The Productivity Cliff (part 3/3): 20 hacks for hyper-organization to stop wasting time

There is no magic bullet to productivity. I’ve been looking for it for a decade with hundreds of experiments (many failed). Today, I know that it doesn’t exist. Instead, we need to build our system with many small and sometimes counterintuitive improvements. This final part of The Productivity Cliff series covers 20 essential hacks that could allow you to take your productivity system to the next level. It covers digital tools to manage things better, hardware tips, and mindsets. This could help you get things done in less time, so you could get even more sh*t done, and/or enjoy a more balanced life.

Disclaimer: As explained in the first two parts, this blog post is more of a mini-book and has been separated into three parts: 1. laser-sharp focus, 2. high energy management, and 3. hyper organization. This is the last part. These posts are for people who want to go deep into productivity, have a complete view with context, and to have a better understanding as there are a lot of synergies between the mindsets. Please don’t be scared by its length or by “losing” time, it should be worth the time invested (you should be quite convinced if you made it that far).

Welcome to part 3 of the productivity cliff series! If you’ve come here more focused thanks to reading part 1, and have more energy thanks to part 2, welcome back!

If you’re diving in here, glad to have you. It’s fine to start here (actually organization is where I started my productivity journey). This section is easier to apply but it might also be important to combine it with the first parts for more long-term benefits.

For more information on the background of this post, it’s in part 1.

Here’s a mindmap to help you navigate this part as well as the others 😉

A quick heads-up: Many people believe that because they started using a fancy and sometimes expensive tool they will instantly become just as productive as others who use it. It’s not that simple.

Think about how this would work in sports. If you give a bad quality racket to Federer he will probably still rank in the top 100 players. But, if you give Federer’s racket to a beginner, they’re not going to be that much better than if you gave them a poor quality racket.

You need to know how to use a tool for it to have an impact. It sometimes requires having the foundational skills, often connected to focus. Once you have these skills, you can usually use pretty much any tool.

Now, here’s my list of hacks, tricks, and tools to get the extra percent of productivity.

1. Digital is (almost) always superior to paper

I’m starting the list here because technology underpins all of my productivity tools (listed in the points after). In my opinion, anything digital will be better. Even for creative things.

A digital tool will be superior when it comes to note-taking, organizing a document, creating an agenda. You’ll be able to create a clean, easy to read, and searchable product that you couldn’t achieve on paper.

I’ve experienced many people in my teams who tell me they prefer paper. It’s was fine for them to try as long as the results were the same. This includes notes being shared with everyone who needs them and ensuring they’re searchable. They also tried digital as a comparison. Never once has anyone not switched to digital in the end.

Where paper (or a blackboard) excels is sketching and brainstorming. But I find the latest iPads with an Apple pencil (or probably other tablets and Wacoms) even superior.

Some argue that being older makes it too hard to switch. I don’t believe this is true. I have seen older people very proficient at using digital tools. It may have been harder to switch but the value it brought them in the long term was worth it.

2. Adopt zero inbox to ace your emails in half the time

Zero inbox is a productivity hack that everyone could and should do. I even got my mum on it!

It’s saved me half of the time that I used to spend on emails. A big thanks to Florian for getting me on to this, even if I was not convinced at first.

The concept is simple. Use your emails like a post box. Your inbox is where you’ll find all your new emails. Everything that’s useless, instantly delete it. Everything that’s not useless but you’ve dealt with, archive it.

The result is that at the end of the day you’ll have 10–200 emails which you’ll easily be able to go through until you have 0. Once your inbox is empty you know you’ve answered everything.

Benefits

• keeps your inbox clean
• saves you a lot of time
• makes sure you never miss an email again.

Many people ask why I don’t bother with folders. It’s because the search function is now so powerful. Gmail pioneered better search and it became faster than organizing everything into folders.

By searching, you’ll be able to find things 30% faster than going through your folders. That’s not taking into account the time it takes to organize the folders to begin with. Here’s a great article from a study by IBM about why you should stop organizing your emails.

