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You reach the end of your workday and glance down at your (now coffee-stained) to-do list.

You're immediately overcome with frustration as you realize that barely half the tasks are checked off.

Seriously, what happened? You've been at your desk for the better part of eight hours. Why didn't you get more accomplished?

Maintainin a high level of productivity is not intuitive or easy - but you don't have to resign yourself to feeling discouraged and depleted at the end of every workday. We rounded up ten top-notch, rock-solid tips you can put into play to channel your focus, and defeat your to-do list - plus a quiz to help get you started.

1. Manage your energy, not just your time

"People naturally have ebbs and flows in their work processes or in how well they can focus," explains Dr. Melissa Gratias, a workplace productivity coach and speaker. These peaks and valleys in your focus and motivation are naturally occurring in your body, driven by your ultradian rhythms.

You can't compete with science. So rather than doubling down on your caffeine intake, the smarter move is to pay close attention to the times of day when you feel most energized.

Keep a journal for at least a week or two (one day isn't long enough to identify trends) and note how you feel. You'll have an easier time spotting your biological prime time - the times you're most "in the zone."

With that information, you can allocate your work more effectively. Plan your deep, complex, or creative work for your golden hours (you can even block off your calendar) and save menial tasks for the times when you feel a little more drained.

2. Build a better to-do list

"The critical behavior that I advise people not to fall into is setting yourself up for failure before the day even begins," Gratias says. "If we pull out a task list of 25 things to do, we're guaranteed that we're going to be disappointed in our progress at the end of the day."

Try whittling down to your priorities - Gratias recommends choosing between five and nine tasks you want to make progress on that day. This ties back to a psychological principle called "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two."

Other people swear by the similar 1-3-5 rule for an empowering to-do list. Pick one big thing you need to accomplish that day, three medium things, and five little things.

If you're really struggling to figure out what deserves some real estate on your list, use an Eisenhower Matrix (sometimes called a prioritization matrix) to sort through your tasks and determine which ones deserve top billing - and which ones can be delegated or fall off your list entirely.

3. Tune out distractions

"Distractions and interruptions are for sure an impediment to productivity," says Gratias. She explains that these distractions fall into two different categories:

Self-imposed: distractions within our control, like the notifications we receive from our devices, which we have the power turn off.

Environmentally imposed: distractions that we can't control as easily, like a colleague dropping by our desks.

And it's not only the distraction itself that robs you of your time - it's also the time and energy you have to spend refocusing (which research has shown can take upwards of 23 minutes).

While Gratias cautions that you'll never completely eliminate distractions, you can reduce them by:

Closing out your email tab or setting up an autoresponder

Switching your phone and instant message platform to "do not disturb" mode

Using a browser blocker (like StayFocusd) to avoid time-wasting sites

Putting on headphones to block out environmental distractions

4. Focus on one thing at a time

"'I am a great multitasker!' That's my favorite misconception that I hear from employees," explains Dr. Larry Rosen, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of Psychology at California State University Dominguez Hills.

Here's the thing: Research shows that the human brain is actually incapable of multitasking. Instead, you're rapidly switching between different tasks - appropriately referred to as "task switching" or " context switching." You're basically interrupting yourself, and you know now that those self-imposed disruptions only tank your productivity.

So how do you get your brain to do one thing at once? Say out loud the one thing you're going to work on (for example, "I'm going to finish this slide deck."). And that's it! It's called external self-talk, and plenty of research has shown that it can have a real impact on your behavior.

5. Batch your tasks

Even if you're technically focusing on only one task at a time, repeatedly switching between different types of work - you answer an email then update a report then work on your slide deck then answer another email - can be mentally draining.

You use different parts of your brain for different tasks, which means you're majorly straining your noggin by not having any sort of systematic approach to your work.

Try batching your tasks, which is essentially grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at once. You can even try time blocking, where you set specific time windows for certain types of tasks (for example, you'll answer emails from 9am to 10am).

You might still need to occasionally handle things outside of their designated time slots, but any effort to stick related tasks together will give your brain some welcomed respite.

6. Prioritize healthy habits

It's not just the stuff you do during the workday that impacts your productivity-the things you do outside of work carry a lot of weight too.

Maintaining healthy habits is a lot easier said than done, but even seemingly small changes can have a big impact on your energy levels, focus, and overall mood. Here are a few quick things to try:

Drink an entire glass of water before your morning coffee

Set a timer every hour to get up from your desk and stretch

Move your bedtime up (even a half hour helps) to get a little more sleep

7. Take a break (or a few)

It's tempting to think that more time at your desk means you'll get more done. But in reality, studies show that taking regular breaks can can actually boost your productivity.

If you're prone to getting sucked into your work and forgetting to step away, using a time management method like the Pomodoro Technique will ensure you get up for a five-minute break between every 25-minute work period.

Want to maximize your impact in that short time away? Head outside for some fresh air. Studies show that getting out into nature can alleviate mental fatigue.

8. Refine your workspace

That majority of us who suddenly found themselves working from home in Spring 2020 (shudder) know how less-than-ideal surroundings can affect our productivity. That's why it's well worth curating a workspace that helps you feel your most focused and motivated.

That can mean something different to everybody, but here are a few suggestions:

Invest in some ergonomic desk accessories (like a chair, cushion, or wrist rest) to support your body.

Position your desk near a window. Natural light can boost your work performance.

Add a plant to your workspace. One study found that people with plants nearby had a 12% faster reaction time on computer tests.

Other efforts, like relying on a password manager, creating templates, and using a centralized project management platform mean you can spend less time searching for what you need and more time focused on your actual work.

9. Change your scenery

When your environment can have such a big impact on your focus and productivity, it's worth trying to switch it up every now and then too.

Move from your desk to answer some emails on your couch. Or bring your laptop out to your patio. Or do a few hours of work from your favorite coffee shop.

Not only does this build in an extra break (you have to pause what you're doing and relocate), but it also helps you buckle down. Your brain loves novelty and releases dopamine when it's presented with something new and exciting. Dopamine isn't just a "feel good" brain chemical - it's a powerful motivator too.

10. Let go of perfectionism

"I think one of the most insidious beliefs that limits productivity more than anything else is perfectionism," explains Gratias. This perfectionism not only leads to failure to start things because "if we can't finish them perfectly, we don't even begin," but it also eventually leads to failure to finish because "if it's not perfect, we keep working on it and keep tweaking it."

While this desire to do spotless work is admirable, it can also significantly hinder your progress and productivity.

How can you stop obsessing and focus on progress over perfection? When you have a task or a project, set a timebox (i.e. a certain span of time, such as 15 minutes or an hour) that dictates how long you'll work on that specific item. When the timebox ends, that task is as done as it's going to get for now.

Not only does this tactic instill a sense of urgency (which inspires you to get moving), but it also removes some pressure - you're more focused on seeing how much progress you can make in that time period, rather than working until the entire task is completed.

Take control of your productivity at work

Most of us have a lot to do. But even with high expectations and the best intentions, it's hard to muster the motivation and make the most of your time at work.

The truth is that you're human - you won't operate at peak efficiency all day every day. But there are still plenty of things you can try to boost your productivity levels and transform that end-of-day glance at your (reasonable) to-do list from disheartening to gratifying.

Subscribe to Work Life

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10 ways to boost your productivity at work

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Peak productivity at work can be tough to achieve. Try these 10 tips to boost your focus and take our quiz to discover the best productivity hack for you.

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19 best productivity apps for 2022 - Blink

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2022: the year that employee productivity apps really came into their own. After a couple of years of uncertainty around remote working and the extent to which it would be a long-term fixture, it looks like we've reached a resolution of sorts. Remote working, at least some of the time, is here to stay.

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Full Version - Hilarious!

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Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | Tim Urban | TED

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Errands is a task manager with a pleasing design and is easy to learn and use. Crafted with a blend of basic and advanced features: Folders, Checklists, Task Images, Scheduling & Repeating, Alerts (alarms), Automatic Badge Updating, Calendar View, Mail Tasks, Multiple View Modes, Search and more!

KEY BENEFITS AND FEATURES

* The overall user interface is tastefully designed with careful attention to detail and functionality.

* A universal app with full support for the iPhone and iPad

* Supports iCloud Sync (Premium). This allows you to keep Errands in sync on multiple iOS devices (iPhone, iPad).

* Alerts (reminders) for tasks, with choice of sound and several repeat options. Plus automatic updating of the app icon badge. Both of these work even when Errands is not actively running.

* Customizable folders, so you can organize your tasks to best suit your needs (for example, Work, Home, Errands). You can have as many folders as you wish and folder attributes (name, icon, checkbox) are fully customizable.

* A Focus Folder which is based on a "star" system. You can toggle the "star" state for any task by tapping on the star icon. When a task comes due it will be auto-starred. This makes the Focus Folder very useful for quickly glancing at what you need to do NOW. The badge icon will reflect the number of tasks in the Focus Folder, keeping you up-to-date on what tasks need attention.

* A monthly calendar view for tasks with due dates. To access it, tap on the calendar icon on the bottom toolbar. The calendar displays items based on the current folder you are in. To see all tasks, choose the calendar from the All Tasks folder.

* View options allows you to switch between normal view (4 tasks per screen) and condensed view (8 tasks per screen).

* Mail tasks (single tasks as well as entire folders).

* You can select from a built-in collection of image icons, choose a photo from your library, or take a new photo to customize your tasks.

* A unique feature allows notes to be viewed as a checklist. This is particularly handy for small shopping lists, multi-step tasks, etc.

* Tasks can be scheduled with a due date / time. There is a full range of repeating options.

