It’s 6:30 a.m., and I’m watching the sunrise over downtown Las Vegas.
The streets are empty. The last revelers have disappeared from the sidewalks and rooftops they occupied a few hours ago.
Anyone else awake in this town has stayed up all night.
I’m sipping coffee on the balcony, feeling clear-eyed, well-rested and ready to start my workday. My mind reaffirms my five-year goals, a practice I repeat every morning as part of a ritualized quest for peak performance.
Helicopters circle overhead. They’re filled with tourists heading to the Grand Canyon for sunrise. I listen to their rhythmic drone while jotting down the three most important tasks I’d like to accomplish today. Then I head indoors.
It’s time to conquer.
_________
In last week’s article, I described a ‘typical’ day working from the road, sharing how I manage a lifestyle business from my laptop.
Today I want to share the specific tools, apps and services I use to boost efficiency at home. A few notes:
#1: I’ve organized the list into three buckets:
- Home office
- Productivity
- Money mastery
#2: I get $0.00 financial benefit if you click on the majority of links in this article, but I’m also fully disclosing that a few of the links below are affiliate links. Everything I’ve listed below is a product/service that I use myself, a hardcore rule that applies to 100% of anything I recommend. Please don’t buy anything unless you’ll genuinely benefit from it.
What’s in My Home Office?
Treadmill Desk
First, I rigged a treadmill desk together by buying a cheap treadmill from Amazon, ripping off the top half, and placing the belt underneath a height-adjustable standing desk. Next, I placed a chair on top of the treadmill and spent several weeks spooning ice cream into my mouth while scrolling Instagram.
(Yes, that’s right — I put a chair on top of a treadmill. You can feel better about your worst habits now.)
Eventually my conscience caught up with me, so I banished the chair to a kingdom a few feet away and pressed the treadmills’ dreaded “start” button. It was an unprecedented afternoon.
I set the speed at 0.5 mph, slow enough to avoid distraction but faster than, say, geologic time.
I’m ready for Olympic tryouts.
These days, I walk about two miles a day while I work. In addition to avoiding the dreaded ‘afternoon slump,’ I’ve also started to think about projects – literally – in terms of the mileage they’ll produce.
Finishing this rental property course will require another 100 miles. Writing a book will take at least 1,000 miles. Sending a tweet? Practically a standstill. It’s a good metaphor for focusing on high-value, high-mileage activities.
Well, kinda. It’s also a useful metaphor for binge-watching Netflix.
Cheaps by Will
You know those expensive noise-cancelling headphones, Beats by Dre? I’ve got a better brand: Cheaps by Will.
Here’s how it works:
- Grab any cheap pair of noise-reduction earmuffs that form a tight seal around your ears. Here’s an $18 pair that’s “recommended for extremely loud conditions.”
- Wrap the headphones in faux leather to give them a stylish edge. [Optional]
- Wear earbuds underneath.
Point. Check. Done.
I wear these everywhere: at my treadmill desk to silence the motor; on airplanes to drown the rancor of jet engines and crying babies. Here’s me at a hotel buffet:
Ergonomic Split Keyboard
This is ergonomics to the extreme — a keyboard that’s split into two sides, so that each hand can rest in a more natural, relaxed fashion while typing.
Surprise benefit: I’ve also built awesome speed-typing skills now that I can’t ‘cheat’ over to the other side of the keyboard.
Vertical Mouse
The standard computer mouse twists your wrist into an unnatural posture. A vertical mouse, by contrast, lets you rest your wrist in a relaxed, handshake-like grip.
I started using a vertical mouse about 1-2 years ago, and I’ll never go back. I use a ‘small’ version designed for my tiny little South Asian hands. It’s still too big. Sigh.
Here’s the whole setup (split keyboard, vertical mouse, earmuffs):
A Giant-Ass Whiteboard
Go to Home Depot and grab a sheet of acrylic-coated high-density fiberboard (HDF). Tell the sales associate you’re looking for “tileboard.” You’ll pay around $15 for a sheet that’s 8 ft. x 4 ft., large enough to consume most of a wall.