That being said, make sure you use a good client with proper searching (Gmail/Google Workspace, Spark, Apple Mail. I’m not a fan of Outlook as it’s heavy and a bit clunky). To easily search, you can use search operators such as:

From/To X, keyword X, date RANGE.

There are a few exceptions to folders. I create folders only with an automatic rule to send emails straight there. This works well for notifications or newsletters which I want to read separately and less frequently (for example once a week for newsletters).

A power hack to really make the most of this system is to only ever touch things once. We’ve covered this concept in point 10 of part 1 so I won’t go into it any further here.

To get started on zero inbox, drag everything that’s currently in your inbox into the archive, with the exceptions of the things you need to action. Now you can carry on keeping your inbox nice and clean.

3. Reach to do list zero to feel calm at the end of your day

You have a to-do list. You’re diligently adding your tasks. The real trick is to make sure you actually get through them.

Start with planning your week (see more in part 1 on planning). This will define what goes into your list each day. Try to only plan for 5–10 tasks as a maximum per day. Otherwise, it’s not realistic.

The today view of Todoist during the writing of this article.

For the main task of the day, usually during my deep work period, I’ll block the time in my calendar directly. For example, the 2h slot to work on this post.

At the end of your day, if you’ve been productive and prioritized well, your to do list should be empty. This can bring a wonderful feeling of calm where you can finish with a 5 minute meditation before enjoying your evening. A much better way of ending the day than stressing over all of those unfinished tasks!

Sometimes things don’t go to plan and you’ll have something left over. Hopefully, this won’t be too much of a problem with the 30% buffer in your planning (see point 4 of part 1). If it is, all you have to do is rearrange your tasks for the rest of the week to compensate.

This doesn’t mean working extra hours though!

The tool I use for my to do list is Todoist.

4. Make the most of your calendar to maximize your time

Having an organized calendar is crucial. It’s important you can see it every day so you know what you have planned.

If you work with 2 screens, it’s a good idea to use that second screen to show your calendar, either full or ⅔ of the screen. This will mean you’ll never forget a meeting, see what your most important tasks for the day are, manage your buffer, and it will act as a constant productivity reminder.

To really make this powerful, have your calendar and to do list next to each other on the screen.

Calendar view of my week 39

The calendar I use is Fantastical. I prefer it over other calendars such as Apple calendar or Google Calendar. It allows me to organize my calendar faster, is smoother, and has features that I like a lot (for example weekly view, Zoom integration, etc.). It’s only available for Mac and iPhone and costs €5.49/month.

Bonus calendar hack: Add meetings and events that are not confirmed into your calendar with ?? in the name. This will block off the slot but make it clear that it needs to be confirmed. This simple trick will make sure you never double book yourself again. Thanks Laure for this handy hack.

5. Make lists for everything to organize your information

I make lists of everything. Lists help you to organize and prioritize information and commitments. They also help you to track different things.

Here are a couple of good examples for lists:

• Weekly plans
• Frustrations
• Books
• Quotes
• Thoughts

These lists don’t have to be fancy. Just a simple bullet point will do the trick. If you want you can organize them a bit more. For example, organizing speaking engagements by quarter.

The most simple way of keeping track of your lists is to have everything stored in one tool. It’s much easier than storing books in Goodreads, videos watched on Youtube, thoughts in Evernote. This will get confusing and waste a lot of time.

Currently, I have around 30 professional lists that I save in Notion. Notion stores everything in a database which can be automatically filtered through. You can even make lists that are a database view such as all books that you plan to read and when.

Is there a max number of lists to not get lost? Probably. The best is to try it out.

My lists are sorted by when it was last updated. When a list gets updated less, it usually means it provides less value. The goal of the lists is to provide value while not being overly complex/time-consuming. I try to keep that always in mind when reviewing my list to optimize them.

This is a handy trick I picked up from Tim Ferriss.

6. Take more and better notes to retrieve knowledge faster

I have a motto: we never take enough notes.

I’m sure you’ve also found that it’s when you need a note that you realize you don’t have it. This is so frustrating. A good trick to avoid it is to always take notes.

