The 1 simple hack that I use to be more productive and control my time in 2023

Okay, let’s get straight to the point.

To understand how to become more productive, you need to understand what exactly productivity is.

There is a thin line of difference between the terms ‘productivity’ and ‘time-management’.

What exactly is productivity and time management?

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First, let’s understand what productivity isn’t. Productivity doesn’t mean doing a lot of things.

Productivity simply means doing tasks efficiently, which then shows results much greater than the effort. You accomplish great things, but slowly and steadily, and with less effort.

When you start managing your time, you start focusing on finishing tasks that matter and taking the time to complete them efficiently.

So here’s the only hack that makes me 10x productive.

Don’t try to remember anything

There are so many things you want to remember and then take action on, but your brain is meant for doing things, and not remembering them.

There should be a way for you to record everything that you want to remember.

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How do I track everything?

I don’t use just one method of tracking all my thoughts. I have many different ways to do this:-

Emailing myself (weird, but works)

TIP - If you are someone who needs to constantly check their emails all the time, I would recommend using this as a reminder tool. Schedule emails for later dates when something is coming up so that even if you forget to look at your task manager, you won't forget anything.

Writing down events in the calendar (Usually involving other people)

Make sure the app that you use for this is available on all your devices so that you can immediately track everything, especially events, meetings, birthdays, appointments with other people etc.

To-Do lists (different lists for different areas of life)

This could simply be a little notepad that you carry around everywhere. But, using an app is more practical. I normally use the notes app on my phone to jot down tasks and thoughts I need to take action on later.

Alarms (for tasks that I can’t categorise in to-do lists)

Use alarms for tasks that you can’t categorise in your to-do list, or to remember things that aren’t tasks, but only reminders. If you are an Apple user, use the reminder or clock app on your device to set alarms/reminders.

When your brain isn’t busy remembering things, the efficiency of your tasks automatically improves. You start focusing on how to do the task, what the result should be etc.