For those finding productivity difficult

4 productivity hacks from 4 of the best books on the topic

If you are like most then you find that productivity is a hassle. You find yourself overwhelmed by a flood of distractions. You don’t know what to do or how to get the work done. At times you find yourself tired or waiting for the motivation to hit you. Here are four productivity lessons learned from four of the best books on the topic.

Do the Hard Work First (Eat That frog by Brian Tracy)

If you have ever got to the end of the day and found that you are tired and have a hard and difficult task ahead of you, finding that you lack the energy then this hack is for you. In his book Tracy compares doing a hard task to eating a frog. It is not easy nor is it pleasant. But in eating the frog first and early we get it done with and have less difficult and more pleasant tasks left. Tracy argues that in not eating the frog today we have to eat two tomorrow.

So do the hard task first. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

Action leads to motivation (The motivation myth by Jeff Haden)

We often wait for the stars to align before doing a task. We wait for the surge of motivation to hit us. We waste so much time waiting to be motivated by extrinsic factors. In his book Haden argues that action leads to motivation more often than motivation leads to action. As such it is imperative to take action even when the stars do not align. Action begets more action.

Schedule Distractions (Deep Work by Cal Newport)

We all know the feeling of getting into the mood to work. We get our laptop out and start working when suddenly the phone notification goes off. We rush to check what news are happening and who may be texting us. The minute it took to check the phone destroyed the minutes we were working before. Even when we do get back to work, we are still thinking of the phone which is attention residue. Newport argues that instead of trying to fight distractions we should rather schedule them.

Schedule time to use the phone, schedule time for social media. This is delaying the action but allowing enough time for us to get the work done. A concept I like to call productive procrastination.

The 2-minute Rule (Atomic Habit by James Clear)

Have you ever felt lazy to do a task that would take a considerably short time to do? Whether its folding clothes or washing a few dishes or even practicing the concept of Kaizen by doing a few extra pushups today. Well, Clear in his book atomic habits suggests the 2-minute rule. The rule states that if something takes 2 minutes or less to do, we ought to do it immediately. This closes the feedback loop ad allows us to focus on other thigs will also giving us the satisfaction of having completed a task.

If it takes 2 minutes or less to do, do it immediately.

In practicing all of these productivity habits you will notice a considerable improvement in your productivity levels. Do the hard things first, schedule distractions, act before motivation and do 2-minute tasks immediately.