Never pay retail for a whiteboard again.
I have two of these giant-ass whiteboards – one for long-term planning, one for short-term.
Board #1, for example, features a “hit list” of the specific people I’d like to hire next year. (They just don’t know it yet.)
Board #2, by contrast, is where I detail an hour-by-hour schedule, which I instantly disregard. Planning is everything, but plans are nothing.
Productivity Apps and Services
OneTab
You know that distracting sight of a zillion open browser tabs? Get rid of it.
This browser extension consolidates your open tabs into – you guessed it! – one tab. (Clever name, eh?) It looks like this:
If you want to leave a specific tab open (e.g., I leave Google Calendar open all day), you can, because we live in the 21st century and someone figured out how to make that happen.
Wow. What an era.
Next stop: Mars.
F.lux
This browser extension adapts the color of your monitor display to daytime/nighttime spectra, so that you can work late (or watch online TV, screw around on social media, or otherwise look at a screen) without disturbing your sleep cycle.
Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator
I’m shooting myself in the foot by admitting this, but here we go:
Yeah, I have a Facebook Page for Afford Anything. Yeah, I post to it semi-regularly-ish. And yeah, I like it when you read updates and leave comments.
But my life would be better without Facebook. (Or at least, with less Facebook). I appreciate having a centralized social venue, but I’m tired of the incessant stream of engagement photos and political rants, especially in the middle of my workday.
Facebook in moderation is fantastic. But moderation is tough.
What’s the solution?
Cal Newport, one of my recent podcast guests, recommends deleting your Facebook page – even if you think you need a social media presence for work. (He doesn’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, yet he’s sold 200,000+ books.)
That’s too extreme for my taste. I like using Facebook to share major life updates, like “I just ran a marathon” or “It’s Tuesday.”
My alternative? I installed a browser extension that hides my Facebook news feed. When I visit Facebook, this is what I see:
I can’t read any updates. I just see an inspirational quote that tells me to get back to work.
“Wait … why visit Facebook at all?”
Muscle memory. My fingers type the URL unconsciously.
“Seriously?”
Yeah. I have problems.
“Can’t you check Facebook on your phone?”
Yep. Congratulations, you’ve found the loophole.
I haven’t managed to delete the Facebook app from my phone, but I’ve hidden the app in an inconvenient location, far from the home screen. It’s the digital equivalent of hiding cookies on the top shelf.
Wow, this is turning into a Facebookers Anonymous meeting. Except it’s not that anonymous, and I suspect I’ll share this post on Facebook.
Evernote
This is my brain-dump station for ideas and notes.
LastPass
One-stop-shop for saving every password. Bonus: it’s great for estate planning. If I kick the bucket, Will can access my accounts.
ScheduleOnce
If I want to schedule a meeting, my assistant or I will email the other party a link to my scheduling page via this platform. This eliminates 95% of the “How’s Tuesday at 3 pm?” back-and-forth inefficiency.
I limit my availability to specific days/times, so that I can batch-process meetings. This cuts down on distraction and allows me to enjoy long, uninterrupted chunks of time for reading, writing, editing, brainstorming and planning — my five highest-value activities.
Gmail
Do I have to explain this? Why are you still using earthlink.net?
Gmail Canned Responses
Because otherwise, I’d have to type “please stop sending me your shitty infographic” like a zillion times.
Boomerang for Gmail
The best way to reach Inbox Zero is by:
- Read an email that requires a thoughtful, measured response.
- Decide you’d rather watch YouTube.
- Boomerang the email to return back to your Inbox in 4 days.
Voila! Inbox Zero achieved.
Minimalist for Everything
This browser extension hides your email, so you can search for a particular message without getting distracted by a soul-crushing litany of other emails. Here’s how my Inbox looks after I’ve enabled Minimalist:
Note: Minimalist won’t produce these results straight-out-of-the-box. Here’s a video tutorial on how to hack this result.
Flowstate
This is a recommendation from another podcast guest, Leslie Samuel, and it’s my new favorite tool for writing articles.
