Project Management Tools
Use a Kanban-style project management tool like Trello for visual workflows, not just a simple to-do list.
A marketing team managed their work with a shared to-do list in a document. It was a long, intimidating list with no sense of priority or progress. They switched to a Kanban board in Trello. They created columns for “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” This visual workflow made it instantly clear what everyone was working on and where the bottlenecks were. The simple act of dragging a card from one column to the next provided a satisfying sense of accomplishment that a simple checklist never could.
Stop managing complex projects in a spreadsheet. Do use a dedicated project management tool to track tasks, deadlines, and dependencies.
A construction manager was trying to manage a complex building project with a massive spreadsheet. It had hundreds of rows, and he was constantly struggling to track dependencies and update deadlines. It was a recipe for disaster. He switched to a dedicated project management tool with a Gantt chart feature. He could now easily visualize the project timeline, see how a delay in one task would affect all the others, and assign tasks to different team members. It brought order and clarity to a complex process.
The #1 secret for getting your team to actually use your project management tool.
The secret is to make the tool the single source of truth for all project communication. A team leader introduced a new project management tool, but the team continued to discuss tasks and make decisions in email and Slack. The tool quickly became out of date. The leader made a new rule: “If it’s not in the project management tool, it doesn’t exist.” All discussions and status updates had to happen on the relevant task card. This forced the team to live in the tool, which is the key to successful adoption.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about project management software being a solution for poor project management.
The lie is that buying a fancy new project management tool will magically fix a dysfunctional team. A team with unclear goals, poor communication, and no accountability adopted a powerful new software. They were still a disorganized mess; they were just a disorganized mess with a more expensive tool. The software is just a tool. It can help a well-managed project run more efficiently, but it cannot fix underlying problems with a team’s culture or processes.
I wish I knew this about the importance of choosing a tool that fits your team’s workflow, not the other way around.
I once forced my creative team to use a very rigid, engineering-focused project management tool. They hated it. The tool’s structure didn’t fit their more fluid, visual workflow. The project was a failure because the team fought the tool at every step. I wish I had known to choose a tool that matched the team’s existing culture and workflow. For my next creative project, we used a more flexible, visual tool, and the team loved it and used it effectively.
I’m just going to say it: The best project management tool is the one your team will consistently use.
A manager spent weeks researching and choosing what he thought was the “perfect” project management tool. It was incredibly powerful but also very complex. His team found it intimidating and quickly abandoned it, reverting to their old spreadsheet. A simple, less-powerful tool that the team actually understands and uses every single day is infinitely more valuable than a “perfect” tool that sits on a shelf, unused. Consistent use is more important than a long feature list.
99% of teams make this one mistake when they adopt a new project management tool.
The most common mistake is not providing any training or establishing clear conventions for how the tool should be used. A team is given access to a new tool, and everyone starts using it in a slightly different way. The result is chaos. A successful adoption involves a clear onboarding session where the team jointly agrees on a set of conventions: “This is how we will name our tasks. This is what our different labels mean. This is our definition of ‘Done’.”
This one small action of creating a project template will save you hours of setup time forever.
A project manager found that she was creating the same set of tasks and checklists for every new client project she started. It was a repetitive, time-consuming process. She took one small action: she created a “Project Template” in her project management tool that contained all of her standard, repeatable tasks. Now, when a new project started, she could just copy the template, saving herself hours of manual setup and ensuring that no important steps were ever missed.
The reason your project is failing is because of a lack of clarity on who is doing what by when, which a good tool solves.
A project was falling behind schedule, and nobody knew why. The reason was a lack of clarity. Two different people thought the other person was responsible for a critical task, so neither of them did it. A good project management tool solves this. Every single task has a clear owner and a clear due date. This transparency creates accountability and eliminates the confusion that so often leads to project failure.
If you’re still managing your team’s work through email, you’re losing track of everything.
A manager was trying to keep track of her team’s projects through a series of long, confusing email chains. Important information was buried in replies, attachments were hard to find, and there was no single view of the project’s status. It was a nightmare. By moving the project to a dedicated tool, she was able to create a central, organized hub for all tasks, files, and conversations, which gave her and her team a new level of clarity and control.
Note-Taking Apps
Use a networked note-taking app like Obsidian or Roam Research to connect your ideas, not just a linear note-taking app like Apple Notes.
A writer used a traditional note-taking app where each note was a separate, isolated document. She struggled to see the connections between her ideas. She switched to a “networked” note-taking app. She could now create bi-directional links between her notes. A note about a specific book could link to a note about a related concept. This created a visual web of her knowledge, allowing her to discover surprising new connections and insights that were impossible to see in a linear list of notes.
Stop hoarding notes you’ll never read again. Do build a “second brain” that actively helps you think and create.
A person was a “digital hoarder.” He would clip hundreds of articles and notes into his note-taking app, but he would never process or revisit them. It was a digital graveyard. A better approach is to build a “second brain.” This involves not just capturing information, but actively processing it. You summarize the key ideas in your own words and connect the new note to your existing knowledge. The goal is not just to store information, but to create a personal knowledge base that you can use to generate new ideas.
The #1 hack for taking notes that you’ll actually use.