* A convenient Recycle Bin allows you to easily create new tasks from previously completed entries. This is a big time-saver given that many tasks are things that are done again (and again). And saving data-bits from the virtual landfill makes you feel good!

* Tasks can be sorted by various schemes as well as arranged manually.

* Each task has a title along with separate detail and notes fields.

* Customize Errands to fit your tastes using the in-app Settings.

ABOUT THE PREMIUM UPGRADE

Errands is NOT a lite version or crippled in any way. It is the complete app! If you enjoy it, please consider purchasing the Premium Upgrade. It will provide food for me and my dog as well as support continued development. Thanks for your support!

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM ERRANDS

* Explore the app, play around with its features and settings.

* There is a Mini User's Guide in the Settings.

* Please visit yoctoville.com for answers to Frequently Asked Questions and other support info.

Version 5.0.1

* Ready for iOS 11 (64-bit)
* New calendar display (swipe up/down to move between months)
* Bug fixes and performance improvements.

* Version 5.0.1 contains additional bug fixes and performance improvements.

Please spread the word to your friends and be sure to write a review on the App Store if you are so inclined ... it is greatly appreciated!

Absolutely love it!!!

This is such a great app! I use it all the time, and set alarms throughout the day, including reminder alarms to get the children's bedtime routines started on time. Time really gets away from me, and the reminder bells help me keep on track. I also like that I don't have to keep track of cards for doctor and dental appointments. I enter the date and time in right there when I make the next appointment, and set a reminder alarm for that morning. Fantastic! I have been using this app for over a year now, and it has only gotten better!!

Update: THANK YOU for the update!!! I nearly had heart failure tonight when I accidentally updated my iOS. I had been avoiding this update, because I had read that errands wouldn't work with it, and when I accidentally clicked "Install now" and my phone locked up, I panicked. I absolutely love this app, and tried a dozen others to see if I could find something that would work as well for me, and there just isn't anything like it. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I save appointments and to-do list items, but I also save birthday reminders that repeat each year, and reminders to flip mattresses and change smoke detector batteries. My memory is terrible, and this app is my constant reminder for all those things I'd otherwise forget. I would give Errands ten stars if I could. It's my most useful app. THANK YOU!!!

Outstanding app

UPDATE: THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU!!! I'm doing the happy dance because you updated this app. It is my all-time favorite! I use it for ToDo's, grocery list, medical treatments, art studio inventory, vacation trips and so much more - it is invaluable. I think I bought this in 2010 & it's still my most useful all-in-one task managing list. I don't use the calendar, but now it looks really nice! Fabulous update and I really appreciate you getting this done in time for 64 bit because I was getting a little worried! You are awesome!

I have used this app for over three years now and find it to be the very best to do or anything else list out there! I gladly paid for this app - not because I was asked to, but because I wanted to reward the creator, it's that good. The only difference with the paid version is that you get iCloud sink which I absolutely love between my iPhone and my iPad. It will take a little effort to learn all there is to know about this app but it's well worth it!

Loving it so far

I really do like this app. I've used it for over two years now, and it's just great. I even tried to move on to new apps, thinking more bells and whistles would be better, but I came back. This just works for me. It's uncomplicated, easy and quick, and keeps me organized. I don't have 15 minutes to fill out information for one task, and with this app it's just not necessary. I love the options for repeating tasks, they're very customizable and I love that. A while ago I made some suggestions on an old review, and they all came with the new update!!! I feel like the developer really cares about this app, and tries to make it as easy and user friendly as possible without over complicating it. I use it every day for all of my task/appointment organizing. The only suggestion I have is the ability to organize your daily "list" manually. Like a long press, slide above or below feature for tasks that don't have times attached to them. Something like, all tasks with a time come first in the order they are scheduled and then all non-timed tasks are below those. Then I would be able to manually move those tasks into whatever order I choose. That would be really really cool. Honestly, I don't think I would change anything else. Get this app if you like things that are quick, simple, uncluttered, and easy to use. 😊

Information

Compatibility

Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Copyright

© 2009-2017 David Mandell

Family Sharing

With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

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‎Errands is a task manager with a pleasing design and is easy to learn and use. Crafted with a blend of basic and advanced features: Folders, Checklists, Task Images, Scheduling & Repeating, Alerts (alarms), Automatic Badge Updating, Calendar View, Mail Tasks, Multiple View Modes, Search and more! K...

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Mindtools.com

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Article * 12 min read

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Mistake #1: Failing to Keep a To-Do List

The trick with using to-do lists effectively lies in prioritizing the tasks on your list. Many people use an A - F coding system (A for high priority items, F for very low priorities). Alternatively, you can simplify this by using A through D, or by using numbers.

You can also use Action Programs to manage your work when you have many large projects happening at once. (Action Programs are "industrial strength" versions of to-do lists.)

Mistake #2: Not Setting Personal Goals

Personal goal setting is essential to managing your time well, because goals give you a destination and vision to work toward. When you know where you want to go, you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to get there. Goals also help you decide what's worth spending your time on, and what's just a distraction.

Your assistant has just walked in with a crisis that they need you to deal with right now, but you're in the middle of brainstorming ideas for a new client. You're sure that you've almost come up with a brilliant idea for their marketing campaign, but now you risk losing the thread of your thinking because of this "emergency."

If you want to gain control of your day and do your best work, it's vital to know how to and effectively. For instance, turn off your IM chat when you need to focus, and let people know if they're distracting you too often. You should also learn how to , even when you're faced with distractions.

To stop this, learn the subtle art of . This skill helps you assert yourself, while still maintaining good feelings within the group. If the other person starts leaning on you to say "yes" to their request, learn how to , and stay cool under pressure.

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10 Common Time-Management Mistakes - Avoiding Common Pitfalls

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Article * 12 min read By the Mind Tools Content Team The trick with using to-do lists effectively lies in prioritizing the tasks on your list. Many people use an A - F coding system (A for high priority items, F for very low priorities).

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Inside The Mind of Master Procrastinator (Short)

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Inside The Mind of Master Procrastinator (Short)

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Tim Urban

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Tim Urban | Inside the mind of a master procrastinator (Short Version)

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This edited short video looks at Tim Urban's TED talk about procrastination. His key message is that we all procrastinate to some extent but are usually saved by that feeling of panic that sets in when a deadline gets near. However, when looking at goals that have no deadline, we can end up procrastinating almost indefinitely.

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Lesson on Life Video

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Delivering Timely Results

Who doesn't love a deadline? Anecdotal evidence suggests that the answer is, "Most of us, actually!"

Deadlines are the "bane" of many people's working lives, and a source of relentless and worrying pressure. But they are important to almost any task and any role, and they are essential for the smooth running of your organization.

In this article we explore why deadlines matter, and we look at practical steps that you can take for meeting your own deadlines, and for supporting others to meet theirs.

Why Deadlines Matter

Typically, we have deadlines for one of the following reasons:

To ensure that we complete our work. It's easy to delay or to forget a task that has no agreed end point. Deadlines help to avoid this.

To encourage a smooth flow of work. Deadlines help us to collaborate toward achieving a shared goal, and to keep complex, multistage projects on track.

To set expectations. Deadlines make clear what we're expected to deliver and when. This means that we can take control of our work, free of confusion.

There can also be serious consequences for failing to meet a deadline. On a personal level, it can damage your reputation and harm your career prospects - especially if it happens more than once.

It can also be extremely damaging at an organizational level. Missing a deadline will likely impact your company's reputation, and it can have serious financial implications if your delay triggers a penalty clause in a contract.

There are two main areas to focus on when you have to hit a deadline: managing the deadline, and managing yourself.

Managing a Deadline

Chances are, most of us simply accept the deadline that we are given. But it's important to consider it properly before agreeing to it.

People often underestimate how long it takes to complete projects, so the deadline you've been set could be unrealistic. And sometimes deadlines are set unnecessarily early to prevent problems from arising when delivery is late!

So, what should you do before agreeing to a deadline? Here are five steps to follow:

1. Evaluate What's Required

First, you need to understand exactly what the task involves. If your deadline is for a complicated task or project, see our articles, Business Requirements Analysis and Work Breakdown Structures, to identify and map out what work needs to be done.

2. Get the Right Resources

Next, make sure that you have what you need to get the job done promptly. Will you have the people, technical support, equipment, training, or materials ready and available in time? If not, you may have to suggest a longer schedule, or a lowering of the quality or quantity of work that you'll deliver on time.

3. Allow for Problems

Things don't always go to plan, so it's wise to think about potential problems. For example, how would illness, equipment failure, or an unexpectedly urgent and important competing task affect your plans?

4. Plan in Detail

The next step is to create a detailed schedule. A good approach is often to break tasks down into small components and to create deadlines for each one.

As a result, you might find that you're going to need more time than the overall deadline allows. Be sure to raise this as an issue as soon as possible, and avoid simply hoping for the best!

5. Limit the Damage of a Missed Deadline

Despite all your hard work and forethought, you might still miss a deadline. If this happens, keep calm and make every effort to limit the damage.

Keep your stakeholders informed of progress throughout your work, highlighting any issues that delay you, and show that you are putting your contingency plans into action. Then, if you do fail to deliver on time, more people will understand the situation - and some might be prepared to help you.

Managing Yourself

Here are some ideas to consider:

Be assertive. Learn to say "no," if appropriate, or to at least give yourself space to evaluate a deadline before you agree to it.

Adjust your mindset. Adopt a positive attitude toward deadlines, instead of resenting them. Deadlines can help you to achieve goals that you might otherwise put off.