(And by “favorite,” I mean I’m terrified of this app.)
Here’s the problem: The first draft of an article should be the ‘get shit on paper’ draft. But I have a bad habit of self-editing while trying to write.
Flowstate forces that first draft out of me. It also spikes my cortisol levels and probably shortens my lifespan, but whatevs.
This app starts each writing session with a timer – 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc., up to a maximum of 90 minutes. If I stop typing at any point while the clock is running, the app deletes everything I just wrote.
Yeah. It’s nuclear annihilation. And it works.
Here’s the draft of this article:
Brain.fm
This is audio Adderall.
Brain.fm is a subscription-based website created by a bunch of nerds who decided to analyze brainwaves and design sound accordingly.
They created audio channels designed to improve focus, sleep and relaxation. To be frank, the latter two channels (sleep and relaxation) don’t affect me at all.
But that’s fine, because their service is worth it for the focus-improving audio alone. And the truth is that a company only needs to be world-class at one thing to create raving fans.
Asana
This is a task-management tool; I use this to delegate to my team.
Tip: Don’t spend too much time wrapped up in its comment stream. Every task management tool – Asana, Basecamp, Slack, and even email – is supposed to serve you, not vice versa.
I’m going to repeat that, because this is a crucial distinction: Your tools exist to serve you. Not the other way around.
Do not spend all your time on these channels. Limit your exposure. These tools work best when you use them to facilitate a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to routine tasks. Get yourself out of the “do loop” so you can focus on deep work.
Money Mastery Tools
I’m a fan of simplicity, and the anti-budget – yanking your savings off-the-top first, then spending the rest without guilt – is easy and effective. (In fact, I’d argue that it’s effective because it’s easy.)
Here’s a shout-out to the short list of money-management tools I use in both business and my personal life:
Digit
I use Digit to automatically save/hide small amounts of money from myself. It pulls $5 here, $10 there, and over time this accumulates into a decent savings balance. Check it out:
Mint
Mint tracks my personal spending. I don’t mess around with setting budgets and goals; I just login once a month to look at “trends” and get a big-picture snapshot of my habits.
Less Accounting
This is the bookkeeping service that I use to track income and expenses for both of my businesses (the real estate business + Afford Anything).
Less Accounting scans my account info (credit card, bank accounts, etc.), pulls the data into their system, and categorizes/tags everything through a series of automations. For example:
If a [deposit] is created and the [title] [contains] [name of property management company], then [tag] as [House #4].
If an [expense] is created and the [amount] is [$X], then [categorize] as [mortgage payment].
These automations handle 80 percent of the workload. Score!
My only involvement is skimming over everything once a month. During tax time, my accountant accesses the books directly.
I wouldn’t recommend using Less Accounting for invoicing (due to lack of automation), but I would recommend them for bookkeeping automation.
You can try them for free for a month by entering ‘Afford Anything’ as a discount code under Settings >> Billing.
(If you encounter any issues, email yoda [at] lessaccounting.com and ask for Annette. She’s awesome.)
Vanguard and Schwab
These are my two favorite brokerages. (Is it weird to have favorite brokerages?)
Vanguard is the home of my Solo Roth 401k account and a bastion of low-fee index funds. It’s a co-op, which means it’s member-owned; it’s like the REI of retirement brokerages.
Schwab is the home of my Nondeductible Traditional IRA / Backdoor Roth IRA, and another breeding ground for low-fee funds. Their banking arm also rebates ATM fees, which is critical for frequent travelers.
These two brokerages often lock horns in a ‘race to the bottom’ for ultra-cheap fees, a competition in which we’re all winners.
How I Structure My Day
I’ll close with a few tips on how to structure your workday for maximum results:
#1: Wake up early. It’s a game-changer.
#2: Have a morning routine. Mine involves meditation, stretching, and smearing a bunch of goop on my face that’s theoretically ‘hydrating’ but is probably just an expensive placebo.
#3: Choose a daily ‘theme.’ I’ll theme one day around writing blog articles, one day around producing podcasts, and one day around building the rental property course. This helps me avoid the inefficiency of task-switching.