The secret is to summarize in your own words. A student would just copy and paste long passages from a textbook into his notes. He never really learned the material. A different student had a simple rule: she would never copy and paste. After reading a passage, she would close the book and try to summarize the key idea in her own words. This act of “progressive summarization” forced her to actually process and understand the information, which is the key to both retention and future use.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about the “perfect” note-taking system.
The lie is that there is a single, perfect note-taking system that works for everyone. A person will spend weeks trying to perfectly implement a complex system they saw on YouTube, like Zettelkasten or Building a Second Brain. They get so caught up in the “rules” of the system that they spend more time managing their notes than actually thinking. The best note-taking system is the one that is simple enough for you to consistently use and that is adapted to your own unique way of thinking.
I wish I knew this about the power of backlinks when I was a student taking notes in Microsoft Word.
As a student, I would take all my class notes in separate Word documents. A concept from my history class was related to a concept from my literature class, but there was no easy way to connect them. I wish I had known about backlinks. In a modern, networked note-taking app, I could have created a link between those two notes. This would have created a “backlink,” allowing me to see all the other notes that referenced a specific concept. It would have helped me to build a much richer, more interconnected understanding of my subjects.
I’m just going to say it: How you take notes is more important than where you take them.
A person was obsessed with finding the “perfect” note-taking app. She would switch to a new app every month, thinking that the right tool would magically make her more organized and creative. The reality is that the tool is secondary. A person with a clear, consistent process for capturing, organizing, and reviewing their ideas can be incredibly effective with just a simple text file. A person with no process will be a disorganized mess, even with the most powerful app in the world.
99% of note-takers make this one mistake that renders their notes useless.
The most common mistake is taking “verbatim” notes. A person in a meeting will try to transcribe every single word that is said. They end up with a long, messy document that they will never read again. A more effective note-taker listens for the key ideas, the decisions, and the action items. They are synthesizing, not transcribing. Their notes are shorter, clearer, and much more useful because they have already done the work of extracting the signal from the noise.
This one small habit of summarizing what you’ve learned in your own words will change your retention forever.
A student would read a chapter of a textbook and then immediately move on to the next one. A week later, he couldn’t remember what he had read. He adopted a new, small habit: after every chapter, he would close the book and spend five minutes writing a short, one-paragraph summary of the main ideas in his own words. This simple act of “retrieval practice” forced his brain to actively engage with the material, which dramatically improved his long-term retention.
The reason you can’t find anything in your notes is because you’re not using tags and links.
A person had thousands of notes in her note-taking app, but it was a black hole. She couldn’t find anything. The reason was that her notes were just a flat list of documents. She started to use tags and links. She would add tags like #productivity or #project-idea to her notes. She would also link related notes together. This created a much more organized and discoverable knowledge base. She could now easily find all the notes related to a specific topic or project.
If you’re still just highlighting text, you’re losing the opportunity to truly engage with the information.
A student would read an article and highlight dozens of passages. This felt productive, but studies have shown that highlighting is one of the least effective learning techniques. It’s a passive activity. A more effective approach is to make “margin notes.” Instead of just highlighting a sentence, you should write a short note in the margin that explains why it’s important or how it connects to something else you know. This turns a passive act into an active conversation with the text.
Communication Tools
Use asynchronous communication tools like Slack or Twist for non-urgent matters, not just defaulting to synchronous meetings.
A team had a “quick question,” so they scheduled a 30-minute meeting with five people. The meeting ended up taking up two and a half hours of collective company time to resolve a minor issue. A smarter team would use an asynchronous tool. The person with the question would post it in a shared channel. The other team members could then respond with their thoughts when they had a free moment. This asynchronous approach respects everyone’s focus and is a much more efficient way to handle non-urgent communication.
Stop using email for internal team communication. Do use a channel-based messaging app to keep conversations organized and transparent.
A project team was trying to communicate via a massive group email chain. It was impossible to follow the conversation, attachments were getting lost, and new team members had no context. They switched to a channel-based messaging app. They created a dedicated channel for the project. Now, all conversations, files, and decisions related to that project were in one, single, searchable place. It made their communication organized, transparent, and much more efficient.
The #1 secret for taming your Slack notifications and reclaiming your focus.
The secret is to be ruthless about muting channels and customizing your notifications. A new employee joined a company and was immediately added to 50 different Slack channels. His computer was a constant stream of notifications, and he couldn’t get any work done. He learned to be aggressive. He muted every single channel that was not directly related to his immediate work. He also customized his settings to only be notified if someone specifically mentioned him by name. This gave him back control over his attention.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about the “death of email”.
The lie is that with the rise of modern chat tools, email is dead. While chat is better for quick, internal team communication, email is still the undefeated champion for formal, external communication with clients, customers, and partners. It is a universal, open standard that everyone has. Trying to force a client to join your company’s private Slack channel is unprofessional and creates friction. Email is not dead; its role has just become more specialized.
I wish I knew this about the importance of establishing clear communication guidelines when my team first adopted Slack.
When my team first started using Slack, it was chaos. People were using @channel for non-urgent announcements, having private conversations in public channels, and expecting an instant response at all hours of the day. We were all stressed out. I wish we had established clear guidelines from day one: what is the purpose of each channel? What are the expectations for response times? When is it appropriate to use a direct message versus a public channel? These rules of the road are essential.
