We all know how fallible our brains can be yet we routinely trust ourselves to remember and follow through on things.If it’s important, write it down. Reminders, post-its, and calendars are all good tools.

Write everything down

We are spending more of our time in environments that have their own agendas. Most of the entities in our lives really want us to make mistakes in their favor.Not having a plan, goals or a system in today’s world is dangerous because the default isn’t neutral.

Not having a plan

<ul><li>Meetings: Schedule your work time on your calendar.</li><li>Email: Most people simply spend too much time in their inboxes to accomplish anything of substance.</li><li>Multitasking: It lowers productivity.</li><li>“Structured Procrastination”: Doing little things that give us the feeling of progress instead of deep work that really makes progress.</li></ul>

The biggest time wasters

You have a window of 2-2.5 hours of peak productivity per day, usually starting a couple of hours after waking.Those are the hours when you should be working on your most cognitively demanding tasks. The big projects. The stuff that really moves the needle.

Peak productivity

... or it will control you. We can’t control our environment everywhere we go, but we have more control than we usually choose to exercise.If you banish distractions and control your calendar you can make sure your environment is ripe for productivity.

Control your environment

You don't need an email break. It won't refresh you.Getting your head into and out of your work takes time. Switching tasks has cognitive costs that reduce efficiency.

Email breaks

It's hard to be efficient. Sometimes it feels like the world doesn't make any sense. Sometimes you don't make any sense. And sometimes it feels like it's all a conspiracy. As we'll see shortly, these are all, in a way, true. Dan Ariely is the king of irrational behavior.

Write everything down

How To Be Efficient: Dan Ariely's 6 New Secrets To Managing Your Time

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

The Morning Routine Experts Recommend For Peak Productivity - Barking Up The Wrong Tree

This Is How To Resist Distraction: 4 Secrets To Remarkable Focus - Barking Up The Wrong Tree

3 Proven Rituals That Will Make You Motivated - Barking Up The Wrong Tree