If I can’t devote the full day to a single activity, I’ll set aside a few hours in the afternoon to focus on that days’ theme.
#4: Plan every hour … even though you’ll never stick to the schedule. Planning is everything; plans are nothing.
#5: Stick to a hard ‘stop’ time. Work expands to fill the time you give it. Creating strong boundaries between work vs. non-work time allows you to boost your output in both arenas.
__
What else should I be using? Got any favorite apps/services/tools? Please share in the comments!
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Thanks for sharing these resources. I might have to try the treadmill desk, sounds fun.
Sounds like you picked up some tips from Cal Newport. I read Deep Work and made quite a few changes to plan better for larger chunks of time.
Very good post. The Self Control app is great for blocking access to specified sites for a predetermined time frame.
Paula, I’m very interested in your treadmill desk. Can you do a post about that with more info, or at least tell me how you get the treadmill to start and stop/change pace, etc. since the buttons are presumably in the part that you say you ripped off in the top half. I’ve been wanting to do this as I have the same treadmill as what you show in the picture, but haven’t been able to think about how I can still use the buttons to turn it on and off, etc.
Hey Kayla!
The controller panel looks like it’s built into the top of the treadmill, but it’s actually a standalone panel. In other words, it doesn’t rely on the top of the treadmill to function — it’s merely placed there. So I just separated those two components. The controller now sits on top of my desk, wires exposed.
That sounds safe… lol (the wires exposed part). 😉
I hadn’t heard about some of those browser extensions. Thanks so much for sharing them. Going to download that one-tab extension. I’m often doing research at work and end up with 10 or 20 tabs, which is a total pain to handle.
Great post. I would be interesting in seeing more time management articles.
Oh man… Glad to hear I’m not the only one who’s fingers start subconsciously literally typing faceb… before I realize it’s too late.
I’m going to HAVE to get that browser extension. Thanks again for the killer post Paula!
The only tool I use that you didn’t get is e.ggtimer (dot) com. It lets me set short intervals quickly between tasks and I usually use Pomodoro technique of 25min on, 5 min off.
Oh yeah, I love e.ggtimer! That’s a great one. 🙂
OMG Flowstate would freak me out… I don’t know if I can live with that level of stress while writing. 🙂
I tried the standing desk once, even gave it like 6 months, but in the end I found that I had difficulty concentrating while writing posts. I could answer phone calls, emails, etc – but actual creative writing was a huge challenge.
Flowstate is only available for apple computers and phones, and being a PC girl I was unable to get it. So I did the thing that Buzzfeed loves so much and lifehacked this app. I set a timer on my phone (usually 5 to 7 minutes) and just use my own discipline to write for that amount of time. While it doesn’t have the same Strangeloveesque urgency, you’d be so surprised how much writing you can get done in 5 minutes just because you have a deadline! And if something TERRIBLE happens (your home sets on fire or whatever) you can keep everything you wrote until that point. (although I hope if your home set on fire you would have bigger concerns than losing the first draft of your blog post but whatever everyone has different priorities)
That way if Flowstate scares you too much (or like me you can’t use it) you can still create that sense of urgency without losing your work if you stop to think for 6 seconds.
It sounds like a great app but I couldn’t imagine setting it to 90 minutes. What if you need a drink of water?
I really love the resources and tips you’ve shared for minimizing social media and email distractions. I am always looking for ways to reduce this without dropping out of social media entirely. I think I have muscle memory for checking Facebook, too. I pretty much just ignore my wall now. And I had to turn off the notifications that started coming up even when I wasn’t on the page! It’s like a Pavlovian response to check it if you don’t plan otherwise.
I totally forgot about you describing Flowstate during your FinCon presentation so thanks for the reminder! My writing process (if you can call it that) is a slurry of creating and editing which doesn’t make for the most productive writing session. So I think I’ll start with a 5 minute brain dump and maybe ramp it up. Still a frightening thought to have everything deleted after too long a pause.