I’m just going to say it: A “quick question” on Slack is the biggest productivity killer in the modern workplace.
A developer is in a state of deep focus, working on a complex problem. A colleague sends him a direct message that says, “Hey, got a quick question?” Even if the question itself is simple, this one small interruption has completely broken the developer’s state of flow. It can take up to 20 minutes to get back into that deep focus state. That “quick question” just cost the company a huge amount of productivity. A better approach is to batch non-urgent questions and respect your colleagues’ focus time.
99% of remote teams make this one mistake with their communication tools.
The most common mistake is not having a clear distinction between what belongs in a chat tool and what belongs in a more permanent, long-form document. A team will make a major decision in a fast-moving Slack thread. A month later, nobody can find the decision or remember the context. A better team will have the discussion in chat, but then they will document the final decision and the “why” behind it in a shared document, creating a permanent and easily discoverable record.
This one small action of marking your status as “in a focus session” will change the way you get deep work done forever.
A writer was constantly being interrupted by messages from her colleagues while she was trying to work on a difficult article. She started taking one small action: whenever she started a block of deep work, she would set her status in the team chat app to “In a focus session – please do not disturb.” This simple signal to her colleagues set a clear expectation that she was not available for interruptions, which allowed her to protect her focus and get her most important work done.
The reason you’re always in meetings is because you’re not using asynchronous communication effectively.
A manager’s calendar was a wall of back-to-back meetings. Most of these meetings were just “status updates” where people would go around in a circle and say what they were working on. This is a massive waste of synchronous time. This entire category of meeting could be replaced with a simple, daily asynchronous check-in, where each person posts their update in a shared channel. This would free up hours of time for everyone to do actual work.
If you’re still trying to have a complex conversation in a group chat, you’re losing nuance and creating confusion.
A team was trying to debate a complex strategic decision in a large group chat. The conversation was chaotic, people were talking over each other, and tone was being misconstrued. It was a frustrating and unproductive experience. Chat is great for quick, simple questions. But for a complex, nuanced conversation, it’s a terrible tool. A much better approach would be to write out your thoughts in a long-form document and then have a short, synchronous meeting to discuss it.
To-Do List Apps
Use a to-do list app with features like recurring tasks and prioritization, not just a simple checklist.
A person was using a simple sticky note for his to-do list. He had to manually re-write his daily tasks every single day. He switched to a modern to-do list app. He could now create recurring tasks for his daily habits, he could set reminders for important deadlines, and he could use priority levels to see what was most important. The app wasn’t just a list; it was a system that helped him to organize and manage his commitments more effectively.
Stop making a to-do list that is a mile long. Do create a daily “shortlist” of your most important tasks instead.
A person’s to-do list had over 100 items on it. Looking at it every morning was overwhelming and demotivating. She adopted a new approach. At the end of each day, she would look at her master list and choose just the three to five “Most Important Tasks” (MITs) for the next day. This short, achievable daily list gave her a clear focus and a sense of accomplishment when she completed it, instead of the constant feeling of being behind.
The #1 tip for finally achieving “inbox zero” for your tasks.
The secret is to process your to-do list inbox just like you would your email inbox. A person would just let new tasks pile up in his app’s inbox. It was a mess. He started to follow a simple system: for every new task that came in, he would immediately decide what to do with it. If it took less than two minutes, he would do it right away. If not, he would assign it to a specific project and give it a due date. This habit of processing his inbox to zero every day kept his system organized and trustworthy.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about “getting things done” (GTD).
The lie is that the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) methodology is a rigid, complex system that you have to follow perfectly. A person tried to implement every single aspect of the GTD system at once and became overwhelmed by the complexity of managing all the different lists and contexts. The reality is that you can get 80% of the benefit of GTD from its single, most important core principle: get your tasks out of your head and into a trusted, external system.
I wish I knew this about the “two-minute rule” when I was constantly procrastinating on small tasks.
My to-do list was full of small, nagging tasks that I would procrastinate on for weeks, like “reply to that email” or “make a phone call.” I wish I had known about the two-minute rule. The rule is simple: if a new task comes in and you can do it in two minutes or less, do it immediately instead of writing it down. This one small habit prevented all those tiny tasks from ever cluttering up my to-do list and my mind.
I’m just going to say it: Your to-do list is not a strategy.
A person was very good at checking items off his to-do list. He felt productive. But at the end of the year, he realized he hadn’t made any progress on his major, long-term goals. His to-do list was full of “busy work,” not important work. A to-do list is a tactic for managing tasks. It is not a substitute for a higher-level strategy. You must first have clear goals, and then your to-do list should be filled with the concrete actions that will move you towards those goals.
99% of people make this one mistake with their to-do list that sets them up for failure.
The most common mistake is putting vague, poorly-defined items on their to-do list. A person will have an item that just says “Mom’s birthday.” This is not a task; it’s a project. What is the very next physical action you need to take? A better to-do list item would be “Brainstorm gift ideas for Mom’s birthday” or “Call the restaurant to make a reservation.” A good to-do list is made up of concrete, physical, next actions.
This one small action of assigning a verb to every task on your list will change your clarity and motivation forever.