And I mean all the time. In meetings. When you’re catching up. When you’re looking at something you find inspiring. When you’re reading a book. You’ll be amazed how handy all this note-taking will become!

To get an idea of how I take notes while reading a book, you can have a look at my post on my reading system.

Having an inspiration folder is really useful. I have one for everything; management, marketing, R&D. You can save thousands of things here. You may have come across something while looking at a company website or reading a blog post. Sometimes it might be some inspiring text or it could be a screenshot of some cool branding. It could also be a note of something that you thought didn’t work at all.

This inspiration folder will come in handy when you’re improving or creating something for yourself. It’s hard to start from scratch so having this database of cool ideas is a great way to give yourself a head start.

It’s also hard to find things that you once saw and liked. If you want to revisit them, the website might have changed its branding or the post was removed. Taking a quick screenshot will mean that you can find that inspiration in seconds. And it will be there forever.

The last 9 inspirations/stuff I captured in Notion

While taking notes is one thing, revisiting them and cleaning them is another. A good tip is to balance your time to fit this in. Going back to them refreshes your mind and makes them easy to read next time. There’s nothing worse than looking at a note that you can’t decipher because you typed it in a rush.

Every week I schedule a 15-minute slot to go through my notes from the week before and review them. It’s time that I find really valuable. I would highly recommend you try it.

The note-taking app I use is Notion. For a long time, I used Evernote but I grew frustrated with it. Notion in my opinion is a lot better. It’s a combination of a light database, note-taking platform, wiki tool, and project management tool (I’m not using this yet). It’s really easy to use and great to have everything stored in one place.

Big thanks to Notion for the awesome product and the 5+ people who recommended it to me.

7. Manage your team projects with a tool to move faster

Project management tools are really important when you’re collaborating with people. If you work with a team, this is a must-have. Without a good project management tool, things can get confused and lost and the whole process becomes messy.

You can also use project management tools for your personal to do’s but I find this isn’t really that necessary. Many small day-to-day tasks don’t fit into a project. In the end, I found myself spending more time adding things to a tool. A to do list is much quicker in my opinion.

There are many different tools, all with certain features more adapted to certain teams:

• My personal go-to is Trello. It’s really easy to use and gets the job done.
• I find Asana a bit heavy but some people like it. It’s good when there are over 100 employees.
• My first venture and a few others I know have switched to Monday.com.
• Notion could also work, especially if you want all of your work in one place.

8. Create a filing system that’s accessible and easily searchable

When it comes to storing everything, you should look to the Cloud. There are so many options to choose from such as Google Drive (included in Google Workspace with a business email address) or Dropbox. Whatever suits you is good.

Being in the Cloud means you can get your files anywhere, they’re always backed up, you can share everything easily. It works a lot better than a traditional filing system.

When it comes to organizing this, all you need is a system.

I never put more than 10 folders inside a folder. Once I hit that mark I start merging. This simplifies the system so I don’t get lost in a deep web of neverending folders.

If I need a document to be in two different folders, for example, a company logo could go in the marketing folder as well as a design folder, a link to a folder can be created with Google Drive. That way I don’t need to duplicate the file and if it ever needs to be edited, it will be edited everywhere.

Another great trick is to transfer a file system into a database. This is something that Notion has on offer and I am considering making the move. They have a wiki where you can save everything you need for your company such as logos, company information, etc. As I mentioned above, they also have the capabilities to turn all your notes into a database.

Outside files, it can get a bit tricky when it comes to deciding where to save things.

For example, where do you save articles you want to read? You could use Pocket, Evernote, Notion, bookmarks. You could even screenshot a part that you want.

I have strict rules for this. For example, I store all the articles I want to read that will take less than 10 minutes in Pockets. This is an easy way to read them when I’m on the go. Anything longer will get stored in Notion where I’ll take notes.

When it comes to filing it’s best that you devise a system that works for you and stick to it.

9. Removing distractions to stay in the zone

We touched on this in point 11 of part 1 but I wanted to go into it a bit deeper as it’s so important.

Digital distractions such as notifications are productivity killers. They don’t bring much value except for artificial short-term feelings. They can make you feel useful, important, liked, or stop you from feeling any fear of missing out.