Don't mistake "planning" for "doing." No matter how good a plan you have, that is all it is - a plan. Once you have it, put it into action.

Make good use of your time. Avoid trying to multitask, as it's not efficient. And keep track of your time to help you to work effectively, especially when the deadline is close.

Beat self-sabotaging behaviors. If you know that you procrastinate, for example, work on addressing this.

Understand your motivations. Research shows that some people just aren't inspired by deadlines. If that's you, consider what does motivate you.

Is it doing a good job, getting praise and recognition, or having free time to do the things that you enjoy? Meeting your deadline will likely help in all of these areas.

Make meeting deadlines a habit. Start by working toward smaller deadlines in your daily work, and transfer this habit across to bigger ones when they arise.

Helping Others to Meet Deadlines

As a manager, you likely know who in your team is confident and capable of meeting deadlines, and who needs more support.

Remember, deadlines that you've set for your people become their responsibility, but you can help them to succeed. For example, encouraging them to develop their self-confidence can equip them to handle the pressure of deadlines.

Check in with your people regularly, or set up a system whereby they report to you on their progress. 5-15 Reports are an effective way to do this. But, take care to avoid micromanaging.

Allow your people to show initiative and set their own deadlines, where appropriate. Research shows that this can improve performance.

Key Points

Deadlines are essential for the smooth running of your organization. They keep work flowing, and ensure that everyone is working to an agreed end date.

When you're managing deadlines, consider the following:

Evaluate what's required.

Get the right resources.

Allow for problems.

Plan in detail.

Limit the damage of a missed deadline.

Your own attitude and mindset play crucial roles, too. Think positively, make good use of your time, and don't get bogged down in the planning phase.

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How to Meet a Deadline: Delivering Timely Results

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Delivering Timely Results Who doesn't love a deadline? Anecdotal evidence suggests that the answer is, "Most of us, actually!" Deadlines are the "bane" of many people's working lives, and a source of relentless and worrying pressure. But they are important to almost any task and any role, and they are essential for the smooth running of your organization.

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Using Time Effectively, Not Just Efficiently

Imagine that your boss has asked you to prepare an important presentation for the next board meeting.

You only have a few days to put it together, your workload is already high, and you have many other urgent tasks on your To-Do List. Because of this, you're anxious, you can't concentrate, and everything seems to distract you.

Time stressors are some of the most pervasive sources of pressure in the workplace, and they happen as a result of having too much to do, in too little time. So, how can you beat this stress, and deliver the things that are essential to doing a good job?

Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle helps you think about your priorities, and determine which of your activities are important and which are, essentially, distractions.

What Are "Urgent" and "Important" Activities?

In a 1954 speech to the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was quoting Dr J. Roscoe Miller, president of Northwestern University, said: "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." This "Eisenhower Principle" is said to be how he organized his workload and priorities.

He recognized that great time management means being effective as well as efficient. In other words, we must spend our time on things that are important and not just the ones that are urgent. To do this, and to minimize the stress of having too many tight deadlines, we need to understand this distinction:

Important activities have an outcome that leads to us achieving our goals, whether these are professional or personal.

Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are usually associated with achieving someone else's goals. They are often the ones we concentrate on and they demand attention because the consequences of not dealing with them are immediate.

When we know which activities are important and which are urgent, we can overcome the natural tendency to focus on unimportant urgent activities, so that we can clear enough time to do what's essential for our success. This is the way we move from "firefighting" into a position where we can grow our businesses and our careers.

How to Use Eisenhower's Principle

To use this principle, list all of the activities and projects that you feel you have to do. Try to include everything that takes up your time at work, however unimportant. (If you manage your time using a To-Do List or Action Program, you will have done this already.)

Next, think about each activity and put it into one of four categories, as shown in Figure 1, below:

Figure 1 - Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle

Then use the strategies described below to schedule your activities.

1. Important and Urgent

There are two distinct types of urgent and important activities: ones that you could not have foreseen, and others that you've left until the last minute.

You can eliminate last-minute activities by planning ahead and avoiding procrastination.

However, you can't always predict or avoid some issues and crises. Here, the best approach is to leave some time in your schedule to handle unexpected issues and unplanned important activities. (If a major crisis arises, then you'll need to reschedule other tasks.)

If you have a lot of urgent and important activities, identify which of these you could have foreseen, and think about how you could schedule similar activities ahead of time, so that they don't become urgent.

2. Important but Not Urgent

These are the activities that help you achieve your personal and professional goals, and complete important work.

Make sure that you have plenty of time to do these things properly, so that they do not become urgent. Also, remember to leave enough time in your schedule to deal with unforeseen problems. This will maximize your chances of keeping on track, and help you avoid the stress of work becoming more urgent than necessary.

3. Not Important but Urgent

Urgent but not important tasks are things that prevent you from achieving your goals. Ask yourself whether you can reschedule or delegate them.

A common source of such activities is other people. Sometimes it's appropriate to say "no" to people politely, or to encourage them to solve the problem themselves. (Our article "'Yes' to the Person, 'No' to the Task" will help here.)

Alternatively, try to have time slots when you are available, so that people know they can speak with you then. A good way to do this is to arrange regular meetings with those who interrupt you often, so that you can deal with all their issues at once. You'll then be able to concentrate on your important activities for longer.

4. Not Important and Not Urgent

These activities are just a distraction - avoid them if possible.

You can simply ignore or cancel many of them. However, some may be activities that other people want you to do, even though they don't contribute to your own desired outcomes. Again, say "no" politely, if you can, and explain why you cannot do it.

If people see that you are clear about your objectives and boundaries, they will often avoid asking you to do "not important" activities in the future.

Key Points

Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle helps you quickly identify the activities that you should focus on, as well as the ones you should ignore.

When you use this tool to prioritize your time, you can deal with truly urgent issues, at the same time as you work towards important, longer-term goals.

To use the tool, list all of your tasks and activities, and put each into one of the following categories:

Important and urgent.

Important but not urgent.

Not important but urgent.

Not important and not urgent.

Then schedule tasks and activities based on their importance and urgency.

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Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle: Using Time Effectively, Not Just Efficiently

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Using Time Effectively, Not Just Efficiently Imagine that your boss has asked you to prepare an important presentation for the next board meeting. You only have a few days to put it together, your workload is already high, and you have many other urgent tasks on your To-Do List.

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Taking Control and Being Productive

Time is really the only capital any human being has, and the one thing he can't afford to waste. - American inventor Thomas Edison

Do you waste much time during your day due to disorganization? Perhaps you spend five minutes searching for a misplaced file, another five looking for an email detailing an important meeting, and perhaps 10 minutes more finding today's to-do list, lost in the piles of papers on your desk.

Before you know it, you've spent an hour throughout the day looking for things you can't find. And that's just one day! Imagine how much time you're losing each week, each month, and each year!

Many people struggle with disorganization. And, while some think they can succeed amidst the chaos, this disorganization can end up costing a high price. Disorganization can hold us back from getting the promotion we've always wanted. It can block our creativity, add stress to our lives, and prevent us from being as productive and effective as we could be.

In this article and in the video, below, we'll look at some strategies for getting organized, so that we can start living and working to our full potential.

Watch this video for some tips on how you can get organized.

Organize Your Day at Work

Use a notebook - One strategy that many organized people use is to work with a notebook. This notebook is like a "catch-all" for your thoughts and for what you do during the day.

For instance, use your notebook to take notes when you're talking with a colleague or with a client on the phone. If you're working and need to remember to tell your boss something, write it down in your notebook. If you have a brainstorming session in the afternoon, your ideas can go in there too.

The advantage of a notebook is that you keep all of your thoughts, conversations, and ideas in one place. And, once things are written down, you don't have to waste mental energy remembering everything!

It's helpful to start a new, dated page each day. This way, you can easily go back and find the information you need.

Get organized during the first 15 minutes of your day - When you walk into the office in the morning, spend your first 15 minutes looking at what you need to do that day. Start with the "Next Actions" list from your Action Program, if you have one - or make a To-Do List, with your most important priorities at the top. This gives you a solid grasp of what tasks are most important to complete first, and what you can complete later in the afternoon.

During this organization time, knowing when you do your best work can also be a helpful scheduling tool. Find out more with our article Is This a Morning Task?

Clear your desktop - Your desktop can often become a "catch-all" zone. There are old papers, future projects, files you're currently using, and a pile of papers you simply haven't put away yet. Although some people feel they work better with a cluttered desk, it's distracting and inhibiting for many of us.

If you want to get organized, then clearing your desktop is a smart strategy. This can be a time-consuming task, so it might be best to work on this at the end of the day or at the weekend. It's important to do this slowly, especially if your desk is extremely cluttered!

Start by clearing everything off of your desk. File papers and reports that you've finished using, and recycle anything you don't need. Office supplies should go in a drawer or cabinet.

The items that are left are probably files and paperwork that you currently need.

Create an "action area" on your desk - Use this area for the materials you need to complete the project you're currently working on. As soon as you complete each "action," clear this area off to get ready for your next task.

Organize supplies or files you use often - The more often you use something, the closer it should be to you. Arrange your desk for usefulness, not for the way it looks.

How do you keep your desk organized? Spend five minutes at the end of each day clearing off your desk and keeping it organized. This way, you can come into work the next day with a clear, organized surface.

Organizational Tools

We live in a time of some amazing technology. Let's use it to get organized!

Use digital calendars or planners - Many people use these to help organize their schedules. These can be very helpful for keeping you on task!

