Staying on top of all your responsibilities while also being productive and constantly evolving while also maintaining a great social life can be challenging. However, these productivity methods will make your life a lot easier.

 

 

1. The five-minute rule

 

This rule says when a task can be completed in five minutes you should do it now. By doing this you can save time procrastinating on this short task. 

For me, this applies mostly to phone calls, emails, or household tasks but it can apply to anything.

The five-minute rule causes you to make decisions quickly and therefore become more effective.

 

 

2. Resets & maintenance habits

 

Habits and routines tied to a time make discipline easier because it creates an automatic process so you don’t have to constantly contemplate what to do and when. 

This is especially helpful for Sunday resets and habits to keep my overall appearance fresh and clean – maintenance habits as I call them. It will literally be so effortless once you stick to your habits and resets for one to two months. You’ll always have a clean environment and feel put together which helps my mental health and mood so much.

 

 

3. Lower the bar

 

Starting is always the hardest part. To make it easier, lower your expectations. 

Instead of dedicating two hours to a task, tell yourself you only need to work on it for half an hour because half an hour seems more doable. If you‘ve started you most likely get in the flow and end up doing more than you anticipated instead of procrastinating this huge task.

Similarly, there is the 10-minute rule where you commit to working on a task for ten minutes. Often, once you start, you‘ll find it easier to continue. Otherwise, you‘ve done something instead of nothing and you train the discipline of starting. 

 

 

4. Parkinson’s law

 

„Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.“ – Parkinson‘s law by C. Northcote Parkinson

Essentially this law describes that a task or project takes as long as you calculate for it. If you say you‘ll need six hours to finish this project, you‘ll need six hours. If you say it‘ll take you three hours it will take three hours. 

It simply encourages you to size down the amount of time things will take you instead of unnecessarily wasting time because you set a long time frame that you don‘t actually need.

Of course, this shouldn‘t be used to set unreasonable deadlines.

 

 

5. The one more principle

 

This method is for pushing existing limits and opening the way for growth to happen. The principle is about always doing one more- one rep, one page, one chapter, one more step towards your goal after you thought you surpassed your limit.

Often our brain wants to quit before we need to. Often we have one more step within us. That‘s when the growth happens, when you push yourself to be better than yesterday. When you take one more step outside your comfort zone. 

 

 

6. The eat-the-frog method

 

Do the hard thing first thing in the morning. The first thing you should do when you start your work day is to tackle the most challenging, most uncomfortable task first. 

In the morning you have the most energy and willpower and if you don‘t tackle this task headfirst you‘ll procrastinate it until the last minute or put it off which is the most unproductive thing to do.

Also if you can cross it off your to-do list you’ll feel relieved and motivated to start the rest of your day with confidence.

 

 

7. The ivy lee method

 

At the end of each day write down the six most important tasks to accomplish the next day. Prioritize them in order of importance and focus on completing them in this order. If at the end of the day, all six tasks aren‘t finished move them to the next day’s to-do list.

With this method there‘s a focus on the essential tasks and the other ones are just extra. It ensures that important and urgent tasks are prioritized and get done asap. 

It gives you a plan for the day and therefore saves you from distractions that develop because of uncertainty. This also removes the friction of starting since you know exactly what you need to do, when and where you do it. 

 

 

8. The 5-second rule

 

This rule states that when you have an impulse to act on a goal, count backward from 5 and then take action. This prevents overthinking and procrastination.

For example, if you’re struggling to get out of bed in the morning, you might count down from five and physically swing your legs out of bed as soon as you reach one. The same principle can be applied to various situations, from making a phone call to starting a task you’ve been putting off.

The Five Second Rule encourages immediate action and can be a useful tool for breaking through the mental barriers that often hold us back from taking necessary steps toward our goals.

 

 

9. The mind-dump technique

 

Lastly, the brain dumping technique is a method to sort your thoughts and to-dos. Basically, you take a piece of paper and write down everything that‘s on your mind that you need to do. Write it all out. Then organize these thoughts to make them more structured and make a plan also using the previous methods. 

This clears the mental clutter and helps you stay on top of your responsibilities.