A person’s to-do list had items like “Taxes” and “Presentation.” These vague nouns were intimidating and it was unclear what needed to be done. He started a new habit: every single item on his list had to start with a verb. “Taxes” became “Call the accountant to schedule an appointment.” “Presentation” became “Create an outline for the Q3 presentation.” This one small action transformed his vague list of projects into a clear list of actionable steps.
The reason you’re not getting anything done is because your to-do list is full of vague projects, not concrete next actions.
A person was staring at her to-do list, feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating. The top item was “Redesign the website.” This is a massive project, not a single task. The reason she was stuck was because the “next action” was not clear. If she had broken it down into a series of concrete next actions, like “Research five competitor websites,” she would have had a clear and easy place to start.
If you’re still keeping your to-do list in your head, you’re losing mental energy and forgetting important things.
A person tried to remember all the things he had to do in his head. His brain was constantly trying to juggle his commitments, and he was always worried that he was forgetting something. This “open loop” was a huge source of mental stress and anxiety. By writing every single task and commitment down in a trusted, external to-do list app, he was able to free up his mental RAM. His brain could then be used for what it’s good at—having ideas—not for being a bad filing cabinet.
Calendar Apps
Use your calendar as a tool for time-blocking, not just for scheduling appointments.
A person’s calendar was just a list of the meetings she had to attend. Her days were reactive and chaotic. She started to use “time-blocking.” She would create calendar events for her own important tasks, like “Work on the Q3 report” or “Prepare for the presentation.” This proactive approach of scheduling her own priorities transformed her calendar from a list of obligations to others into a concrete plan for her own productive work.
Stop letting other people control your calendar. Do block off time for your own priorities and deep work.
A knowledge worker’s calendar was a sea of meetings that other people had scheduled. He had no time left for the focused, “deep work” that was the most important part of his job. He started to take control. He blocked off a three-hour “focus time” block on his calendar every single morning. When people tried to schedule a meeting during that time, they could see that he was busy. This simple, defensive act of protecting his own time was the key to his productivity.
The #1 secret for a “zero-based” calendar that accounts for every minute of your day.
The secret is to schedule everything, including your breaks and personal time. A highly productive person’s calendar doesn’t just have work tasks on it. It has blocks for “lunch,” “go for a walk,” and “read a book.” By creating a “zero-based” schedule where every part of the day has an intention, you can ensure that you are making time not just for your work, but also for the rest and rejuvenation that is essential for sustainable performance.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about multitasking.
The lie is that multitasking is an effective way to get more done. A person would try to answer emails while she was in a meeting and also try to reply to a chat message. The reality is that she was not multitasking; she was “context switching” very quickly. She was doing a poor job at all three tasks. The human brain is not designed to focus on multiple things at once. The only way to do high-quality, focused work is to do one thing at a time.
I wish I knew this about the power of a shared team calendar when I was constantly asking my colleagues if they were free.
My team used to schedule meetings by sending out a long email chain: “Are you free on Tuesday at 2? No? How about Wednesday at 10?” It was an incredibly inefficient process. I wish I had known about the power of a simple, shared team calendar. By having visibility into each other’s schedules, we could easily find a time that worked for everyone in a matter of seconds, without the endless back-and-forth emails.
I’m just going to say it: If it’s not on your calendar, it’s not going to happen.
A person had a vague intention to “go to the gym more often.” A month went by, and he hadn’t gone once. An intention is not a plan. He decided to get serious. He scheduled three specific, one-hour “gym” appointments on his calendar for the next week. By treating his workouts with the same importance as a meeting with his boss, he was much more likely to actually do them. Your calendar is not just a record of your commitments; it’s a tool for making them happen.
99% of professionals make this one mistake with their calendar.
The most common mistake is not including a clear agenda and goal for every meeting they schedule. A manager will send out a calendar invitation with a vague title like “Project Sync.” The people who are invited have no idea what the purpose of the meeting is or how to prepare for it. The meeting ends up being an unfocused, rambling conversation. A good meeting invitation always includes a clear agenda and a desired outcome.
This one small habit of scheduling time for planning your week will change your productivity forever.
A person would start her Monday morning feeling overwhelmed and reactive, just dealing with whatever came up in her inbox. She adopted a new, small habit: she would schedule 30 minutes on her calendar every Friday afternoon to plan the upcoming week. She would review her goals, identify her key priorities, and schedule the important blocks of work on her calendar. This one small habit of proactive planning transformed her from being a firefighter to being the architect of her own week.
The reason you feel so busy but not productive is because you’re letting your calendar be reactive, not proactive.
A person’s calendar was full, but at the end of the day, he felt like he hadn’t accomplished anything important. The reason was that his calendar was entirely filled with other people’s priorities. He was spending all his time reacting to meeting invitations and urgent requests. He wasn’t making any progress on his own long-term, important goals. A productive person’s calendar has a healthy balance of reactive meetings and large, proactive blocks of time for their own deep work.
If you’re still not using a scheduling link to let others book time with you, you’re losing hours to back-and-forth emails.
A salesperson was trying to schedule a demo with a potential client. The process involved a chain of five or six emails: “How about Tuesday at 3?” “No, I’m busy then. How about Wednesday?” It was a huge waste of time. She started using a scheduling tool like Calendly. She could just send the client a link to her calendar, and they could choose an available time that worked for them. This one simple tool completely eliminated the tedious back-and-forth of scheduling.