Do you use a strategy or tool for tracking low-to-medium priority tasks that don’t fall under a daily or weekly to-do list? High priority and urgent tasks get my attention as I write them down (journal, post-it on computer) or put a calendar entry in red. It’s those low-to-medium tasks that float in my head or on a random journal page that gets forgotten until months later. I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
Great post Paula! I’ve just started using Omnifocus and I absolutely love it! As a millennial, I can’t believe I paid $39.95 for each version but I’ve never been more productive or prompt, so it’s absolutely worth it.
Hey Neighbor (I just found out we’re both in Atlanta!). LOVE the “cheap whiteboard” idea, I just set a calendar appt for this weekend to pick one up at Home Depot! (setting calendar reminders is one of my productivity hacks….). GREAT tips!
I would give 1Pass a try, I switched to it from LastPass in the spring and never looked back. Probably the biggest benefit is that it’s built around teams, so I have one team with shared passwords for my business, and then a family plan for my wife and I to share passwords. I always had issues with the password synchronization of LastPass
Hey Paula you should try Trello to organize to-do lists for each of your “themes”. You can title and keep separate lists, one for each of your businesses or focuses. Thanks for the great content…LOVE your blog and the podcast as well.
I really recommend Pushbullet (http://www.pushbullet.com) for getting things between your computer and phone. No more composing an email to yourself and attaching stuff – you can just hit share and it pops up on the other device.
The real game changer was the ability to use it to send texts from your computer. Not having to pull your phone out, unlock it, and compose a text is awesome 🙂
Yes! I love my whiteboard! Very key 🙂
Great article, as per usual. Does anyone have an idea of what can you can use instead of Flowstate if you use Windows? I have looked around a little bit and haven’t come across anything. It could be exciting (read: terrifying) for dissertation writing though!
Set yourself a timer. I’ve been looking and haven’t found anything. I found a freeware one, but it didn’t work on my PC so I assume it’s ios only. Or my dinosaur computer is too crappy. I’ve been setting a timer on my phone and it works really really well.
Phone timers are great. Love them. 🙂
Two other alternatives –
I use the website http://e.ggtimer.com to set a limit to work tasks. (I’m using it now, to limit myself to 30 minutes for answering comments, messages and emails. After that, I’ll move on to drafting another blog post).
Another option: I’ll use brain.fm and set the ‘focus’ sound for 30 min, 60 min or 2 hours — and when the music stops, I know it’s time to take a break.
Hi Claire –
I looked for alternatives to Flowstate for Windows and I found these options:
(Note: I’ve never personally tried the three alternatives listed below, so I can’t personally comment/vouch for them).
The Most Dangerous Writing App – http://www.themostdangerouswritingapp.com/
Freeflow — http://cliffweinstein.com/freeflow.html
Write or Die — http://writeordie.com/
Freeflow seems to be browser-based, so you can use it directly on the web (rather than needing to download an app).
Hope that helps!
Hi Paula,
Evernote is awesome! Everyone should be using it.
I would have a blank sheet every time with Flowstate :).
OneTab is interesting and I am going to check it out.
–Michael
Thank you so much for this article. Should come in very handy now that I’ve just ditched the day job. Time and vegetables are so underutilized.
I noticed you mentioned making a list of the top three things to do that day – I do that every day at work. I can’t remember where I read it now, but I had seen a tip to make a “Most Important Things” (or MIT) list every day of the top three things you need to accomplish by the end of the day. I find it helps me focus and to accomplish those three things no matter what else happens during the day. Sometimes I’ll make the list the day before so when I come into work its ready to go.
Love the whiteboard tip! I’m going to need to give that a try in my house.
for tasks, projects I use wunderlist.com
At work I have a standing desk. I wish I had a treadmill desk. That would be amazing. I love the idea of putting ear buds underneath noise cancelling ear muffs.
I use to love mint.com but switched over to personal capital because I loved the investment section. Their analysis regarding investments is top notch and I love that.
Otherwise I love your list!!!
Treadmill desk – genius! I’m gonna think how I can add some weights to that idea 🙂
I’ve used Asana but seem to have a love, hate relationship with it…that also applies to Trello. So I decided to go back to Google docs spreadsheet and it’s working out so far.