For instance, many digital calendars, like Outlook and iCal, allow you to color-code tasks. You could use red for urgent, green for extended deadlines, and blue for low-priority tasks. Color-coding your day helps you quickly see what you need to do first.

Use a spreadsheet to keep track of your progress - Spreadsheets are helpful because you can use conditional formatting that alerts you when tasks are getting close to their deadlines. As a result, you can see at a glance which items are, or are not, on schedule. This is especially helpful when you're working with a team, and when you have to be aware of people's progress.

Personal Organizational Management

Offer yourself a reward - If you're finding it difficult to stay organized, try offering yourself a reward. For instance, if you complete four things on your to-do list, reward yourself with a cup of coffee, or with 10 minutes of free time to surf the web.

Use one calendar - If you enter some things in your PDA and some things on your desk planner, then you're probably going to miss key appointments and tasks.

Schedule small tasks - If a task or project requires action beforehand (like picking up bagels and coffee for the staff meeting), then schedule these related tasks into your planner as well. This helps you set aside enough time to get everything done.

Scan your documents - If you don't like having an office with lots of filing cabinets, then why not scan all of your documents and store them on your computer? If you have a personal assistant, this would be a great task to delegate. If not, then try scanning a few documents every day, and eventually scan all project documents over the long-term.

Choose organizing tools that you like - Pick products that appeal to you on a visual or emotional level. For example, if you decide to start using a notebook on a daily basis, then purchase a nice one that you really like. When your tools are visually appealing and comfortable, you're more likely to use them.

Key Points

Disorganization can cost you career advancement, decrease your productivity, and add stress to your life. Devoting time and effort to getting organized can help you tremendously in the long run.

Start by using a notebook on a regular basis to keep track of conversations, ideas, and reminders. And begin every day with a clean desk and an organized to-do list. Use technology to keep your schedule and projects running smoothly. Features like color coding and audio alarms can help you ensure that you don't miss appointments or deadlines.

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How to Be Organized: Taking Control of Your Day

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Taking Control and Being Productive Time is really the only capital any human being has, and the one thing he can't afford to waste. - American inventor Thomas Edison Do you waste much time during your day due to disorganization?

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By using Outlook.com, you can create, change, delete, and share calendar events. You can also import calendars from your friends or colleagues or link to those on the web.

Which version of Outlook.com are you using?

The instructions are slightly different depending on whether you're using the Outlook.com beta. Choose which version you're using to see the instructions that apply to you.

Instructions for the Outlook.com beta

1. At the bottom left corner of the page, select .

2. Add a title, location, and start and end dates and times.

3. The following steps are optional:

If it's an all day event, select the All day check box.

To make this a recurring event, in the Repeat drop-down menu, choose how often you want it to take place, and then set the days and dates that you want the recurring event to begin and end.

In the Remind me drop-down menu, choose when you want to be reminded about the event.

1. At the bottom left corner of the page, select .

2. Right-click the event you want to edit or delete and then select Edit or Delete.

3. If the event is recurring, do one of the following:

To open and makes changes to a single calendar event, select Edit > This event .

To open and makes changes to all events in the series, select Edit > All events in the series.

To delete a single calendar event, select Delete > This event.

To delete all events in the series, select Delete > All events in the series.

1. At the bottom left corner of the page, select .

2. Under Import calendar, select From file.

3. On the Import from file page, select Browse to choose an .ics file and then select Open.

1. At the bottom left corner of the page, select .

2. Under Import calendar, select From web.

Instructions for classic Outlook.com

1. Select the calendar event you want to edit or delete, choose Edit or Delete.

2. If the event is part of a series, do one of the following:

To open and makes changes to a calendar event, click Open occurrence.

To open and makes changes to a series of calendar events, click Open series.

To delete a calendar event, click Delete occurrence.

To delete a series of calendar events, click Delete series.

3. At the top of the page, select Save (if the event is just for you) or Send (if you're inviting attendees).

1. Select From file > Browse, choose an .ics file, and select Open.

2. Select Save.

Still need help?

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By using Outlook.com, you can create, change, delete, and share calendar events. You can also import calendars from your friends or colleagues or link to those on the web. The instructions are slightly different depending on whether you're using the Outlook.com beta. Choose which version you're using to see the instructions that apply to you.

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This is the book I referenced in Class.

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Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind (The 99U Book Series)

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Shared via Kindle. Description: Stop doing busywork. Start doing your best work. Are you over-extended, over-distracted, and overwhelmed? Do you work at a breakneck pace all day, only to find that you haven't accomplished the most important things on your a...

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Author: T Patrick Phelps, Mischa McGehee

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Author: T Patrick Phelps, Mischa McGehee Alexander Black should not have lived. Born a conjoined twin, he shared one heart with his twin. When doctors, desperate to save at least one child, separated Alexander from the shared heart, they expected him to die.

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This never gets old!

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14 Tools to help you Avoid Distractions & Stay Focused @work

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14 Tools to help you Avoid Distractions & Stay Focused @work

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Mary Adcock Recommendation!

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I find it hard to get work done while watching movies, visiting theme parks, or hanging out with my friends. So why do I think I can get work done online?

Automate healthy work habits with these 4 workflows

Yes, the internet is a place where work happens, but distractions are always a click away. You could say this is a matter of discipline, and it is, but the odds aren't in your favor. The internet is, at this point, a dopamine slot machine. The greatest minds of our generation are working around the clock to "increase engagement," which is a tech term that means "getting you to spend every waking moment scrolling and liking things." Trying to fight this with willpower alone is like bringing a water gun to a thermonuclear war.

Which is why there's no shame in using tools to help you build discipline. This is where distraction blocking software shines. Turn these focus apps on, and you can't open anything distracting-it won't work. Instead, you'll see a reminder that you set up software to block apps, and you'll be encouraged to get back to work. It's oddly liberating.

The 8 best focus apps

Freedom for blocking distractions on all your devices at once

Cold Turkey Blocker for scheduled system-wide blocking

LeechBlock NG for free browser-based website blocking

RescueTime for time tracking with built-in website blocking

Forest for motivating you to put your phone down

SelfControl for a nuclear option

Focus for a combination Pomodoro timer and distraction blocker

PawBlock for distraction blocking with cute animal pictures

What is a focus app?

How we evaluate and test apps

All of our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. We spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it's intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. We're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site-we value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog.

I've written about productivity, in some form, since 2009, and have been very public about my personal productivity struggles over the years. Which is probably why I've tested just about every distraction blocker that's come out in that time, and relied on them to get things done for over a decade.

Don't confuse website blocker apps with parental control software-that's not what they're for. No, these tools are for you, and they hopefully help you build better habits. I researched this category extensively and considered dozens of options, then evaluated them against my criteria. I think that the best distraction blocking apps should do the following:

Block a list of websites and/or apps (determined by you)

Allow you to set a schedule and/or a timer

Be annoying (at the very least) to disable

Offer encouragement

In addition, because I'm thinking about productivity at work, I only considered apps that work on computers-there are no mobile-only tools here. With that, here's the focusing software I think works best.

Best focus app for blocking distractions on all your devices at once

Most distraction blockers work only on whatever device you're using right now. Freedom can block distractions-both websites and apps-on all of your devices, simultaneously. No more blocking Instagram on your computer, only to immediately open it on your phone. If you start a session, your distractions are blocked everywhere.

Set up as many blocklists as you want, then start or schedule a session. There's a lockdown mode, which makes it impossible to edit your blocklists while a session is active-consider that if you're prone to working around your own good intentions. There are also optional focus sounds, which are basically ambient background noise from coffee shops or nature.

The downside: there's no long-term free version, only a limited trial that lets you run six distraction-free sessions. That should be enough time to figure out if it will work for you, though.

Freedom pricing: $3.33/month billed annually or $8.99/month billed monthly; $159.99 for a lifetime subscription

Best app blocker for scheduled system-wide blocking

Cold Turkey Blocker is, in a word, customizable. Install this site-blocking app, and you can create lists of websites and desktop apps to block, then set a schedule for blocking. You could, for example, block social media and video sites during every work day. You could also block work apps, like Slack, when the work day ends. It's all up to you. Or, if you prefer, you can turn blocking on and off manually. There's even a mode called Frozen Turkey, which prevents you from accessing your computer entirely: turn on Frozen Turkey, and you won't be able to log in to your computer without it locking again.

Because this is a system-wide tool and not just a browser extension, you can't work around it by changing browsers. But it goes further than that-there are all kinds of settings that thwart future versions of yourself from working around your current intentions.

You can block the Time & Language settings, stopping you from working around a scheduled block by changing your computer's time. You can stop yourself from accessing the Chromium Task Manager, which you could, in theory, use to disable the blocking extension. You can even make it impossible to uninstall Cold Turkey Blocker until your scheduled blocking is complete. I could go on, but the basic point is that you can stop yourself from working around your block. Try this out if you're the self-sabotaging sort.

Cold Turkey pricing: $39 one-time purchase for Pro, which offers unlimited blocking, scheduling, and the ability to block desktop apps as well as websites

Best free browser-based website blocker

LeechBlock NG (the NG stands for "next generation") works on most major browsers, is free, and gives you a bunch of options for blocking distractions. You can make lists of sites to block, then restrict them in all kinds of ways.

You can schedule times for apps to be blocked outright, which is very straightforward. Alternatively, you can limit your time on distracting apps by setting up rules. For example: you could give yourself 20 minutes of YouTube time every day, or four minutes of Twitter every hour. You can get even more specific, if you want, combining time limits with a schedule-think five minutes of Instagram every hour between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Or, if you don't want to mess with schedules, you can trigger a one-off "lockdown" schedule.

