to this metric helps keep distracting ideas away and instead pick tasks that'll contribute towards the ultimate goal. For example, Hulry's North Star metric is that every article has to be worth the reader's time. I've scrapped many completely written drafts because they didn't meet this standard.
17. Organising everything in its intended place. This is broad advice, but organising everything from browser tabs to notes and tasks in respective lists and projects helps surface them when needed, and I can work more fluently.
18. Working with the body, not against. Sometimes, I don't feel like working on a task because my mind's wandering or I feel lethargic and not up to the challenge at the moment. Instead of forcing myself to work on a specific task, I move on to one that feels more natural to do at the moment, if possible.
19. Hara hachi bu. Overeating usually leads to an energy crash, and I feel too lethargic to focus on anything mentally taxing, such as writing an article. Instead, I aim to eat until I'm 80% full, as taught in the Japanese concept called Hara hachi bu. This keeps my energy regulated and helps me focus better.
20. Changing the medium. When I feel stuck, changing the medium of work often helps me get unstuck. For example, if I'm stuck writing a piece for this blog on my laptop, I switch to writing it on my phone, pacing around the house. Ideas flow, and I get the job done instead of staring at the screen for hours. I had the idea for this point the same way.
21. Using the simplest, most effective tool for the job. We often get caught up in fancy tools that make us feel productive instead of helping us get the job done. Therefore, I usually look for the simplest tool I can use for a specific task. Sometimes, that's a tool like the stock Notes app on my phone; other times, it's a full-fledged system like Notion.

That ends this list.

Now, I understand not every single technique from this list will work for you, but I hope some will.

Pick what feels useful and remix to your liking.