Productivity

Discover the best articles, videos, and resources on productivity from around the web, from productivity hacks to productivity tools. Follow along on Refind to get the most relevant new links picked for you.
9 Best Articles in 2021
Harvard Business Review
Want to Be More Productive? Try Doing Less.Harvard Business Review
4 min read · 2020-05-21 · A step-by-step guide to pare down your to-do list.
productivity
todo
harvard business review
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When you stop doing the things that make you feel busy but aren’t getting you results, then you end up with more than enough time for what matters.
Write down the tasks you do in that area on one side of a piece of paper, and on the other, list successes you’ve had in that area. Then, identify which tasks directly contributed to those successes.
The New York Times
Stop Trying to Be ProductiveThe New York Times
7 min read · 2020-04-01 · The internet wants you to believe you aren’t doing enough with all that “extra time” you have now. But staying inside and attending to basic needs is plenty.
productivity
mental health
better living
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“I’m trying to be more OK with just being.”
This urge to overachieve, even in times of global crisis, is reflective of America’s always-on work culture.
Fast Company
How to transform your to-do list into a productivity power toolFast Company
3 min read · 2020-03-09 · It will likely require shifting your mindset in a few key ways.
productivity
to-do
project
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Neustadt says we really only have the bandwidth to have two or three priorities. “Otherwise we’re not living authentically, and are scattered and unfulfilled, filling time with stuff that doesn’t matter to us.”
Once you know your priorities, everything on your to-do list should serve them.
Dan Shipper
Surgical Reading: How to Read 12 Books at OnceDan Shipper
~13 min read · 2020-06-23 · How to efficiently get what you need out of reading, multiple books at a time
productivity
books
reading
Most highlighted
Reading shouldn’t be about checking titles off of a todo list, it should be an exploration of what fascinates you. 
when I’m reading a non-fiction book, I focus on locating and removing the most valuable pieces of information from it quickly as possible
blog.todoist.com
The Ultimate Guide to Personal Productivity Methodsblog.todoist.com
~20 min read · From 2015 · We’ve gathered all the most powerful productivity methods  in one place. Find the framework that fits best for your personality and projects.
productivity
time management
gtd
Scott Young
The Nine Habits to Increase Your EnergyScott Young
5 min read · 2019-12-14 · Your energy levels are the basis of your success and happiness. Here are nine habits you can start today to feel more energetic in work and at home.
productivity
self
work
The New York Times
What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect TeamThe New York Times
20+ min read · From 2017 · New research reveals surprising truths about why some work groups thrive and others falter.
google
teams
leadership
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If a company wants to outstrip its competitors, it needs to influence not only how people work but also how they work together.
The researchers eventually concluded that what distinguished the ‘‘good’’ teams from the dysfunctional groups was how teammates treated one another.
Lifehack
10 Simple Ways To Refocus a Wandering MindLifehack
6 min read · Apr 13th · Do you want to reach your goals and avoid distractions? Here are 10 simple ways to refocus your wandering mind and achieve success.
productivity
better living
focus
Most highlighted
There isn’t a “right” or “wrong” way to learn information, but there may be “better” ways to facilitate learning by increasing our attention span and mental endurance.
Parkinson’s Law holds that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion,”, which is why setting time limits can deflate a ballooning task.
BBC News (World)
Why procrastination is about managing emotions, not timeBBC News (World)
5 min read · 2020-01-23 · Address the real reasons you procrastinate and you’re more likely to start achieving your goals.
psychology
productivity
procrastination
New this week
Discover your personal productivity style, so you can reimagine time management for hybrid work
Fast Company
Learn Letter: Double Loop Learning, The Feynman Technqiue, Become a More Productive Learner
Eva Keiffenheim
7 Best Noise-Canceling Headphones For Productivity Boost
Lifehack
Walking as a Productivity System
Every
Japan’s 72 seasons can liberate us from our obsession with productivity
Quartz
Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’t
WIRED
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WIRED
Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’tWIRED
2 min read · Jul 27th · You want to be productive. Software wants to help. But even with a glut of tools claiming to make us all into taskmasters, we almost never master our tasks.
productivity
productivity tools
todo list
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Chen and Guzman became gradually chagrined. After five years of working on IDoneThis, they sold the company to a private equity firm. “We felt like we’d exhausted what we knew to do,” Guzman says. IDoneThis isn’t gone; you can still use it today. But its creators couldn’t shake the feeling that building the perfect system to effectively manage tasks was itself a task they couldn’t accomplish.
“We call it snowballing,” says Amir Salihefendić, who founded the app Todoist in 2007; it currently has 30 million users. “They keep postponing stuff. And then suddenly you have a hundred tasks that you need to do.” Weeks or months later, your Todoist app is a teetering ziggurat of tasks, too painful even to behold. Omer Perchik, the creator of another app—Any.do—calls this problem “the List of Shame.”
Lifehack
Why Making Yourself a Priority Boosts Your ProductivityLifehack
6 min read · Jul 13th · You won't have the mental energy needed to accomplish your goals if you don't prioritize yourself. Here's why you should make yourself a priority.
productivity
Most highlighted
this is your life, and the focus has to be on what you want to achieve in that life
Fast Company
How journaling reduces stress and increases productivityFast Company
2 min read · Jul 16th · If you’re caught in a cycle of overthinking and stress, the simple act of writing can be a powerful tool.
productivity
writing
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The idea is to keep a regular journal. When you have a bad experience in your personal or professional life, write about it a few times. When you write about it, describe the event in detail. Write about how it made you feel. Write about what you might do about it in the future. Devote 20-30 minutes to writing about events that really bother you.
the bad things that happen to you create little tears in the fabric of your life story. By writing about those events several times, you craft a story that knits the bad things into the narrative of your life. The more that these events become coherent to you, the less likely that they will be a source of later rumination.
Quartz
Japan’s 72 seasons can liberate us from our obsession with productivityQuartz
3 min read · Jul 26th · Japanese seasons, sekki, and their sub-sections, kō, are a different way of thinking about time and how we give it meaning.
productivity
Fast Company
The unspoken reasons employees don’t want remote work to endFast Company
4 min read · Jul 20th · Sure, they have more time and productivity is up. But there are also deeply personal reasons employees don’t want to go back to work as it was.
productivity
Every
Walking as a Productivity SystemEvery
~13 min read · Jul 28th · How walks create the foundation of Craig Mod's creative work
productivity
Eva Keiffenheim
Learn Letter: Double Loop Learning, The Feynman Technqiue, Become a More Productive LearnerEva Keiffenheim
3 min read · Jul 28th · 21st edition l Artwork by Dids Hi learners, have you ever wondered why clever individuals strive towards a goal without ever questioning the goal itself? So many people climb up the ladder only to…
productivity
Fast Company
Discover your personal productivity style, so you can reimagine time management for hybrid workFast Company
4 min read · Jul 27th · The founder of Working Simply says everyone has a distinctive cognitive style, so you need a unique set of work strategies personalized to suit your individual strengths, preferences, needs, and…
productivity
Lifehack
7 Best Noise-Canceling Headphones For Productivity BoostLifehack
5 min read · Jul 29th · With more people working from home, many are looking for headphones that block out distracting. Here are the 7 best noise-canceling headphones.
productivity
The Washington Post
Iceland tested a 4-day workweek. Employees were productive — and happier, researchers say.The Washington Post
5 min read · Jul 7th · Some of the trials’ key findings showed that a shorter week translated into increased well-being of employees among a range of indicators, from stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.
productivity
future of work
mental health
Productivity

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