Focus & Distraction Blocking Apps
Use a distraction blocking app to create a focused work environment, not just relying on willpower.
A student was trying to write an important paper. He would try to focus, but his willpower was no match for the constant lure of social media and news websites. He kept getting distracted. He installed a distraction blocking app. For a 90-minute work session, the app would completely block his access to the distracting websites. He was amazed at how much he was able to get done when the temptation was simply removed. Willpower is a finite resource; a focus app is a system.
Stop trying to fight the temptation of social media and news sites. Do use technology to remove the temptation altogether.
A person would try to be disciplined and not check Twitter while he was working. The little blue bird icon was always there in his bookmarks bar, calling to him. It was a constant battle of willpower. He decided to stop fighting. He used a distraction blocker to completely block the site during his work hours. By removing the temptation from his environment, he no longer had to waste his precious mental energy on resisting it. He could just focus on his work.
The #1 tip for configuring your focus app for maximum effectiveness.
The most important tip is to make it difficult to turn off. A person used a focus app, but when he got the urge to check a distracting site, he could just easily disable the app. The app was not very effective. He switched to a stricter app that had a “locked mode.” Once he started a focus session, it was impossible for him to disable it until the timer was up. This commitment device was the key to finally breaking his cycle of distraction.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about the “need” to be constantly connected.
The lie, promoted by the modern digital environment, is that you need to be constantly available and responsive to be a productive employee. A manager was proud of how quickly he would respond to every email and Slack message. The reality was that because he was constantly distracted, he was never able to engage in the kind of deep, focused thinking that was required to solve the biggest problems his team was facing. The ability to disconnect is not a weakness; it’s a prerequisite for high-quality work.
I wish I knew this about the Pomodoro Technique when I was a student struggling to study for long periods.
As a student, I would try to study for a final exam for four hours straight. After about an hour, my focus would be gone, and I would just be staring at the page. I wish I had known about the Pomodoro Technique. The technique is simple: you work in a focused, 25-minute sprint, and then you take a 5-minute break. This cycle of short bursts of intense focus followed by a brief period of rest is a much more sustainable and effective way to study than trying to force a multi-hour marathon session.
I’m just going to say it: The modern internet is designed to be distracting, and you need to fight back.
Social media feeds with their infinite scroll, news websites with their clickbait headlines, and the constant stream of notifications—these are not designed to help you focus. They are designed by some of the smartest people in the world with the express purpose of capturing and holding your attention. In this “attention economy,” focus is not the default state. It is a skill that must be cultivated and an environment that must be actively defended with tools like distraction blockers.
99% of people make this one mistake when they try to use a distraction blocker.
The most common mistake is being unrealistic. A person will try to block all distracting websites for eight hours straight. They will inevitably fail and then give up on the tool entirely. A better approach is to start small. Try a single, 25-minute focused work session in the morning. Success with a small goal will build your confidence and your “focus muscle,” allowing you to gradually increase the duration of your focus blocks over time.
This one small action of scheduling your “distraction time” will change your ability to focus during work blocks forever.
A person was constantly fighting the urge to check social media while she was working. She decided to try a new tactic. She scheduled a specific, 30-minute block on her calendar in the afternoon for “guilt-free distraction time.” When she felt the urge to get distracted during a work block, she could tell herself, “Nope, not now. I have time scheduled for that later.” This one small action made it much easier to resist the temptation in the moment.
The reason you can’t focus is because you haven’t created an environment that is conducive to deep work.
A person was trying to do important work in a noisy open office, with his phone on his desk buzzing with notifications, and a dozen browser tabs open. He was wondering why he couldn’t focus. His environment was a minefield of distractions. To do deep work, you have to create a “deep work” environment. This means finding a quiet space, putting your phone in another room, closing all unnecessary applications, and signaling to others that you are not to be disturbed.
If you’re still getting derailed by notifications every five minutes, you’re losing your ability to think deeply.
Imagine trying to have a serious conversation with someone who gets interrupted every five minutes. You would never get to a deep level of discussion. The same is true for your own thoughts. Every notification that pops up on your screen is a small interruption that pulls you out of your current train of thought. This constant context switching prevents you from entering the state of deep, sustained focus that is required for creativity, problem-solving, and high-quality work.
Automation Tools (Zapier/IFTTT)
Use automation tools to connect your apps and eliminate manual data entry, not just for simple social media posting.
A marketer used an automation tool to automatically post her new blog posts to Twitter. It was a simple, useful automation. A more advanced user used the same tool to create a powerful workflow. When a new customer paid an invoice in her accounting software, the tool would automatically add them to her email marketing list, create a new folder for them in her cloud storage, and send a welcome message to her team’s chat app. She was using automation to orchestrate her entire business process.
Stop doing repetitive, boring tasks. Do automate them and free up your time for more creative work.
A project manager spent an hour every Monday morning manually creating a report by copying and pasting data from three different applications into a spreadsheet. It was the most boring part of her week. She discovered a no-code automation tool. She was able to build a simple “zap” that would automatically pull the data from the different apps and create the report for her. This freed up her time and her mental energy to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of her job.
The #1 secret for finding tasks to automate in your workflow.
