Productivity

Last year I made myself a promise to minimize the time I spend on Youtube or Netflix, and instead do something meaningful with my time. And so the quest for the best productivity apps began. Over the last year I tried out a bunch of productivity techniques and bought over a hundred bucks worth of apps that claim to make you more productive. Here is what I learned.

The absolute first thing that I found to have instant effect was to write down my tasks. No fancy apps, no planning, simply write down your top 3–5 tasks that you want to get done on a given day. You can also step it up further by prioritizing them, first being the most important task.

I prefer pen and paper instead of an app because I found that having something physical right in front of me that I can see from time to time establishes a sense of urgency and keeps me motivated to get things done. It also helps me keep track of what I set out to complete and how much I actually managed to complete at the end of the day. This let’s me compare, contrast and learn from my mistakes.

Time Tracking

I think tracking time is important. Before I started tracking my time, I used to work on a task for as long as I could without taking a break and then once I felt that I was in a good position, I took a break for an undefined amount of time — this could be 5 minutes to an hour, it didn’t matter. I found that this approach worked only when I have a strict deadline to meet which forced me to work longer and take shorter breaks. On other days when you know that getting started on a task that has no immediate deadline will benefit you in the long run, you tend to slack off. You may start off strong however eventually, your working hours diminish and before you know it, you have finished an entire season of Breaking Bad in the name of a “break”.

The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is essentially a time tracking and productivity technique used by many to get some quality work done. It’s very simple and here is how you do it:

1. Have all your gadgets on airplane mode, get some snacks, get your caffeine and tell others that you are not to be disturbed.
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes and start working on your first task. Now the most crucial part: for the next 25 minutes only work on the task you started off with — nothing more, nothing less.
3. After your 25 minutes are over, set the timer to 5 minutes and take a short break. Take this time to stand up, stretch and take your mind off of what you were doing. Do not start checking your messages, emails, snapchats, etc because they are distracting and 5 minutes is usually not enough time to get out of the rabbit hole of social media.
4. After the 5 minutes, get back into work mode. Check where you left off, if you completed your task then move on to the next one, else continue with the same task until you finish it (remember, do not move on to another task until you have finished the first one!)
5. Reset timer to 25 minutes and continue. Once you have completed 4 work cycles or Pomodoros, take a long break of 15 minutes. This is when I usually check my emails, maybe watch a YouTube video or two. Remember try to not think about work during the breaks.

Personally this has worked miracles for me! The pomodoro technique ensures that I am constantly working and the periodic breaks help me stay focused for much longer, plus it helps you track time!

Products I use

1. The Productivity Planner single handedly changed my productivity game and I would definitely recommend investing in it if you are ready to get some serious work done. It’s a beautifully crafted moleskin that combines to-dos with time tracking through Pomodoros. Give the detailed instructions a thorough read and you will be on your way.
2. Pomotodo is a digital clone of the productivity planner which also gives useful insights into how you work. You can track total work done on a given day, hours during the day when you are most productive and you can also set goals for yourself. It’s subscription based and well worth the investment.
3. Pomodoro Timer is a good option if you like things simple and just want to practise Pomodoros. It has a very simple and clean UI and is available in the App Store.
4. Forest is a really cool app that helps you get rid of your social media fix. It’s a simple concept that will let you focus on your work and avoid getting distracted by your phone, however it only works if you care about nature. Future releases will integrate pomodoros into the app which will make it well worth your money.
5. Swipes is one of my go to apps for task management. It allows you to list your tasks and plan when to tackle them. Best of all, it’s completely free and available on all major devices.
6. Plan is still in beta however it seems really promising. The app let’s you write down your tasks and then plan when you want to do the task and exactly how long you want to spend working on it. The app also seamlessly integrates with your calendar so you can plan your day around your to-dos. Very neat.

Lastly get some swag that literally reeks productivity! Happy working!