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Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do

Time management/Working

There are many best-seller books out there. By definition, best-seller books are books which are bought by many, many people. Unfortunately, buying doesn’t mean reading. From those many people who buy a book, only a fraction of them actually read the book. Even worse, reading doesn’t mean doing. From those who read the book, very, very few of them actually do what they read. Reading a book is one thing, but applying it is a different thing. No wonder very few people experience what the authors write.

The same thing applies to productivity. Many of us read productivity books or blogs and know a lot of productivity tips. Unfortunately, knowing doesn’t mean doing.

In this post, I’d like to remind us to actually do what we know. Here I highlight top 5 productivity tips which I think will make great difference if we actually apply them. For each tip, I put links for more resources to help you do it.

Here they are:

  1. Rise early
    Why do you need to rise early? This is the reason: early-risers have more productive mornings, get more done, and report less stress on average than “late-risers.” Many people find early morning as very productive time to do their tasks. You will be able to accomplish more in the same amount of time.
    Here are some tips on becoming an early riser:
    How to Become an Early Riser
    Productivity Boost: How to start your day at 5:00 AM
    How I Became an Early Riser
  2. Start with the most important task
    After doing your morning routine like exercising or having breakfast, you should start your day by tackling your most important task for that day. Remember that it is the most important, not the most urgent task. Some people choose to start their day with things that seem urgent but actually not important. Be careful. Read Habit 3: Put First Things First of the classic book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for more information about the difference between important and urgent.
    Here are some more tips about tackling the most important task:
    Control your workday
    Purpose Your Day: Most Important Task (MIT)
  3. Do not multitask
    There is an illusion that we will accomplish more if we multitask. But study shows that it is wrong. Be sure that you do only one task at a time. Doing only one task at a time allows you to have the necessary focus to accomplish the task with the highest possible standard.
    Read “Use single handling” section in this article for more information.
  4. Prevent interruption
    Preventing interruption is important to help you enter a state of deep focus and concentration, which is called the flow. Find what may interrupt you, such as the cell phone, people around you, or the Internet. Then take necessary steps to eliminate any possible interruption as much as possible (turning off the cell phone, telling people around you not to interrupt you, and so on).
    Read more about preventing interruption in 7 Rules for Maximizing Your Creative Output.
  5. Actually do what you need to do
    The key to productivity is actually do what you need to do. I wrote about it in my post What is the Key to Productivity?. For example, if you are a writer, you need to actually do the writing. Be careful not to get trapped by secondary activities. The most ironic thing is spending your time to maintain your productivity system instead of actually do what you need to do.
    One trick I like to get myself actually do is the 50 minutes rule.

These are all common productivity tips. But the question is: have you actually done them? Use these list as your personal checklist. Day by day check which items you have done and which haven’t. Concentrate on doing these 5 things everyday.  Even with only these 5 tips, if you actually do them day by day, your productivity will significantly increase.

Note:
This post is my submission to the ProBlogger Group Writing Project.


If you like this post, please save it to del.icio.us, thanks!

Published on May 9, 2007

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Comments (95)

  1. You’re welcome! I hope you will be able to better manage your time and be more productive :)

    Donald Latumahina - May 13, 2007
  2. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Madhur Kapoor’s Blog » Problogger’s Group Writing Project - All entries - May 13, 2007
  3. Can I transtrate your message and post to my blog? I’ll ping back to you. You can read my blog. please followup comments for this. Thanks~ :-)

    gillian2 - May 13, 2007
  4. @gillian2:
    Of course, I’ll be very happy if it can reach audience from other languages as well. Thanks!

    Donald Latumahina - May 13, 2007
  5. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    ProBlogger - Top 5 - Group Writing Project - Link Love » twentythree7 - May 14, 2007
  6. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Problogger.net Top 5 Writing Project Final List - Plus6 …a personal finance blog - May 14, 2007
  7. […] here […]

    Art Plop Creative Writing Arts » Blog Archive » Getting Things Done - May 14, 2007
  8. Favorites from Probloggers Top 5 Group Writing Project (Part 2)

    Part of participating in an event like Probloggers Top 5 – Group Writing Project is of course visiting, reading and when relevant commenting and linking to the other participants. I screened the entire list for posts that were relevant to the subject a…

    Circular Communication - May 14, 2007
  9. ???? ??? 5?? ?? – ?? ?? ??? ????? ??? –

    ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????. ?? ???? RSS ?? ‘?? ??? ??? ???? ????’ 5 ?? ??? ?????, ??? ??? ? ????. ?????…

    ??? ??? - May 15, 2007
  10. I agree. There are things that we need to realize.
    Multitasking is something we can’t take without any experience. Some may have no problems with multitasking, especially if they are doing it for a long time. But to some, I believe that it will only cause them to be less productive

    Alan - May 15, 2007
  11. @Alan:
    Yes, especially for tasks which require deep concentration, multitasking will surely cause them to be less productive.

    Donald Latumahina - May 15, 2007
  12. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Quais Waseeq Dot Com » Top 5 Group Writing Project - Recap - May 16, 2007
  13. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    A million top 5’s - May 17, 2007
  14. […] Dans ce billet, Donald propose 5 astuces pour améliorer son efficacité. Ces dernières semblent évidentes au premier abord mais elles peuvent faire une différence énorme si vous les mettez en pratique. Vous trouverez en liens des ressources en anglais pour chaque astuce. […]

    Toile-filante » 5 astuces de productivité que tout le monde connaît mais que personne n’applique - May 22, 2007
  15. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Top Five Group Writing Project: Day 3 - May 26, 2007
  16. […] Just like you should start your day by doing the most important task, you should start your reading by reading the most important book. Take the book which is not just interesting, but also has the biggest potential impact on your life. Take the book which has the biggest potential return for your investment of time. […]

    Personal Growth and Effectiveness at Life Optimizer - June 1, 2007
  17. Great list! If you like lists like this one – check out http://www.listafterlist.com/

    It is a great place for YOU to find and create lists about anything and everything.