It's a lot of power, particularly for a free tool, and you can even lock down the settings during block sessions if you want. The only downside: this is a browser extension, not an app, so you can work around it by switching browsers. If you can avoid that temptation, though, LeechBlock should work nicely.

LeechBlock pricing: Free

Best focus app for time tracking with built-in website blocking

RescueTime isn't, primarily, a distraction blocker-it's one of the best time tracking apps. But it does include a distraction blocking feature called Focus Session, so you can block distractions using your time tracking history.

This works using data you're already providing RescueTime, which allows you to designate apps and websites into three categories: focus work, other work, and personal activities. These lists are pre-populated when you set up an account and you can also customize them.

During Focus Sessions, you can block everything but focus work or, if you prefer, just block personal activities. It's a great way to block distractions without having to build a separate block list, particularly if you're looking for a time tracking app anyway.

You can also use RescueTime to block distractions automatically using RescueTime's Zapier integrations. That way, you can do things like schedule a daily Focus Session or automatically start Focus Sessions when you start a timer in another app.

RescueTime pricing: $12/month or $78/year; note that the free version of RescueTime does not include distraction blocking

Best focus app for motivating you to put down your phone

Your phone is a time machine, but not in a useful way. It's way too easy to pick it up and then notice a couple of hours have disappeared. Forest is an adorable app designed to help you with that.

The idea is simple: you open the app and say you want to plant a tree. Then you put your phone down. If you pick up your phone and switch to another app, your tree will die. Last 25 minutes, and your tree will live. Over time, you'll grow an entire forest of trees, a reminder of all the time you intentionally spent getting things done instead of scrolling through Twitter. Plus, if you use a paid version of the app, your focus time could help fund real trees via a partnership with Trees for the Future.

Forest also offers a Chrome extension, meaning you can grow trees on your computer as well. This one works more like the other apps in this list but with an option to load distracting sites if you want to. The downside to overriding the block: you'll have to deal with delightfully twisted copy. "This will kill your cute, little tree," you're warned. It gets worse: try to look at a distracting site and you're told, "your tree is dead." It's manipulative, sure, but it's manipulating you to spend your time wisely. Better than the reasons most apps manipulate you.

Forest pricing: Free on Chrome and Android, $1.99 for iPhone; Android Pro version costs $1.99, one-time, and offers syncing across devices and more tree varieties

Best focus app for a nuclear option for Mac users

SelfControl looks spartan: there's a blocklist, a dial for setting how long your block period should be, and a start button. That's it. But it stands out for one key reason: it's impossible to undo.

Seriously, this app is hardcore. Closing the app does nothing-all of your distractions are still blocked. Deleting the app doesn't do anything, and neither does rebooting your computer. The only way to disable blocking, once you set the timer, is to reinstall macOS entirely (which would delete all of your apps, settings, and documents).

It is truly the nuclear option for blocking distractions-none of the other apps on this list come close to this level of permanence. If you're the sort of person who starts blocking, then caves, this app is for you.

SelfControl pricing: Free

Best combination distraction blocker and Pomodoro timer

The basic idea with Pomodoro timers is that you work for 25 minutes before taking a five-minute break. lets you do this while also blocking distractions during your work sessions.

This is a system-wide blocker that doesn't depend on browser extensions, meaning it's hard to work around once you start a work session. There are inspiring quotes when you try to visit a blocked site, which is a nice touch, but you can replace the quotes with whatever you want, if (for example) you'd rather be yelled at instead of inspired.

And it goes further: if you're a power user, you can write scripts to run at the beginning and end of every focus session. That opens up no end of customization possibilities, if you want to mess around with it. You could even trigger Zapier webhooks, allowing you to change your Slack status when you start a focus session or log your sessions in a spreadsheet.

Focus pricing: Personal plan starts at $2.50/month, or get it as part of for $10/month with 230 other Mac apps

Best distraction blocking app with cute animal pictures

isn't nearly as customizable as the other browser-based option on this list, but it's got one thing going for it: animals. If you visit a distracting website, you'll see a cute animal who's disappointed with your choices. Decide to leave that site, and you'll see a happy animal. It's manipulative, yes, but it also works.

By default, there's a "soft" block, which shows you the sad animal picture but allows you to decide whether or not you want to visit the distracting site after you wait a certain number of seconds. This means you'll have to actively decide to scroll through Twitter, instead of doing so reflexively. You can change this to a hard block-which doesn't allow you to visit the distractions-if you'd rather remove temptations entirely. All of this adds up to a useful tool for changing your own habits, even if it's relatively easy to work around.

Plus: animal pictures. I really don't feel like I need to justify this any more than saying that.

PawBlock pricing: Free
This article was originally published in December 2018 by Stephen Altrogge. The most recent update was in October 2022.

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The 8 best apps to help you focus and block distractions in 2023 | Zapier

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I find it hard to get work done while watching movies, visiting theme parks, or hanging out with my friends. So why do I think I can get work done online? Automate healthy work habits with these 4 workflows Yes, the internet is a place where work happens, but distractions are always a click away.

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Leah Ryder

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"So, what did you do at work today?"
This simple question can feel like a supercharged jab at your psyche. You've been coordinating schedules for meetings, making sure everyone signed a birthday card for the boss, and spent an unplanned hour fixing typos in a team report.

You hit the end of the day exhausted, with no real outcome to show for all the energy you spent handling a million different things.

As much as you may try to measure your productivity in to-do lists, hours worked, projects completed, and other quantifiable methods, there is a lot of work you do everyday that is invisible-and it can be equally as taxing and time-consuming as the stuff you write down in your planner.

That invisible work is called the mental load, and when it's left hidden underneath your "official" work, it makes you far less productive. When you and your team don't talk about the toll it takes on your group dynamic, it actually makes all of you more stressed and less successful.

If you and your team feel like you're getting collectively held back from feeling creative, in-sync, and equally valued, then it's time to turn the lights on this unseen task master and see just how heavily it's weighing down your workload.

What Is The Mental Load?

The mental load is the total sum of responsibilities that you take on to manage "the remembering of things." It has to do with emotional labor , defined by Arlie Hochschild in the 1983 book The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling , as the process of managing emotions and relationships with others in order to be more successful at your job.

This popular comic , by an anonymous French author via the pseudonym "Emma," can largely be attributed as having brought the concept of "the mental load" to the forefront of Western culture's collective conscious as a problematic way in which many gender-conforming households are organized.

The comic points out that one partner (most often women) is generally designated as the manager of such "remembering work," while the other (most often men) takes a more siloed approach to what needs doing. This work of remembering is always top of mind for the "manager" so in the end, it doesn't actually relieve them of doing their share of the execution work.

Source: The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic

In other words, one person constantly worries and upholds the effort of coordinating all the moving pieces, while the other passively waits to take direction:

"You should've asked. I would've helped."

At home, mental work typically looks like this: Coordinating kids schedules, booking medical appointments, planning holiday meals, monitoring the levels of milk and laundry detergent, while making shopping lists for everything else that needs to be refilled.

The result? The designated "manager" in such households end up taking on more work than their counterparts, because managing these items takes mental effort, as does actually getting them done.

For example, the woman of the household is thinking about the chores that need to be done around the house, and asks her partner to empty the dishwasher. When she comes home, she sees that her request has been done, but a pile of dirty dishes still sit in the sink, unwashed. She decides to just clean them up instead of asking for help.

Source: The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic

The Mental Load At Work

At work, the mental load is also all-too real. It is all those little steps you take to uphold the smooth operation of your team that may or may not fall within your job description. It's "remembering" work like:

Quick check-ins to see if others are keeping up their part in your projects;

Doing the leg work to book meeting rooms, generate video call links, ensure attendance, take notes, and generally facilitate communication;

Keeping up team culture with things like birthday card signings and after-work events planning;

Being the formatting guardian on team reports so they're cleaned up for manager review;

Always digging up the data reports because you know how to use the software or have the account login;

Keeping the coffee pot full if your team is co-located, or if you're not...

Always being the first remote team member to break the ice and wish everyone "good morning" on team chat.

As "Emma," the comic's creator writes in one scene:

"It's permanent and exhausting work. And it's invisible."

So if you find yourself taking on the bulk of organizational tasks for your team when they're not a core part of your job function, you could be building up a mental load that blocks you from doing other things that are more valuable to you and your team.

Work Family Feud

When we spend upwards of 40 hours per week with our co-workers, it's not much of a stretch to apply the concept of a household or family to our "work family."

"You should've asked. I would've helped."

What do you see when you look at the sum of your team interactions and spaces at work as a household? Is there an equal distribution of effort for all those little team tasks that are needed to keep it running smoothly?

Before you run off and start feuding with your team about their constant expectation that you'll send the meeting invites, perhaps the first question to consider is: Why do you take on these workloads when they're not technically your responsibility?

You may have been socialized to feel a sense of duty and expectation that it's your responsibility. This is particularly pertinent for people who have been raised as "caretakers" in many cultures.

You do get joy and satisfaction from helping others. When you step forward and take initiative on organizational efforts, you feel the reward of helping to maintain a functional team.

On the flip side, it's common to fear incoming failure or blame should things not happen (or happen correctly), so you let that fear drive you to take on extra work that should be shared by others.

There is probably a hierarchy in which your role fits at work, and your position within the team can set you up to accept or delegate tasks.

Whatever the reason, there is a reasonable limit to the "extra" tasks you should be expected to perform. They should be guided by your job description and measured results for success in the role.

But where do you begin? Exploring your underlying instincts to take on a mental load can be helpful in coming up with a better distribution of tasks across your team.

