1. Remove Notifications 🔔

• Check your phone after a couple of hours.
• Keep an eye on the app that has the most notifications.
• Block them.
• Don't fear FOMO.
• Choose your shots.
• You are going to lose some content around.
• Deal with it.
• Watch The Social Dilemma.

2. Slice your time 🍕

• Use blocks of time without interruptions (timeboxing).
• My favorite is Pomodoro Technique.
• If you come across new tasks write them down.
• Don't multitask.
• You cannot switch until the time is up.
• 20 minutes it's a good slice.

3. Inbox0 📥

• Keep your inbox ALWAYS empty.
• Unsubscribe to all irrelevant emails (most of the time, it takes just one click).
• Create filtering rules - out of the inbox.
• If you need to take action on emails: (keep the list out, create a special folder).
• Inbox is not a To-do list.

4. Find your Flow 🕯️

• Creative work happens on [flow state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology).
• It takes some time to enter flow (about 15 mins).
• Takes one second to leave it and go to the queue again.
• Remove all external flow interruptions, notifications, noise
• Control all internal stimuli.

5. Use Zenware 💭

• Use simple software.
• Minimalistic tasks editors like writemonkey and simple managing software like Trello
• If you blog on @hashnode you will find its markup editor very convenient.
• Don't procrastinate gold-plating your articles.

6. Close Your Browser Tabs 🔓

• Manage to-do lists and items.
• Do not open multiple tabs.
• No operating system or web browser handles them very well. Neither you.
• Don't multitask.
• If something takes less than two minutes do it. Otherwise, add it to the To-Do list.
• Web tabs are not to-do lists.

7. Find Homes for everything 🏠

• Every object (real or virtual) should have a home.
• You can keep inboxes (or incoming places) for things for a couple of days.
• You need short processes to empty those inboxes.
• When emptying those inboxes, you should define new 'homes' if necessary.

8. Keep a Daily Agenda 📅

• Start each day with a short daily agenda.
• You can mix personal and work items or keep them in two separate lists.
• Plan for unplanned work.
• Revisit hourly to keep up.
• Close it at night.
• Never reuse it for the next day. Start from scratch.

9. Automate Repetitive Tasks 🤖

• Find repeatable shortcuts.
• Automate repetitive tasks.
• It is a two-sharp blade. Never automate when DOING a task.
• Automating is more enjoyable than doing (Procrastination).
• Automate only tasks made daily.
• Don't automate infrequent things.

10. Avoid Unproductive Meetings 🤝

• Schedule meetings for 25 or 50 minutes.
• So you can have time to switch.
• Meetings without agenda are useless.
• Avoid meetings with more than three people.
• The outcome of the meeting should be action items.

Commitments must include:

• who / what / when

11. Avoid Multitasking 👨‍💼

• Don’t multitask.
• Work on one task at a time.
• Multitasking is a myth, trying to do it only splits your focus.
• The Human Brain is a monotask.
• Context Switching for neurons is too expensive, so you are thrashing most of the time.

Focus -> Flow.

12. Avoid Voice Calls 📞

• Voice Calls are interruptions.
• Interruptions are our worst enemy.
• Avoid unscheduled voice calls.
• If it is not urgent you can asynchronously talk via messaging.
• If it is urgent, double-check it is urgent.
• If you wanna talk, schedule!

13. Eat the Frog Early in the Morning 🌤️

• Do the annoying tasks early in the morning.
• You will be happy the rest of the day
• Avoid procrastination and gain self-confidence.
• It is the moment with more energy and freshness.
• Plan for the rest of the day.
• Review everything accomplished the day before.

14. Don't reuse daily to-do lists ✔️

• Start each day with a different one.
• With this method, there's no carry-over.
• Daily check yesterday's unfinished goals and evaluate if they deserve to be on the new list.
• It is YOUR list. Be honest with yourself.

15. Measure Objectives 📈

• Set long-term, middle-term, and short-term goals.
• They should not be fuzzy.
• Set a realistic and measurable metric.
• If it is not measurable with exit condition it is not a goal.
• Keep track of them every week.
• Change it if needed.

16. Don't Save for Later 🍓

• Save for later is a myth.
• There are excellent apps like Pocket, Inoreader, Evernote or even Hashnode Bookmark like in this article.
• But unless you consume the list often this will grow forever.
• Don't save content, consume it.
• Have you bookmarked this article for later?
• Don't [Hoard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_hoarding is a disorder).

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[Update] Part II

I'm sure there is plenty of productivity advice around. Which one does work for you?

Please leave me a comment. Now, don't procrastinate writing your comment.