The secret is to pay attention to the small, repetitive tasks that you do every single day. For one week, a person kept a simple log of every time she had to copy and paste a piece of information from one application to another. At the end of the week, she had a list of a dozen different, small, boring tasks. These were the perfect candidates for automation. The best automations are the ones that solve a small but frequent personal annoyance.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about automation being “too technical” for non-developers.
The lie is that you need to know how to code to automate your work. A small business owner who had no technical skills thought that automation was beyond her reach. She discovered a no-code automation platform like Zapier. With its simple, visual, “if this, then that” interface, she was able to connect the different apps she used to run her business and automate her repetitive tasks, all without writing a single line of code. These tools have democratized the power of automation.
I wish I knew this about the power of webhooks when I first started using Zapier.
When I first started using automation tools, I would use automations that would “poll” for new data every 15 minutes. It was not real-time. I wish I had known about webhooks. A webhook is a way for an application to send an instant, real-time notification to another application when an event happens. By using webhooks as the trigger for my automations, I was able to create workflows that ran instantly, instead of having to wait for the next 15-minute polling cycle.
I’m just going to say it: You are losing hours every week by not using a tool like Zapier or IFTTT.
Think about all the small, manual tasks you do every day. Saving email attachments to a specific folder. Copying a new lead from a form into a spreadsheet. Sharing a link to multiple social media platforms. Each of these tasks might only take a minute or two. But compounded over a week, a month, and a year, they add up to a huge amount of wasted time. A no-code automation tool can handle all of this work for you in the background, giving you back hours of your life.
99% of knowledge workers make this one mistake by not automating their repetitive tasks.
The most common mistake is thinking, “It’s faster to just do it myself than to figure out how to automate it.” This is true for a single instance of the task. But it’s a short-sighted view. A person will spend five minutes every day on a manual task. A smarter person will invest one hour, one time, to automate that task. Over the course of a year, the second person will have saved over 20 hours of their time. The initial investment in automation pays for itself many times over.
This one small action of automating a single, five-minute daily task will save you over 20 hours a year.
An office manager had a daily task of downloading a report from one system and emailing it to her team. It took her about five minutes every day. She took one small action: she spent an hour learning how to use an automation tool to do it for her. This one-time, one-hour investment saved her five minutes a day. That adds up to about 25 minutes a week, or over 21 hours over the course of a year. That’s a huge return on investment.
The reason you’re so burned out is because you’re spending too much time on mindless, automatable work.
A person felt completely drained by his job. The reason was that a huge portion of his day was spent on “soul-crushing” administrative work: copying and pasting data, generating reports, and sending reminder emails. This kind of mindless, repetitive work is a major contributor to burnout. By automating these tasks, he could free up his cognitive resources to focus on the challenging, creative, and strategic work that was actually engaging and fulfilling.
If you’re still copying and pasting information between your apps, you’re losing time and making errors.
An employee’s job was to copy the customer information from a new online order and paste it into the company’s shipping software. It was a manual and error-prone process. She would sometimes make a typo in the address, which would result in a costly shipping error. By using an automation tool to connect the two systems, the data could be transferred automatically and perfectly every single time. Automation doesn’t just save time; it improves accuracy and reduces costly human errors.
The “Second Brain” Concept
Use a digital “second brain” to store and organize your knowledge, not just relying on your own memory.
A writer had a great idea for an article while she was on a walk. By the time she got home, she had forgotten it. Our brains are great at having ideas, but terrible at remembering them. She started using a “second brain” system. She used a simple note-taking app on her phone to instantly capture any idea or insight. This external system became a reliable, trusted place to store her knowledge, freeing her mind to do what it does best: think.
Stop hoarding notes you’ll never read again. Do build a “second brain” that actively helps you think and create.
A person was a “digital hoarder.” He would clip hundreds of articles and notes into a folder, but he would never look at them again. It was a digital junkyard. A “second brain” is not just about collecting; it’s about connecting. A better approach is to actively process the information you save. You summarize the key ideas in your own words and link them to other related notes. This transforms your notes from a passive archive into an active tool for generating new insights.
The #1 tip for building a second brain that actually works.
The secret is to make it incredibly easy to capture new information. A person had a complex, multi-step process for adding a new note to his system. As a result, he rarely did it. A better system is a frictionless one. You should be able to capture a new idea, a link, or a highlight with a single click or a voice command, no matter where you are. The less friction there is in the capture process, the more likely you are to actually use your second brain consistently.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about having a “bad memory”.
The lie is that memory is a static, innate quality. A person thought she just had a “bad memory” because she was always forgetting things. The reality is that she didn’t have a bad memory; she had a bad system. By creating an external “second brain” to store and organize important information, she was able to “outsource” the task of remembering. Her ability to recall information dramatically improved, not because her brain changed, but because she had a better system to support it.
I wish I knew this about the PARA method (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) when I first started building my second brain.
When I first started taking digital notes, my system was a chaotic mess of hundreds of different folders and tags. I couldn’t find anything. I wish I had known about the PARA method. It’s a simple, action-oriented way to organize your digital information into just four categories: Projects (things you are actively working on), Areas (your broad areas of responsibility), Resources (your topics of interest), and Archives (your completed or inactive items). This simple framework brought an immediate sense of order and clarity to my digital life.