"You can't know the full extent of the mental load your partner carries."

You may be unaware of things other people on your team are taking on that relieve your need to take on that work.

A word for the remote work fams: Long-distance relationships are hard. So imagine keeping up your work family's household when you all live in different places. For remote teams , the load of invisible work can quickly become a serious issue because working relationships are managed across various cities and time zones. Team empathy and communication is even more important when you can't simply walk by your coworkers desk and see what they're working on.

Lightening (Read: Equalizing) The Mental Load

To recap, here are the kinds of things that build up a mental load:

1️⃣ Tasks that don't require mental input from multiple people, but you always need to ask (or are always asked) for it anyways.

2️⃣ Taking on tasks of others because you're "better at it" or "faster at it" even though they are skills that everyone has the capacity to handle.

3️⃣ Reminders and checking in because there's a lack of trust or sense of ownership that the work will get done without the check.

In every team, there are managers and there are makers . They have different roles, so it's natural for their task loads to also differ. For example, a manager should take on more of the "team management" operations like ensuring project work is completed on deadline and clearing up roadblocks that can slow makers down.

However, there are tasks and behaviors that fall outside of a job description, and those should be taken care of equally among the team:

Keeping your team updated on your work at a regular cadence.

Keeping your owned items in project management tools or tracking up-to-date.

Knowing what budget or materials you need for your work to get done, and being responsible for getting those requests fulfilled.

Team culture activities like birthdays and holidays.

The pattern here is taking initiative to be a contributing member of the team. Your manager shouldn't have to remind you every Friday morning to submit your project updates. Nor should you be expected to always phone in the lunch orders because you sit closest to the delivery door.

In other words, the words "group project" shouldn't immediately send you running for vacation.

"It's kind of like when you get a gift and you don't really like it, and you have to still smile and act nice because otherwise your Aunt Bernadette would be offended. But you have to do that all day long. Not only that, but it's explicitly part of your job. It's tied to your wages and outcomes, and if you don't do it, there are consequences-like you could lose your job, or you could get in trouble. And it's with strangers, for the most part."

The more you take on invisible work "because you feel pressure to be caring," the more your motivation will fall somewhere between wanting to and feeling like you have to. Not only does this struggle affect your current stress levels but it sets you up for decreasing job satisfaction and performance over time.

So. With each team member taking initiative to uphold the team's "household management," it's time to make the work visible:

Work on your team's to build group awareness and group management habits into your team work.social norms

Help each other highlight moments where "remembering" work is repeatedly done by one or few people on the team. You might want to offer an anonymous team workload survey to create a safe space to break out these tasks.

Set up a rotating schedule for recurring team management tasks like company updates, events planning, and meeting setup.

And, like at Trello, don't do nothing . Avoid social loafing on your team by empowering each other to take initiative and find solutions to problems when they arise, regardless of rank or role.

"Ensuring all members of your family have clean socks and packed lunches is not a resume builder."

Neither are all those little tasks at work that keep a team running smoothly-especially if they're left invisible and unequally distributed.

When team management is everyone's role, it can help each member grow professionally and build solid relationships that will pay off in spades for both your current to-do list and your future success at work. Take some time to confront that elephant in the room and lift the invisible work weight off of your and your team's shoulders.
Good or bad, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Find us on Twitter (@trello) or write in to support@trello.com Next: Why You Need To Say 'No' At Work (Hint: Your Work Will Get Better)

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That Stress You Feel? It's A 'Mental Load' Of Invisible Work That Needs Talking About

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Feeling stressed by all the unrecognized tasks you need to complete on top of your main responsibilities at your job? This extra, invisible work is called the mental load and it's seriously weighing down your productivity. Here are the steps to take to uncover and equalize work on your team.

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Why we Always Switch Productivity Methods Before they Stick?

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Why we Always Switch Productivity Methods Before they Stick?

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#1 Our Brains Have A Thing for Novelty

“Shiny Object Syndrome”

#2 You Wonder if You Could Be Even Better

#3 You Tend to Make Your Problems More Complicated

“Complexity Bias”

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Why We Always Switch Productivity Methods Before They Stick, According To Science

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With so many productivity methods out there in the world, it's hard to pinpoint and then commit to one. Explore the science-backed reasons why you can't stick with just one way of getting things accomplished.

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Lauren Moon

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Here's a familiar scenario: You're up to your ears in projects. Despite this, your boss comes up with a new initiative and is asking you to spearhead it, knowing full well you're already overloaded. You somehow ignore the internal screaming inside your head and, to your own disbelief, you hear yourself saying yes to this request. Why?

You may be a people pleaser, but there are a few psychological reasons why you always agree to help out a coworker, or rather, avoid turning down their requests-even when you already have a stacked to-do list. Let's explore them.

Seeking Approval Is Scientifically Proven

Despite it looking like blatant self-sabotage , you are actually hardwired to say "yes" to requests, even if you don't want to. You can blame human nature for your constant need to acquiesce to others.

This is because evolutionarily , it was beneficial for humans to live, hunt, and work together in large groups. Staying within the group increased the odds of survival thanks to shared resources, food, and an easier chance of finding "the one" (as far as dating went back then).

As a result, humans (even as far back as hominids) learned to adopt behaviors that were agreeable to a group dynamic. If someone was perceived as hostile or combative, they risked being ostracized from the group and subsequently, its shared resources. Guess which "agreeable" human trait was developed for survival in the group? Behavior that earns approval from others.

Image source

Approval-seeking actions are still alive and well in modern human behavior. Hence your pesky inability to say no to your boss: You are actually programmed to want to please people, because acceptance is perceived as a survival mechanism. Saying no to requests makes you think you will be perceived negatively, thus your inclination is to avoid doing so.

You Underestimate Your Own Workload

It's not just evolution causing your plate to get too full. It's also a matter of your eyes being larger than your stomach-or, in scientific terms, a cognitive bias called the planning fallacy .

Multiple studies confirm that humans are notoriously over-optimistic of the time it will take for them to complete tasks. In one study , students were asked to estimate the date of completion for a project. On average, students were a whopping 30 days early in their estimation of when they'd be done.

The planning fallacy can also be attributed to the mental acrobatics you do when your aforementioned evolutionary instinct is just dying to say yes, despite all evidence to the contrary. It might sound something like,
"Well it will be fine to say yes to this because I only have 4-5 other things on my plate, and they all should be quick to finish."
Unfortunately science suggests you might be off on this estimate. And those items on your to-do list are thus again pushed off to another day.

Saying Yes Is Actually Saying No (To What Matters)

The reality, and what you may not realize, is saying yes to another project means you're effectively saying no to the tasks you already need to complete. When you say yes to something new, you're not thinking about the impact it will have on your existing work.

The highly successful (and notoriously shrewd) Steve Jobs aptly sums up the point that "focusing is about saying no," when he explains to a disgruntled employee at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference why he decided to kill a project the employee spent many months toiling over:

In effect, focusing on what matters, and not just what's in front of you, is the key to a more cohesive workload, and ultimately a better end result.

Not only that, you need to be conscious of your own time management . Every time you are saying yes to a new project, you also may be saying no to something in your personal life. Will you need to work extra hours , thus forgoing evening plans, or time with your family?

So, how does knowing all this help you to rein in the requests and let you get back to the tasks you actually want to focus on? Here are some frameworks to adopt that can help you combat your urge to say yes, and harness the power of just saying no.

In effect, focusing on what matters, and not just what's in front of you, is the key to a more cohesive workload, and ultimately a better end result.

The DOC Framework For Just Saying No

Next time you're presented with a brand new, shiny, potentially time-consuming request, use the DOC framework to assess whether it's really worth your time:

: First and foremost, is the new request going to be a distraction from your business-as-usual responsibilities? Ask yourself whether the request might be a complement to tasks you're already doing or a complete detour into another initiative. Remember that distractions, especially those that force you to D. Distraction from day-to-day context switch , are doing nothing for your cognitive load and ability to get anything done.

Many teams outline yearly or O. Objectives (or OKRS) related: quarterly goals as a way to align higher-level objectives to the individual tasks each team member is completing. Some examples of longer term objectives might be, "Grow website traffic by [X]%," or "Develop a customer portal as a means to get direct feedback." Individual projects and your day-to-day functions should fall under these initiatives so that your work directly impacts the business (and thus benefits your career, too). Ask yourself if the new request could fit into one of your objectives. If so, it might be worth taking on, even if it is a potential distraction from the day-to-day. If it doesn't fit with an objective, give it the axe.

C. Consider the upside: If the request doesn't fit an objective, is there another potential upside for doing it? Perhaps you are looking to transition to new responsibilities, and this new task will help demonstrate your capabilities. Currying relationship favor could be beneficial, and after all, you are genetically predisponsitioned to want to. But be careful not to fall down the people-pleaser path of self destruction. Also ask yourself, will you learn something? And always remember: If there is no upside, why do it?

These parameters might help you when you're put on the spot to take something on and you're struggling to find a reason why you shouldn't, even though you don't want to. Remember that it's okay to want to be agreeable, but only if it doesn't put your own wellbeing and productivity at risk.

The power of saying no is freeing, and the more you exercise your right, the more comfortable it will feel. So go forth and just say no.

Good or bad, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Find us on Twitter (@trello) or write in to support@trello.com

Next: Investigating Indecision: Why We Can't Seem to Make Up Our Minds

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Why You Need To Say 'No' At Work (Hint: Your Work Will Get Better)

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Why do you always say yes to new tasks even when you're bogged down by an endless to-do list? You can blame science. Learn the psychological reasons why it's hard to say no and how you can gracefully turn down work without burning bridges with coworkers.

