Thread by @thecolbykultgen

The 9 productivity hacks I wish I knew when I was 20:

1. The Daily Highlight

I learned this from the book “Make Time”.

Basically, choose ONE IMPORTANT THING each day that is a non-negotiable task.

Ignore everything else until it's finished.

Working hard is important.
—But it's wasted if you don't work on the right things.

Check out the summary of "Make Time" on Shortform:
(It's packed with tips like this)

shortform.com/colby

Shortform makes the world's best guides to non-fiction books.

2. The Pomodoro Technique

I've seen some pushback on this lately which surprises me.

Yes, it's simple.
But the power is in the INTENTION.

99% of people sit down to “work” and totally half-ass it.

Why?

Because they never set an intention to lock-in and get shit done.

3. Consume content on 1.5x speed

I finally caved and started doing this.

—Took about 2 minutes to adjust.

Comprehension rate seems almost exactly the same.

Highly recommend.

4. Time Blocking

Block out your entire day—hour by hour.

Assigning a task to each block.

This takes wicked discipline—but the results are transformative if you stick with it.

5. Do Not Disturb Mode

Notifications are the nemesis of productivity.

Imagine working in an office.
And putting a sign on your desk that says "PLEASE BOTHER ME".

That's what you're doing when you keep notifications on.

6. Batch similar tasks together

Each time you start a new style of task—your brain needs to boot up a different operating system.

Admin tasks.
Creative tasks.
Knowledge tasks.

Keep similar tasks together to avoid task-switching.

7. 2-Minute Rule

If you have a task that take less than 2 minutes to finish.
—DO IT NOW

This goes hand in hand with batching.

Clear out your queue of tiny tasks, so you can focus on the big, important tasks.

8. 5-Minute Rule (Procrastination buster)

The hardest part of any task is getting started.

Try this:

1. Set a timer for 5 minutes
2. Work on a task you've put off
3. After 5 minutes, you can stop (if you want)

90% of the time—you won't want to stop once you've started.

9. Make it enjoyable

Most of us don't have Jocko Willink level discipline.

And we never will.

A key part of making productivity sustainable is to make it enjoyable.

Small things go a long way:
- Good cup of coffee
- A playlist you love
- Nice workspace

That's a wrap!

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