I’m just going to say it: Your brain is for having ideas, not for holding them.
A creative professional was trying to keep track of all her project ideas, her to-do lists, and her reference materials in her head. Her mind felt cluttered and stressed. The psychologist David Allen said it best: “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” By externalizing all of this information into a trusted, digital “second brain,” she was able to clear her mental RAM. This created the mental space and clarity she needed for her best creative and strategic thinking.
99% of people make this one mistake when they try to build a second brain.
The most common mistake is spending more time organizing their notes than actually using them. A person will create a beautiful, complex system of nested folders and intricate tags. They become a “digital librarian,” constantly fiddling with the organization of their system. A better approach is to keep the organization as simple as possible and to focus on the process of reviewing and connecting your notes to generate new ideas. The goal is to be a creator, not a curator.
This one small habit of conducting a weekly review of your second brain will change its effectiveness forever.
A person was diligently capturing notes and ideas into his second brain, but he still felt like he wasn’t getting the full benefit. He started a new, small habit: every Friday, he would spend 30 minutes conducting a “weekly review.” He would look through the notes he had captured that week, he would organize them, and he would think about how they connected to his current projects and goals. This regular habit of review is what transformed his second brain from a passive data dump into an active and valuable strategic tool.
The reason you’re not more creative is because you’re not connecting your ideas, which a second brain helps you do.
Creativity is often just about connecting existing ideas in new and surprising ways. A person had a lot of great ideas, but they were all in separate, isolated notes. He couldn’t see the bigger picture. In a networked “second brain,” where ideas are linked together, he could follow a trail of association from one note to another. This ability to easily traverse and connect his knowledge was a powerful engine for creativity, helping him to generate new insights that he would have never found otherwise.
If you’re still not building a second brain, you’re losing your most valuable asset: your knowledge.
A knowledge worker’s value is in what she knows and her ability to generate new ideas. Yet, most people have no system for capturing and developing their knowledge over time. They will read a brilliant book, have a great idea, and then promptly forget it. A “second brain” is a system for compounding your knowledge. Every idea you capture and every note you take makes the entire system more valuable. It is the single best investment you can make in your long-term intellectual and professional growth.
Collaboration Suites (Google Workspace/Microsoft 365)
Use the full power of your collaboration suite, not just email and word processing.
A company was paying for a full collaboration suite but was only using it for email and a simple word processor. They didn’t realize that the suite also included powerful tools for shared spreadsheets, collaborative presentations, internal team sites, and task management. By taking the time to explore and use all the integrated tools in the suite, they were able to replace a handful of other, separate applications and create a much more unified and efficient workflow.
Stop sending file attachments back and forth. Do collaborate on a single, shared document in real-time instead.
A team was working on a report. They would email a Word document back and forth. The result was a dozen different versions of the file, like “report_v2_final_JRs_edits.docx.” Nobody knew which was the latest version. A smarter team created a single document in their collaboration suite. Everyone could now edit the same document, at the same time, and see each other’s changes in real-time. There was only one version of the truth, which made collaboration dramatically simpler and more efficient.
The #1 secret for mastering Google Sheets or Excel that will make you a workplace superstar.
The secret is not learning a hundred complex functions, but mastering the “pivot table.” A junior analyst was asked to summarize a massive spreadsheet of sales data. She was overwhelmed. Her mentor showed her how to use a pivot table. In less than a minute, she was able to drag and drop different fields to instantly summarize the data, calculate totals by region, and find the top-selling products. The pivot table is the single most powerful tool for quickly analyzing and summarizing large datasets.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about the “best” collaboration suite.
The lie is that one collaboration suite is definitively “better” than the other. The internet is full of endless debates between fans of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. The reality is that both are incredibly powerful and mature platforms. For 95% of businesses, the “best” suite is simply the one that your team is already familiar with and that integrates well with your existing tools. The differences between them are far less important than your team’s ability to use the chosen one effectively.
I wish I knew this about the power of collaborative whiteboarding tools like Miro or Jamboard when my team went remote.
When my team first went remote, we struggled to have effective brainstorming sessions over a video call. It was difficult to visualize ideas. I wish I had known about the collaborative whiteboarding tools that were part of our collaboration suite. With a tool like Miro, our entire team could be on the same infinite virtual whiteboard, adding sticky notes, drawing diagrams, and organizing ideas in real-time. It was the key to unlocking creative and collaborative work in a remote environment.
I’m just going to say it: Your choice of collaboration suite has a huge impact on your team’s culture.
A company that uses a traditional, on-premise suite with a focus on desktop applications will often have a more formal and siloed culture. A company that embraces a modern, cloud-native collaboration suite like Google Workspace often has a more transparent, collaborative, and faster-moving culture. The tools we use shape the way we communicate and work together. Choosing a collaboration suite is not just a technology decision; it’s a culture decision.
99% of teams make this one mistake with their shared file storage.
The most common mistake is having a completely disorganized, “junk drawer” of a shared drive. A team will have thousands of files with no clear folder structure and inconsistent naming conventions. Nobody can find anything. A more effective team will take the time to create a simple, logical folder structure that everyone understands and agrees to use. This one small act of organizational hygiene can save the team countless hours of searching for lost files.
This one small action of using shared templates for documents and spreadsheets will change your team’s consistency and efficiency forever.