    You can create a list just like this one at ListAfterList.com.

    Ryan Pratt - June 1, 2007
  18. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Randomness: 893 Top 5 Lists... | Photography and Art, Mostly… - June 10, 2007
  19. Great…

    simplejoe79 - July 4, 2007
  20. So much agree about point 1 – Rise Early!

    Yuri - July 10, 2007
  21. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Full List for Top 5 Contest — My Life With IT - August 3, 2007
  22. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    The Power of Linking - August 12, 2007
  23. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Joseph Szymanski | Photographs | » Blog Archive » Randomness: 893 Top 5 Lists… - August 18, 2007
  24. […] Wake up earlier. If you’re capable of getting up earlier than usual, you just might find that not only is life quieter then – allowing more concentration – but that you’re more productive, especially with creative work. If getting up early doesn’t work for you, challenge yourself to be more productive in the same amount of time. […]

    Bootstrapper » Entrepreneurial Mindset: 33 Productivity and Success Tips - August 19, 2007
  25. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    A surefire way to get links and traffic for your blog » All Tips and Tricks - November 5, 2007
  26. […] stuff you’ve been reading about. Donald Latumahina at Life Optimizer mentions this in his Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do post . So remember this tip as you read through the rest. When you learn something good, make it part of […]

    Writers Unbound » Blog Archive » Tuesday: Tips for Productivity, Trade Journals - July 8, 2008
  27. […] Read the rest here! […]

    Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do | Zen College Life - July 29, 2008
  28. No doubt, many of us know lot of trusted productivity enhancing tricks but don’t apply to get benefits. There may be differnt reasons behind this tendency. I think the main reason may be the shortage of time required to concentrate on the analysis and application of those suggeseted measures. After hiring OutSorcerer.com to accomplish some of my time consuming tasks, I can say that outsourcing is the best way to manage your time hours according to your priorities.

    shubhranshu - July 30, 2008
  29. I’ve done an excellent job with the first task: rising early. Where I need to make progress is in eliminating “interruptions”. If I can successfully do that, completing tasks would be much easier. I know what interrupts me (phone and the internet)…but the procrastinator in me takes hold sometimes; I can’t help it.

    I’m practicing time-blocking and that’s worked. So slowly but surely I’mmaking progress…

    Ribeezie - July 30, 2008
  30. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    Randomness: 893 Top 5 Lists… | Joseph Szymanski | Photographs, Drawings and Other Creations - October 31, 2008
  31. Hi,

    Perfect tips actually. I believe multitasking and interruption are the biggest problems in my life. But I don’t have an idea how they can be eliminated in an open-office environment.

    Cheers,
    Mono

    mono - December 26, 2008
  32. […] Top 5 Productivity Tips Most People Know But Do Not Do by Donald Latumahina […]

    ProBlogger Group Writing Project / Competition - Chitika Cash Prize! - March 2, 2009
  33. Hi,

    very well written post.

    Good general tips.

    About the books, it´s true, that buying doesn’t mean reading…

    It’s all about doing and applying the know-how.

    All the best,

    Praktic - March 6, 2009
  34. superb article. answered so many questions which were floatin in my mind for a long time. it’s like; you have the solution, but don’t know how to (or lazy to) start from somewhere. I’ll use these tips in my daily freelancing life. thanks a lot! it was enlightening.

    bora mesut palas - September 25, 2009
  35. Thank you for the insight and keeping us all on track with life and work productivity tools!

    Dana Cataldi - January 27, 2010
  36. love it, if i can figure out how to get up earlier i can do it, and i can only do one thing at the time, not an issue for me.great stuff.

    magnus - January 27, 2010
  37. Great information and all very actionable. I have been working with a schedule for years and yet still feel there is a lot of room for improvement.

    Mike King - January 27, 2010
  38. Dana, Magnus, and Mike,
    Thanks for the kind words!

    Donald Latumahina - January 28, 2010
  39. Why are early risers so convinced that they are more productive? The ones I know come in and read the paper for an hour before starting to actually work, then leave early because they came in early. The real work then gets finished by those who stay late to get it done.

    KHird - July 21, 2010
  40. […] Being Productive? Or Just Busy?I think one of the reasons that taking breaks from work can increase productivity is that taking a break might reduce your dependence on activities that we call “work”, […]

    Productivity: Could Working Less Really Help You Get More Done? ”” Personal Dividends - Money+Lifestyle - November 15, 2010
  41. […] According to lifeoptimizer.org “There is an illusion that we will accomplish more if we multitask. But study shows that it […]

    Day Two « Life Schedule - March 25, 2011
  42. Multitasking is less productive, especially on tasks or activities that require deep concentration. When you multitask on things that needs mental effort, your productivity drops off rapidly. In short, stick to one thing at a time. No matter how fast you are at multitasking, it will always slow things down, increase the likelihood of mistakes and increase your stress leve To learn more about the effects of multitasking, take my free exercise at http://www.davecrenshaw.com/exercise

    Dave Crenshaw - May 23, 2011
  43. hey some pretty decent productivity tips, thanks, keep it up!

    jamie - October 26, 2011
  44. Great tips, many thanks for that. early rising is my biggest problem, but I am working on that!

    Merry Christmas

    matthias

    mac - December 25, 2011
  45. I really need to do some of these. Thanks for sharing this great list! You’re absolutely correct that multi-tasking is a big no no.

    Alicia Keys - December 30, 2011
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