But in the long-term, they really don’t matter. They distract your focus from the task at hand which is terrible for productivity.

I would recommend you start small by removing notifications for your emails. Now, instead of jumping to see what your new email is as soon as it comes into your inbox, try checking them once a day. Track your results. Did you actually miss anything?

Some people argue that they don’t get distracted by their notifications because they don’t look at them. I don’t believe this is true. They still act as passive distractions, whether we realize it or not.

It’s also rude and annoying to be in a meeting with someone and see their eyes moving to check and sometimes even act on their notifications. It takes away focus from everyone.

I don’t have any notifications vibrating or making noise on my Mac or phone. The only exception is if I get a phone call. The other exceptions for silent and hidden notifications are calendar events and instant messages (only the sender not the content). I haven’t missed much. The only thing that happened is my productivity increased.

As mentioned in the point in part 1, there are also live distractions that you will need to minimize but I won’t go into this any further here.

10. Set up your phone for less clutter

Having your phone set up properly will help you use the amazing tool that a smartphone is without caving to bad habits. It’s so common to get sucked into scrolling on social media, one of the biggest suckers of productivity. Finding ways to minimize this temptation is key.

I put the apps that I want to use and find most beneficial on the first page (lots of them are personal apps as I use my phone for personal and professional purposes). The ones I don’t want to use but use far too often are much further back.

This is what my first two pages of apps look like. This is where my apps for podcasts, audiobooks, pocket, kindle, meditation, music, finance tracking, and password manager live. I open all these apps every day and generally want to use them every day.

This is the 5th screen of my apps. This is where my social media apps live. This works for a couple of different reasons. First of all, having to swipe so many times makes you feel guilty. You know you’re doing something bad. Before you even get there your brain is switched on to the productivity loss you will soon receive.

It’s also useful because it takes effort to swipe that far. It’s like trying to stop yourself from eating unhealthy food. Putting the cake at the back of the fridge makes it harder to get so you’ll be put off (a bit at least). It won’t be a huge deterrent but every bit helps.

Thanks to Serge Faguet for sharing this tip (in this episode with Kevin Rose).

Regarding devices, I’m a fan of iPhones. They work well, are clean and tidy, and require very little maintenance. High-end Android phones such as Google Pixels seem also fine. If the price is a barrier, you can get a 2nd hand one at a good price. Overall, I believe it’s a great return on time to invest in an iPhone.

11. Take out the color with a black and white filter to focus more

Apple has a preference to remove all the colors from your screen. Everything becomes grey and looks pretty sad and boring.

This is amazing for productivity. You don’t need color and the point is to focus, not to look at pretty things.

I’ve been using this for about a year now and I really struggled at first. After about a week you get used to it and it actually works.

I would suggest turning the color back on for video calls. It’s a bit sad for the other person otherwise 😜

This is a bit of a hardcore hack. I would recommend not starting here. This is also only for Mac and iPhone users.

Big thanks to the Knowledge Project and Daniel Gross for this hack! Here’s the episode where they talk about this.

12. Track your time to stop wasting it

Tracking your time is a very powerful hack. Toggl Track is one of the best apps for this. It’s simple to use and has a desktop app that can tuck away in the corner of your screen, allowing you to quickly monitor how long you’ve spent on different projects.

Tracking time helps you to improve. If, for example, you want to spend less time on emails, you’ll first need to know how long you currently spend on them. Without that knowledge, it’s very hard to know if you’ve actually improved and by how much.

I find it much better to use an app like Toggl than to rely on a clock. Things get messy very quickly. With Toggl, the clock is always running so it’s useful to quickly tell me when I started and if I’m taking too long.

Switching the timer to start a new project is also a good way to shift your mind to the new task.

Toggl is a very useful tool for freelancers or consultants. You can track your hours for different clients and different projects. This will help when it comes to invoicing. You can also make reports to send to your client.