A project manager noticed that every time a new project started, the team would create a new project plan document from scratch, and they were all formatted differently. She took one small action: she created a standardized “Project Plan Template” in their shared collaboration suite. Now, every new project started from the same, well-structured template. This not only saved time but also ensured that all of their project plans were consistent and professional.
The reason your team is so disorganized is because you’re not using your collaboration suite to its full potential.
A team was using their collaboration suite for email and calendar, but they were still using a separate, third-party app for task management and another one for team chat. This fragmentation was creating confusion and inefficiency. By exploring and adopting the integrated task management and chat applications that were already included in their existing collaboration suite, they were able to create a much more unified and seamless workflow without having to pay for extra tools.
If you’re still paying for separate tools for email, calendar, and file storage, you’re losing money and integration benefits.
A small business was paying for an email service from one company, a file storage service from another, and a calendar service from a third. The tools didn’t work well together, and the total cost was high. By switching to a single, integrated collaboration suite like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, they were able to get all of these tools, plus many more, for a single, lower price. The tight integration between the different apps also made their workflow much more efficient.
The Minimalist Approach to Productivity Tech
Use a few, carefully chosen tools that work well together, not a new app for every little task.
A productivity enthusiast had a separate app for her to-do list, her notes, her calendar, and her habits. Her digital life was fragmented across a dozen different apps. She decided to adopt a minimalist approach. She found a single, powerful tool that could handle most of these functions in one place. By reducing the number of tools she used, she reduced the complexity of her system and the mental overhead of having to manage so many different applications.
Stop chasing the latest “productivity hack” or app. Do focus on building simple, sustainable systems instead.
A person was a “productivity porn” addict. He would spend hours every week watching YouTube videos about the latest new app or a complex new note-taking methodology. He was constantly switching his tools and his system, and he never actually got any work done. He finally realized that the secret to productivity is not a new app; it’s a simple, boring, and consistent system. He picked a few basic tools and focused on building sustainable habits, not on chasing the next shiny object.
The #1 secret for a minimalist productivity system that actually works.
The secret is to choose tools that are simple, flexible, and open. A person tried to use a very rigid, opinionated productivity app. When her needs changed slightly, the app couldn’t adapt, and she had to abandon it. A minimalist system is often built on a foundation of incredibly simple and flexible tools, like a plain text file for notes or a simple Kanban board. These tools can be adapted to any workflow and will still be useful years from now, long after the trendy new apps have disappeared.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about needing more apps to be more productive.
The lie is that if you just find the right combination of apps, you will become a productivity superhero. The tech industry wants you to believe that there is a technological solution for every problem. The reality is that productivity is not about the apps you use; it’s about your habits, your focus, and your ability to prioritize. A person with clear goals and good habits can be incredibly productive with just a pen and a piece of paper.
I wish I knew this about the “less but better” philosophy when I was drowning in productivity apps.
I used to have an app for everything. My phone’s home screen was a cluttered mess of different to-do lists, note-taking apps, and habit trackers. I was spending more time managing my productivity system than I was actually being productive. I wish I had discovered the “less but better” philosophy earlier. By ruthlessly culling the number of tools I used and focusing on just a few that were essential, I was able to create a much simpler, more focused, and ultimately more effective system.
I’m just going to say it: The most productive people use the fewest tools.
Think about a master craftsman. She doesn’t have a hundred different, specialized tools. She has a few, high-quality tools that she knows how to use incredibly well. The same is true for a productive knowledge worker. They are not constantly switching to the latest new app. They have found a small, trusted set of tools that work for them, and they have mastered them. They are focused on doing the work, not on fiddling with the tools.
99% of productivity enthusiasts make this one mistake.
The most common mistake is procrastinating on their real work by endlessly optimizing their productivity system. A person will spend an entire weekend redesigning their note-taking system or trying out a new to-do list app. This feels productive, but it is a form of “procrasti-planning.” It’s an easy, fun task that provides the illusion of progress, while allowing them to avoid the difficult, important work they should actually be doing.
This one small action of doing a “tool audit” and deleting apps you don’t use will change your focus and clarity forever.
A person’s phone and computer were cluttered with dozens of apps she had downloaded over the years but rarely used. Each app was a small source of distraction and mental clutter. She took one small action: she went through all of her devices and ruthlessly deleted every single app she hadn’t used in the last three months. This digital decluttering process was incredibly liberating. It left her with a clean, simple, and focused digital environment that only contained the tools she actually needed.
The reason you’re not productive is because you’re spending more time managing your productivity tools than actually doing the work.
A person’s “simple” productivity system involved five different apps that had to be manually synced every day. The process of just maintaining the system took up a significant portion of his morning. His system had become the work. The goal of a productivity system is to be as invisible as possible. It should be a simple, reliable tool that supports your work, not a complex hobby that becomes a source of work in itself.
If you’re still downloading every new productivity app you hear about, you’re losing the battle for your attention.
There is a new, hyped-up productivity app released every single week. A person with “shiny object syndrome” would immediately download and try every single one. This constant switching of tools prevented him from ever building a consistent habit or mastering a single system. The most productive path is to intentionally ignore the hype, choose a set of simple, proven tools, and then focus your energy on the difficult but essential work of building sustainable, productive habits.