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Top 10 Reasons Why Apple Notes is My Favorite Note App

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Undoubtedly, technology has allowed us to connect, perform, improve, and leverage our resources beyond what was once imaginable, and one of the biggest ways is through time management apps. But with so many apps to choose from, how do you know which ones to use?

The best way to identify an app is to look at your current challenges with time management. Do you get distracted too easily and never complete a task? Or perhaps you end the day without achieving much, wondering where all your time went?

We all have challenges when it comes to being more productive. The best time management apps around vary depending on your needs. That's why we've put together a list of 15 of the best time management apps to help you with the most common challenges.

If you're not taking advantage of some of the hundreds of time management tools , you're missing out.

Let's dive straight into the list.

15 Time Management Apps You Need To Try

1. Rize - Use Your Time Wisely

If you don't know what you did all day or feel that you haven't accomplished much at the end of the day, you will be excited to know about . Rize not only tracks your time but also gives you valuable insights to improve your productivity, build better habits and increase your focus. The highlight is that you don't need to constantly input information, this is automatically done for you.

You can see how many hours you have worked, how much of that time is focus time, how much time you spend context switching, and which websites distract you most, among many other features. Tracking and managing your time efficiently has never been easier.

2. Notion - Keep on Top of All Your Tasks

Think of Notion as a single platform with different productivity apps, helping you keep your notes and work in one place. You can collaborate, share documents and notes, and create a central knowledge base for your team, supporting you in all your project management needs.

You can use Notion to replace your to-do lists, project management, note-taking apps, spreadsheets, etc. It saves you time and money and helps you keep on top of your time management and organization.

3. Forest - Boost Motivation to Complete Tasks

is a unique reinvention of time management apps. This unique and fun app helps you stay focused and incorporates the Pomodoro technique, breaking work into chunks with short intervals. The concept is simple: If you stay focused during this time, your virtual tree will grow. If you lose focus, the tree will die. As the app's name implies, you can grow multiple trees to create a virtual forest!

On top of this particular time management tool being really fun, it reinforces the need to focus on the task. Go ahead and build a wonderful and colorful virtual forest to use as proof to you that you can focus!

Pro tip: Staying focused all the time isn't easy, especially when distractions are everywhere these days! Try the Time Flow System and learn how to sharpen your focus!

4. Spark - Finally Reach Inbox 0

Even with hundreds of communication tools available to us, email use continues to grow. Whether your job is based largely on emails or not, managing your email and staying on top of it is key to productivity. You will be shocked to see how much time can be wasted with email by not having structure or automation to support you in staying on top of your game.

According to a survey by Adobe, people spend at least 3.1 hours checking and reading emails at work. Spark has many features, from removing distractions to only notifying you of important emails to snoozing emails. You can also send an email to your Task Manager to add to your to-do's, reply quickly with templates, as well as get reminded to follow up on emails and schedule to reply to certain emails later.

Finally, reach inbox 0 with Spark.

5. Serene - Focus on Tasks at Hand

One of the biggest time wasters is giving in to distractions, multi-tasking, and not completing tasks because of this. Serene takes productivity to the next level in three easy steps and helps you to get more done in your day.
It helps you to:

1. Plan your day - Define your goals and tasks for the day and when you want to do them.

2. Block Distractions - When starting a task, Serene blocks websites, updates your statuses (ie. unavailable on Slack), and eliminates distractions overall.

3. Focus Enhancers - It helps you to stay focused on the task with timers, music, breaks, etc.

It is an all-in-one time management tool you want in your kit.

6. Fathom.Video - Zoom Is Your Minute Taker

Since COVID-19, the Zoom app has been downloaded 485 million times in 2020. Although Zoom has been a huge contribution to productivity, so much time is wasted capturing notes and important information, never mind losing focus on what is being said.

Fathom is an excellent time management tool for meetings and super easy to use. During your meeting, you can highlight important moments, such as decisions, questions, action items, etc. These are sent to you after your meeting with a transcription of the meeting and highlights. This tool syncs your notes to Hubspot, Salesforce, and other CRM platforms accordingly and automatically.

7. MyLifeOrganized (MLO) - Manage Your To-Do Lists Effectively

Excellent time management techniques entail to-do lists and having a system to manage your tasks. However, even with various apps and methods, they can be overwhelming for people. This is where MyLifeOrganized comes in.

This task management software helps you target what you should be focusing on to reach your objectives. MyLifeOrganized is one of the best time management apps for focused work. It automatically generates to-do lists with priority actions for your immediate attention so that you can track your progress methodically.

8. 1Password - Have All Your Passwords Remembered

How much time do you spend looking for login details or having to reset passwords? 1Password is still a must-have time management app as it allows you to keep all your passwords in one encrypted database - protected by one password.

According to research, more than half of Americans have had to reset five passwords each month on average. This saves you time when you forget your passwords and need to retrieve them and also allows you to use various passwords for different accounts so you don't compromise on security.

9. Alarmy - Joyful Alarm Clock

Waking up early to have time for yourself and set yourself up for the day is the ingredient to mastering your day. Alarmy makes it impossible to sleep in or snooze by giving you a few options of challenges to complete before the alarm turns off.

You can play memory games, do math, take photos, squat, and many more. By the time you have completed the challenge, you are already awake, and your mind is active. There are other great features, such as personalizing your sounds and recording how you feel, to gain insights. Get more out of your day with Alarmy.

10. Focus@Will - Boost Your Attention Span

This amazing app combines neuroscience and music to boost your productivity. According to the developers, it's possible to increase your attention span by up to 400% using Focus@Will, making this one of the best time management apps available, which is why it stays on our list.

Focus@Will is ideal for those who find it difficult to focus while studying, working, or reading. It also helps you control your ADD.

11. Alfred - Interact With Your Computer in a Smart Way

Alfred is a small and simple tool that lets you launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes. This is one of the greatest time management techniques as it removes the need for searching through multiple folders to find what you need. The only downside is that it's only available for macOS.

12. Habitica - Gamify Your Habits

Having the right habits can either save you hours of time or waste hours, and how productive you are, depends on your habits. The challenge is that the initial excitement and motivation to develop new habits wears off quickly, and when there is no consistency in building the new habit, it will never replace the old.

This is where Habitica becomes your partner in success. Track your goals, to-dos, and habits. Stay accountable for achieving your goals with features such as rewards, punishments, and streaks. Finally, have fun getting things done!

13. Quire - Unfold Your Ideas

Quire is another excellent and innovative time management app that boosts your team's productivity. The strength of this app is in its features for collaboration and ease of sharing. Through the various time management techniques this app offers, you can streamline and adjust your workflow based on your team's needs and preferences.

14. Doodle - Scheduling Has Never Been Easier

It can be quite frustrating going back and forth spending more time than needed coordinating a day and time that works for everyone to get together. Doodle comes to the rescue here.

Whether you're planning a meeting or a party, Doodle sends everyone options and times and tracks the time that works best for everyone to schedule. It keeps everyone up to date with all current and upcoming events and also syncs with Zoom, Google Meet, Outlook, Microsoft teams, and Zapier for easier collaboration.

15. Dropbox - Store and Send Large Files Easily

Dropbox stays on the list of the top apps that allow you to transfer content from your computer to other devices and access it anywhere. It is free, and it is easier to use than the others.

With the Dropbox app, you can even access and share important files on the go. It is an easy way to share your files and documents with others for improved productivity.

Final Thoughts

The above list covers what we consider to be the very best time management apps and tools available. And the good news is that many of them are completely free of charge! So, what are you waiting for? Select the ones that will be the most valuable to you, and begin boosting your productivity now!

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15 Best Time Management Apps and Tools (2023 Updated) - LifeHack

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With hundreds of apps and tools to choose from, you may not know where to start. Here're 15 best time management apps for productivity.

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Timer to help focus on one task at a time

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Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5 AM Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity.

Now, in this life-changing book, handcrafted by the author over a rigorous four-year period, you will discover the early-rising habit that has helped so many accomplish epic results while upgrading their happiness, helpfulness and feelings of aliveness.

Through an enchanting-and often amusing-story about two struggling strangers who meet an eccentric tycoon who becomes their secret mentor, The 5 AM Club will walk you through:

* How great geniuses, business titans and the world's wisest people start their mornings to produce astonishing achievements

* A little-known formula you can use instantly to wake up early feeling inspired, focused and flooded with a fiery drive to get the most out of each day

* A step-by-step method to protect the quietest hours of daybreak so you have time for exercise, self-renewal and personal growth

* A neuroscience-based practice proven to help make it easy to rise while most people are sleeping, giving you precious time for yourself to think, express your creativity and begin the day peacefully instead of being rushed

* "Insider-only" tactics to defend your gifts, talents and dreams against digital distraction and trivial diversions so you enjoy fortune, influence and a magnificent impact on the world

Part manifesto for mastery, part playbook for genius-grade productivity and part companion for a life lived beautifully, The 5 AM Club is a work that will transform your life. Forever.
Claim Your Copy Here

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Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5 AM Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity.

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The simplest way to start your day happy. Cultivate gratitude. Become positive. Change the way you think and feel.

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Share one time management tool that you use that may help someone. 

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Share one time management tool that you use that may help someone. 

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Timery for Toggl is an app I use for my time management . It allows you to set specific countdowns for when certain activities of yours will take place, which you can visually see too so you don't forget. This feature has made my life easier in the sense that I'll never forget which assignments I haven't done yet and it helps me organize my daily tasks in a cleaner/efficient manner.