13. Improving your usage of a computer, especially Macs

I’ve written a full blog post on how to use your Macbook to optimize your productivity so I would recommend you have a read of this for some really useful tips including:

• Hiding your doc
• Using fullscreen
• Removing notifications
• Utilizing software such as Magnet
• Using mostly native apps

14. Set your desktop up for productivity

Setting up your workspace properly can do wonders for your productivity. Here’s how I set up my space.

• My Macbook is under my main 34 inch 21/9 ratio LG screen.
• I use the keyboard and trackpad on my Macbook. This works really well. I find it better than external keyboards and mice.

As you can see, my workspace is very tidy with no unnecessary items. To go deeper into how I optimize my workspace, feel free to have a read of my post on Macbook tips for productivity.

For calls, especially video calls, it’s important to optimize your settings. I use a Bluetooth keyboard that works for both Mac and iOS devices. This lets me have my keyboard further away from the camera to give a better angle. I can move around to make sure the camera is at my eye level, not below (bye-bye double chin!)

I also use an aluminum stand to elevate my Mac to help with the camera angle. This helps with the double chin issue but also puts the screen higher so you don’t have to slouch. Good posture helps a lot for focus and makes you look more attentive. The bonus of this stand is that it’s light enough to fit in your backpack so you can take it whenever you’re working outside the office.

When it comes to webcams I‘ve tried many and haven’t found the perfect fit. Either it’s too long to set up, not transportable or the quality gain is not worth it. The best solution would be if Macbooks finally had better webcams (let’s see when this will be).

When it comes to reading or consuming knowledge, I think moving to a Kindle or the Kindle app on iPad is the best. Not only is it a nicer way to read, it also switches your brain to the new task as you have a different device. It’s a simple change but it does help.

A key takeaway for your setup is to invest in proper equipment. This is shifting to long-term thinking and will save you a lot of time and stress. It makes sense. Having good quality equipment will help you to work much more efficiently, it will break less, and pay off very quickly.

15. Switch things up with a standing desk

Standing desks are great. They help you to move around and position your back differently from when you’re sitting. This is much better for your body. Using it a few hours a day should help you a lot.

It’s also great for meetings and presentations. You’ll stand straighter, be more energetic, and generally be more engaged in the meeting.

You can get many great desks, some of which start at 200€ but you can get ones with motors for 300–400€. It could be worth the investment for your health and the productivity you will gain.

If you’re a bit strapped for cash you can look into my personal method, the one I’ve been using for years. Mine is a 5€ table from Ikea which has done me well. It’s the perfect height for me once on my desk and fits my screen and Mac perfectly.

The downside is switching between sitting and standing as I have to take everything off and put it back on. I will invest in a proper standing desk soon.

16. What’s in my bag?

Starting with the bag itself. I have used a North Face backpack for 4 years and love it. It has a computer sleeve, is waterproof, fantastic quality, and is much better than lugging a suitcase around. It can also fit in the cabin of the plane so you don’t have to spend extra money to check in a bag.

Moving to what goes in the bag. I always make sure I take my own pillow. I like to use the Cabeau pillow which is super comfortable and means I can sleep/nap anywhere. I can also sit on it, for example when I’m in a cafe.

Inside the cover of this, I put my Mack’s earplugs. They work much better than normal earplugs and can block out everything, from aircon to noisy sleepers. And they’re comfortable enough for a good night’s deep sleep.

Regarding tools, I carry the essentials in a ProCase Roll-up bag. I find this the best after having tried several other products.

My tools include:

• 60W Charger with 2 USB-C and 2 USB-A slots to charge every device, including my Macbook Pro
• USB C hub with 7 ports including USB A ports, HDMI, SD-slots
• Rode Lavalier Microphone for better audio during a conference or as a backup for Airpods
• Portable stand for iPhone and iPad
• Portable battery — 10k mAh
• Apple Pencil to sketch on my iPad
• Aluminum stand to elevate my Macbook (same as the ones for calls)
• Logitech Keys-to-Go keyboard for Macbook and iOS devices. Convenient to type during video calls and to type much faster on iPhone, for example, to write a blog post on the go.

