6 tricks that improve productivity better than a to-do list

“If you live solely on a to-do list, you’ll only be dealing with crises, not doing what’s most important to you,” notes Stephen Covey, author of the famous book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It is not necessary to completely get rid of the list - it is better to correctly combine it with one of the following techniques (or all of them).

1. Personal mission

Personal mission is your long-term goal. It is a charter that you will be able to navigate in life. Incorporate your values and aspirations into the mission. “It doesn't have to be long or thoughtful,” says Covey. "It's just a couple of sentences that reflect your essence and your values." For example, your mission may be to help other people or to achieve a specific goal in some area.

Whenever you need to make a decision, your personal mission will be your guide. It can also be used in planning. Try to allocate your time not for the day ahead, but for the week. Choose your priorities for this period based on your personal mission. Then your daily activities will bring you closer to important goals.

2. Audit of attention

The downside to a to-do list is that it lumps together completely different tasks. It seems to us that we can move from one to the other in order without problems, but, according to the author of the book "Attention Management" (Attention Management) Maura Thomas (Maura Thomas), our attention is not arranged that way.

She advises to divide all tasks into two categories: low and high attention. And do them throughout the day, depending on how much energy you have. For example, the first category might be parsing mail, and the second might be writing an article or making a budget forecast. By adjusting to your levels of focus and energy, you will get more done in less time.

3. A friend to report to

This gives you motivation to complete what you have planned for today. If you don't have a friend to help you out, Hillary Rettig, business coach and productivity writer, suggests Focusmate. It will find you a partner to work with so that you are definitely not distracted.

“Focusmate helps solve one of the biggest problems (and paradoxes) of productivity,” says Rettig. "Many tasks require loneliness to concentrate and think, but at the same time, we are incredibly social creatures and do not do well with loneliness." The program automates the search process and gives you access to a global community of people who also want to do a good job.

4. Evening questions

Jones Loflin, consultant and time management writer, advises keeping yourself motivated by evaluating yourself. Come up with a few questions to answer at the end of each day to make sure you are focusing on what needs to be done. And then evaluate how well you did. For example, one of Laughlin’s questions is: “Did I try to spend at least 15 minutes building a relationship with someone?”

“I have questions for three key areas of life: work, self-development and relationships,” says Jones. - I change them as needed. I love all sorts of competitions and want to get the highest score in the evening, so my questions are on my mind all the time throughout the day."

List your questions based on what areas of your life you want to improve. For example, “Was I attentive to my loved ones today?”, “Did I spend at least an hour to move forward on the path to my dream?”, “Did I do something to improve my health?”.

5. An hour of concentration

Add at least one such hour a day to your calendar, and during this time focus on the work that matters most. No distractions or entertainment. Set a timer so you know when the time is up and get started.

One hour is often enough to get you done quite a lot. And scheduling this time without distractions is easier than trying to work at peak productivity all day. If you can, set aside two or three hours of total concentration.

6. Clear goals

Being productive means spending most of your time doing things related to your most important goals. Business strategy consultant Hamish Mackenzie recommends having no more than three key annual goals. Break each one into three quarterly and three monthly subgoals, and then into steps that take less than two hours to complete.

“At the beginning of each week, prioritize these steps by day - but no more than three per day,” Mackenzie says. - Each evening, prepare all the materials you need to work on an important task for the next day. Do this most important task every morning before taking on anything else.”