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Enhance your Toggl experience on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Timery! From starting your favorite timers with one click to managing your projects and tags, Timery brings you easy time tracking with Toggl.

Timery works with your free or paid Toggl account but is developed independently of Toggl.

The full features of Timery:

Saved Timers
Save your most used Toggl timers and start them with one click.

Time Entries
See your time entries for the past week, edit them (set the project & task, description, tags, and start & stop times), delete them, start duplicates, and add new entries.

Manage Projects & More
Add, edit, and delete your Toggl projects, tasks, tags, and clients.

Customizable Appearance
Group similar time entries, show tag names in saved timers & time entries instead of just a tag icon, customize dark mode, and change the app theme color.

Customizable Widgets
Quickly start saved timers, check your current time entry, and check times tracked today or this week.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Show sections, start time entries, edit current time entry parameters, and more.

Time Entry Suggestions
When starting or editing time entries, choose from suggestions to more quickly start tracking your time.

Much more is planned for the future.

A few notes on how the app works:
* Timery requires a Toggl account. If you don't already have an account, sign up in the app or with Toggl.
* Timery requires an internet connection to perform tasks.
* Saved timers sync with iCloud and are available on all your devices signed in with your Apple ID.

Timery is free to use on a limited basis: save up to four timers, manage the four latest time entries today (the rest are read-only), and edit the current time entry. With a monthly or yearly subscription (which includes a two-week free trial), join the Timery Club and unlock all the app's functionality. You'll also be helping support the app and future development, and I greatly appreciate that!

Happy time tracking!

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Timery has been featured on MacStories, AppStories, Connected, Cortex, and Upgrade and was selected as Best New App for the 2019 MacStories Selects awards and Best Newcomer iOS App for the 2019 Upgradies awards.

Federico Viticci on MacStories:

"What sets Timery apart from other time tracking utilities is the unique combination of developer Hribar's understanding of the needs of Toggl users and his embrace of modern iOS and iPadOS technologies. Timery isn't just a more customizable Toggl client with advanced features [...]; it's also an exemplary iOS and iPadOS citizen that showcases what great iOS and iPad apps should offer. [...]

"[...It's] not often that a new app manages to go beyond mere professional intrigue and actually change the way we get work done. Timery is one such app".

Myke Hurley on Upgrade:

"It's been an application in really great consistent development throughout the entire year. The developer, Joe, does a wonderful job of integrating feedback from users and advancing the application in a bunch of ways."

"It is an application that I use all day every day. When I am working, Timery is running. It's absolutely fantastic, and I love it."

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Subscription Details:
* Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase or after the free trial period if offered.
* Your subscription will automatically renew unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period.
* You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase.
* Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription.
* Privacy policy: https://timeryapp.com/privacy.html
* Terms of Use: https://timeryapp.com/terms.html

Version 1.2.2

Just a small update this time mostly focused on the menu bar item.

What's new:
* More menu bar item customization
* Stopping and starting directly from the menu bar item
* Keep Timery window on top
* Tag icon alignment fix

More Menu Bar Item Customization
In the menu bar item preferences, there are new customization options. Show the project, task, client, description, and tags in the menu bar in addition to the duration.

Stopping and Starting Directly from the Menu Bar Item
When stopping the current time entry, starting a saved timer, or reloading data from the menu bar item, the actions will perform directly from the menu bar item without showing the Timery window if it is hidden or is behind other windows. If you prefer to show Timery when performing these actions, there are new options in the menu bar item preferences to do so.

Keep Timery Window On Top
In Preferences, there's a new option to keep the Timery window on top of other app windows.

Tag Icon Alignment Fix
Alignment of the tag icon in Saved Timers and Time Entries is fixed when the Show Tag Names option is off.

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As always, thank you for using and supporting Timery! If you have a question or suggestion or run into an issue, please email me at support@timeryapp.com.

Happy time tracking!
- Joe

Timery is the best way to use Toggl for time-tracking

Timery is far superior to Toggl's own iOS app, which is buggy, poorly designed, and barely useful. I was using the API via Shortcuts in lieu of their app. Luckily now we have Timery! Beautiful design, indie developed, by someone who is trustworthy and cares about making a solid product. Timery strives to support all of the important Toggl features like clients and tasks whiting projects, and I think the developer plans to add reporting at some point, and at the same time, Timery also strives to support the latest modern features and design principles in iOS like Dark Mode, theme and icon variations, card interface, robust and ever-expanding Shortcuts support, and more. Whether you use the paid version of Toggl or the free level, this app is still awesome, and well worth the subscription!

Great start!

Finally! Timery for Mac! I have been waiting for this for so long... Toggl just can't build a Mac app to save itself. Timery's Mac app has a lot of the same great features of its iOS companion and is fast, efficient, and a breeze to work with. There are some things that I have noticed so far that I would like to see improved: 1) tabbing through the 'Edit Time Entry' only makes four stops. It would be great if it would continue past the description and into the time area. 2) tabbing through the time editing area (after manually clicking on the Start time, for example) only has one stop for the hours and minutes, so you must use the arrow keys on your keyboard to get to the minutes. It would be handy to have reminders to start a timer if you are in the middle of your workday and don't have a timer running. It would also be great to have a reports or chart to show daily and weekly summary by project, client, etc.

An essential tool for automated time tracking.

I use time tracking less as a work tool (I work regular hours on a more-or-less fixed schedule, so I know how much time I spend working) and more as a personal self-awareness check, logging things like time spent socializing and cleaning the house.

Toggl was always kind of interesting, but it's interface and integrations were always lackluster-until Timery.

The biggest factor to how effectively I track my time is ease of use: if I have to spend multiple minutes starting a timer every time I want to track something it rapidly becomes a wasted effort.

Timery is the solution for this problem: it's saved timers and widget features enable near-instantaneous tracking, and with practically zero effort.

It's supposed to be getting an update soon for Shortcuts integrations (the developer is pretty open about the progress on Twitter) and I intend to spend a fair amount out time configuring that system, but even in its current state it is hands down the best app for time tracking I've found.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Information

Compatibility

iPhone

Requires iOS 13.0 or later.

iPad

Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.

iPod touch

Requires iOS 13.0 or later.

Mac

Requires macOS 11.0 or later.

In-App Purchases

1. Timery Club: Monthly $0.99

2. Timery Club: Yearly $9.99

Family Sharing

With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

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‎Enhance your Toggl experience on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Timery! From starting your favorite timers with one click to managing your projects and tags, Timery brings you easy time tracking with Toggl. Timery works with your free or paid Toggl account but is developed independently of Toggl. The...

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To manage my time, I have printed out the syllibi for each of my classes and I use that to create a planner for when I need to do certain assignments each week. I check everything off as I go in order to keep track of what assignments I have and haven't completed.
I also use the Apple reminders app to remind myself of meetings and things I could potentially forget about.

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I have an excel spread sheet that I have used since the start of school. It helps me not to get overwhelmed by the things in D2L, and focus on what is due first and throughout the week. All classes are color coded by class, due date, and time/assignment. Some of my classes only post what is scheduled for the week, so each week I go in and update everything. To sort by due date you just highlight all of your columns, go to the sort tab, and click to sort by due date. When I complete something I just delete it from my spread sheet. It has been a lifesaver.

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I started using my Apple Notes at the beginning of the semester, because it allows me to keep everything organized. But also allows me to see what is due on what dates, along with what classes it is for. I update this every week either on Mondays or Tuesdays to be able to see what I need to get done that week and when I need to do it. Which allows me to plan my week according to my school work, and plan a couple days out of my week to doing school work that day.

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I have my iPhone calendar keeping me on track with my assignments and work. It has helped me to list important due dates and assignments in which will remind me a certain time to do them or turn them in. This also helps me manage when I work because it sets the time of hours of me working in which then gives me an idea of my free time of the day to do school work. Every dot lets me know that I have something to do. Each week when I'm informed of due dates of tests, homework and tests I go and list them in the calendar.

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I use Google calendar so that way I can link between multiple emails, people and events. I color code certain subjects of events which helps me understand what is coming up and how much of it I have that needs to get done. Its easy to schedule certain events for a repeated amount of time and also is helpful with reminders

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I use this list so I know what I need to get done for the day or week. So when I complete an item I just mark it off and work on the next thing. I also use my phones alarms to remind me when to start on my work.

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I've used several digital calendars to keep track of my work. I have my google calendar linked with my own personal calendar so taht way I can see all of the important events that are coming or assignments that may need to be completed. I also make sure to set alerts in order to know when something is happening in case I forgot.

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The apple reminders app i use pretty often because it sends the notification at what time and date i set and i can mark it off and see what ive done

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‎Reminders makes it easier than ever to remember the things you need to do. You can use it for all of life’s to-dos, including grocery lists, projects at work, or anything else you want to track. And with iCloud, it’s easy to keep all your devices in sync, so you’ll always have your reminders with y…

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I use a planner and write down what days I have classes, when i work, and what ther functions I have going on. This way I am able to see when I can do homework or where I should make room for it. It also helps to color code or have stickers

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I use both of these daily, I use collanote as my planner (weekly, daily, to-do) and notability to take notes , it is incredible and I learn a new function it has everyday!

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This app helps me keep my schedule and tasks in order

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Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Tawwab

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Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Tawwab

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https://lifeat.io/

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10 Unconventional Habits to Live Undistracted

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10 Unconventional Habits to Live Undistracted

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The Psychology of Procrastination - SimplePractice

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Find out about the psychology of procrastination-including the causes of procrastination, as well as how to overcome it.