I have also optimized the clothes I take. I’ve settled on a uniform to reduce decision making every day and when packing. The uniform should work in nearly every setting, from casual to business meetings. This includes:

• Pants: ABC (stands for anti-ball crushing) pants from Lululemon. These are super comfortable and work for traveling, yoga, meditation, work. They breathe really well and dry fast. I have three of them. Lululemon has similar models for women and my girlfriend loves them.
• T-shirt: I usually wear a company t-shirt which works well for casual settings as well as going to meetings. Otherwise, I wear a beige Supima T-shirt from Uniqlo. It’s way lower maintenance than shirts (bye-bye ironing), cheaper and I like the look better.
• Jacket: Also from Lululemon, the Sojourn jacket. It fits perfectly for what I need, business casual and fitting well over a t-shirt. I also had a similar model from Uniqlo that was good but they don’t do it without a hood.
• Socks: Happy socks are my go-to. I have dozens of pairs and it adds some fun to a business outfit. The quality is great and the price fair.
• Shoes: My shoes are the Cloud model from On Running. This is a Zurich-based company and they make super comfortable shoes. They work well for everyday use as well as occasional running. They’re convenient because it means you’ll only need to pack one pair of shoes. (Thanks Patsch for the gift).

Optimizing my bag, tools, and clothes allows me to save time and decision-making. It might seem like details but once accumulated over time, it makes a big difference.

17. Audio is crucial during video calls

We’ve already talked about the angle of the camera and the bonuses of standing but there are a few other points that can help you have a good video experience.

Sound is really important. There’s nothing worse than not being able to hear someone clearly. I use Airpods pro most of the time. The sound quality is good enough, it works on all devices and has nothing to plug. If you feel like you need something of a bit higher quality, for example for online conferences, I’m using the Rode Lavalier microphone.

The best video call app in my opinion is Zoom. It just works, is very easy to use, and has a native app. I’ve tried many others and none work as well.

I’m not a fan of Teams. The app is buggy and some features aren’t available on Mac.

18. Making best use of transition time

Commute times may seem like the perfect excuse to mindlessly scroll through Instagram. But these are still moments you could be using productively.

You can listen to podcasts while you drive to work, catch up on some short articles while you’re on the train, or do some offline work such as reading a productivity book while you’re flying.

Here are my favorite apps for these moments:

• Podcasts: Overcast is my go-to. There are lots of options for this but these guys are really cool and need support.
• Audiobooks: Audible works very well and is $7.95 per month.
• Articles: To store short articles I want to read I use Pocket.
• Note taking: As I mentioned above, I use Notion.

19. Working remote from anywhere

Nowadays it’s far easier to work anywhere you like in the world. It’s a great way to enjoy the benefits of mixing professional and personal life.

After testing remote work at Labiotech, during my pause, and during the Covid lockdowns, I’ve now decided that I would never accept any role that requires me to be more than 20% in one location. This applies also to the next venture I’ll build and my role as founder. Freedom and flexibility are far more important.

Remote work is not available for everyone, especially if you need physical access to something, say a lab, but it’s far more available than it seems. The Covid lockdowns have proved that it works, even for large companies. And while it’s hard to change the environment you’re in (changing company culture), you can choose the environment you want to be in (switch to a remote-friendly company). I believe the most important thing is to make it a priority for you and act on it.

Working remotely in a cafe in Cambodia

Once you’re able to work remotely, here are some good hacks:

• Hotspots: skip the public wifi and use your iPhone as a personal hotspot. It usually has a better connection and is more reliable. I began the habit since 4G is widely available, even more relevant now with 5G. I have roaming all over Europe and for outside Europe, either it’s included in my French Free flat rate (say US, Canada) or I buy a local sim card with data once at the airport.
• Battery: have an external 30W+ USB-C battery to charge your laptop on the go. This is especially useful if you don’t have the latest M1 Macbook that has over 10h of real battery life or if you plan to work the whole day without a reliable power outlet say a cafe or outside.
• Coworking: for a good, reliable coworking space that has locations all over the world, you can look into Regus. Some are better designed than others but they always have perfect wifi and great locations. If you share the subscription with a team then it is quite cheap (+- 100€/month).
• Noise: a good headset, such as Airpods Pro or Bose QCs, to block out the noise and focus wherever you are is necessary. Even in cafes that have music, I end up using my headset to block out other people talking or external noise.
• Ergonomics: working the whole day without a screen, proper seat, or desk is a danger for your posture and can lead to a decrease in productivity. You will probably work less in front of your laptop than you would at a proper desk. Here are three hacks that work well:

1. Use the aluminum stand for the laptop mentioned above to elevate your screen and remove back pain.

2. Use the pillow on the chair as you would for meditation.

3. Work on your back posture and strengthen your muscles to be able to sit straight most of the time (good video here).

• Mindset: working in a remote environment can cause additional stress or distractions, and you may “feel” less comfortable than in an office or home. But with some training, experience, and mindset shift (meditation helps a lot), I’ve managed to reach pretty much the same efficiency in a cafe in Cambodia as in a Regus in Paris or an office in Berlin.

I hope this will help you to enjoy the benefits of being remote, especially once Covid restrictions are lifted more and more.

20. Stay punctual to stop losing time

Being punctual is not only the polite thing to do but it’s also a really good organizational hack. It might sound silly but it’s an important mental shift to reduce stress and get your head in the right space for the task ahead.

I was late nearly all of my life. I guess it comes with being French. I began to test arriving 15 minutes early for everything. It worked surprisingly well.

Being early allowed me to have a buffer time just in case something happened. It also meant that when I was meeting people I felt much calmer and prepared. That 15 minutes before the meeting gave me time to prepare or if already ready, make the best use of the time by reading an article from Pocket, listening to a podcast, or sorting small tasks.

Now I’m very strict. I always make sure I’m on time and I expect everyone in my team to be so too, or at least working towards this.

When you think about it, being 5 minutes late to a meeting of 5 people is not only losing 5 minutes of your time. It’s also losing 5 minutes of every person waiting for you. This can quickly add up to 100€ worth of lost time. Quite a lot!

Working with a Swiss company, they were very strict. They had a 3-minute rule. If you were more than 3 minutes late they would start without you. It makes sense.

For those in higher management, this should be even more important for you. As a person in a higher position, you should lead by example. If you’re late then everyone should be allowed to be late. This just creates a negative loop and makes it even worse.

In summary, everyone should be responsible and be on time.

Conclusion on Hyper Organization — Building a system that flows without noise

As you can see, these 20 tips and hacks cover many different areas of life from task management to managing your mood.

I would recommend that you look at each of them and pick and choose the ones that would work for you and will help you with the tasks you are working on at the moment. Some of these will work wonders while others won’t.

Here are my top 5 which I think will work for everyone:

• Transferring from paper to digital to organize better your knowledge and make it searchable to make better use of it.
• Track your time to stop wasting it, for example with Toggl.
• Organize your daily and weekly tasks, for example with Todoist, to deep work on your most important tasks and never miss anything.
• Removing distracting notifications to stay in flow mode and get more done.
• Apply zero inbox to stop getting bogged down with emails and never miss any emails from now on.

Question for you: Do you have a productivity tool you can’t live without?

Congrats for making it to the end and let’s take the extra step together

There’s a lot of information listed in this post but please don’t get overwhelmed, especially after making it so far.

I recommend you get started with one actionable item for this week and keep it going. For example, start by removing your email notifications. If it works, get a second actionable item. The mind map at the start of the post should help you to get the next tip.

You should be able to progress step by step. I recommend that you don’t try to run before learning to walk. This will be more sustainable and will last long-term. For example, it’s useless to be on zero inbox for one week. You need to work at it and build it into a real system. This is where you’ll get the most value.

How can I improve my system further?

Block personal R&D time

I have at least 2 hours per week for personal R&D. This is your chance to block off time to try things, think of new things, design experiments, and spend time reading.

Investing in yourself and personal development is one of the best investments you can make.

Make a list of things to try

Create a list or simple database of everything you want to try. This could be something you want to do soon or something you won’t try for a year. Anything you think sounds interesting will go on this list.

Divide your list into what is planned and done, and what’s coming. From there, create categories for where it will fit such as biohacking, productivity, higher commitment, lower commitment

When you start looking for the next thing to do, look at the categories and find what fits with your schedule and goals.

Being open to new things but also looking for robustness

Change is important. The best way to grow is to be open to learning about and trying new things, not getting caught up in what you already know.

But it’s also important to not jump on any novelty that comes around. Really look into things first before you decide to try it.

For example, I looked at Notion for a long time before actually making the switch from Evernote. This ended up being a very good idea. Waiting for Notion and watching its development meant the software was much better when I started using it.

The 8 most common questions productivity curious people ask me

Why do you do all this?

It’s an essential way to reach my goals, especially professionally. The aim is to help me to be more productive for the big goals. I don’t just optimize for the sake of optimization. It gives a very good return.

Are you perceived as a robot?

I got that a lot and at one point I think I was a bit. When people say robot they mean systematic and rigid. If you go too deep into productivity you can definitely drift there. But sometimes my methods are much better than the perception makes it seem. This is where emotional intelligence comes in. I’ve been working on this much more than productivity for the past 2 years and it’s been helpful to explain everything to people in a much better way. Being able to explain why has helped to lift this perception.

What are you trying at the moment?

I’m still optimizing Notion a lot. It’s taken a while to shift everything over so I’m trying to make it work perfectly for my needs. I’m also working on emotional intelligence, personality, and energy management.

Can you coach me?

I don’t do much coaching. I would love to do more but right now I have 1–2 people and that’s the max for me. That’s also why I’m sharing this post. That being said, if you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email and I’ll try to help.

Should I copy what you’re doing?

Yes and no.

Yes: If you see something that you think will work for you, try it. If it does, great!

No: Everyone is different and productive in a different way. If it doesn’t work for you, try something else. Everything I do is adapted from others so make sure you are adapting what I say for you. Just keep trying.

How do I get started?

Get started today and keep going. You’ll progress step by step and create a robust and long-term productivity system.

I prefer paper, what do you think?

I think going digital should be the first thing you try. I bet you’ll never look back 😉

What should I focus on right now?

The best way to decide is to look ahead over the next few months, think about where you have bottlenecks, and prioritize projects that will help you with that. On top, a coach can be great to make a plan that’s personal for you. Feedback from mentors is helpful too.

Congrats for making it to the end and here’s a little bit more

This was a long post and congrats for making it to the end, especially if you’ve already gone through parts 1 and 2. As you can see, there are so many ways to improve your productivity. In this series we covered the top tips on how to:

• create more focus,
• manage your energy,
• and test the tools and systems that can help you to reach maximal productivity.

Not all of these hacks will be the best for you. But I’m sure that by testing each of them out you will find the ultimate combination for you to reach maximal productivity. Just start with one tip, give it a go, and track to see what happens. I’m sure you’ll notice a difference.

If these hacks and mental models were helpful to you and you think they could be beneficial to others, feel free to share them with your friends and colleagues to help them reach their productivity goals.

And feel free to reach out if you have any questions, I’m always happy to help! Just ping me at me-at-philiphemme.com.

A big thanks to Katherine for collating and editing the post, to Wayne for the graphic illustrations, and to Camille Hetez for honest feedback on this post.

Where are the next sections?

Well done! You’ve made it through the hacks for part 3. There are two more parts, laser-sharp focus, and high energy management. I would recommend heading to part 1, laser-sharp focus if you haven’t already:

• Part 1 — Laser-Sharp Focus
• Part 2 — High Energy Management

References:

1. Seeking the Productive Life: Some Details of My Personal Infrastructure — Stephen Wolfram
2. The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy — Chris Bailey — Summary
3. The Complete Guide to Planning Your Day — Doist blog
4. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time — Brian Tracy
5. Deep Work — Cal Newport
6. It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work — Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
7. Top 26 easy MacBook tips to be more productive (from years of extreme optimization) — Me
8. The 4-Hour Work Week — Tim Ferriss
9. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity — David Allen