I’ve also heard a lot about Evernote, so thanks for reminding me. Awesome post!
A treadmill desk is literally the best idea I’ve heard in my life. I’m gonna have to look into that!
Great post, Paula.
I was amused reading it and learned new things.
Your idea of daily themes is great and surely adds to being efficient.
Regarding Flowstate, I’m so scared to try it 🙂
Paula you’ve become an efficiency nazi. Not saying it’s bad, but I’ve seen you evolve into being obsessed with optimizing every single thing, and second of your life, tracking it meticulously. It’s slightly concerning and I think you need some wine, it’ll help you relax a little bit. The big picture is, your gap between your income and expenses, which you’re invested into index funds and real estate, is working very well. Relax 🙂
Hello Paula!
What you do is admirable! I love your strategy ¨ Choose a daily ‘theme¨. I seriously believe that productivity is the result of efficient strategies. I will include this one on my list.
Your writing is very original, it is easy to perceive your inner vibe and the speed you manage in your life. There is big difference between motivation and action and it seems like you have mastered both.
Love the headphones hack! Curious though what you & other readers use when you’re on the cell phone for a while and have to speak: conference calls, webinars, calling mom 😏?
Hi Sherrill –
I used to use Google Hangouts for meetings with my beta-testers. Recently I tried hosting these meetings with Zoom.us — so far, I like it, although I’m still testing it.
For short 1-on-1 phone calls, I just use my cell phone directly. 🙂
These are great.
I’ll add one of my own. I have a $15 Mr. Coffee cup warmer that has probably increased my productivity by 30%. It means I get up less to get a drink, and getting up and wandering around is the gateway to other distractions for me.
I also have a list of top three things to accomplish for the day, and I tell myself I try and stack something I absolutely don’t want to do behind those three things. I dread going to the gym, so even if I’m procrastinating on doing Task X, I tell myself I can stop doing Task X but I’d have to go to the gym instead. Funny how motivated and focused you get when your alternative is something you absolutely hate to do.
That treadmill desk idea is brilliant. Not only is it a great way to get some exercise instead of being standstill all day (guilty), but I love the idea of thinking of projects in terms of “mileage”. Brain.fm sounds like something that would be incredibly helpful to me. When working I like to have some background noise rather than total silence, but I also can’t really think when there’s music in the background either–so it’s kind of a lose-lose. This sounds like it might just be the trick!
I have a Facebook ‘hack’. When my harddrive died and I replaced it on my laptop, I never logged into Facebook. I still have it on my phone, but… no Facebook distractions on the main computer because I never logged in. So. Much. Time. Saved.
This sounds so freeing! If I didn’t use FB a lot on my desktop, I would love to do this!
Fantastic article you make my day. The anti – budget is something new for me but i will begin to learn more
Paula-
The giant ass whiteboard is amazing! I got one today and it is everything I wanted it to be and for only $13! You didn’t quite give a heads up for transporting it, my tiny Elantra was no match for it which made for a very stressful delivery hah. I wanted to ask you – how did you mount your two whiteboards? The ceiling of my room happens to be exactly 8 feet so it’s a bit hard to kind of jam it up against the wall. I also currently rent and would prefer not to drill holes, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Retail whiteboards are a huge scam! Thanks for the tip!
Glad you like it! I’m never paying retail for a whiteboard again.
I use Command Picture Strips to hang the whiteboard. I’d recommend either the medium or large size — the small strips won’t be strong enough. http://amzn.to/2gBF7Yu
Tip: The adhesive of the Command Strips doesn’t work very well with the back of the whiteboard, so I recommend gluing a heavy-duty sheet of paper (I used a manila file folder) to the back of the whiteboard first. Then attach the Command Strips to that.
Before I thank Paula, my little time management addition is an app called Sloth. You can name tasks and set multiple timers. It is very simple and when there’s a day I need to do housework and other random things, it works for me. Or on days when I really can’t focus fore more than 20 minutes at a time, having a time to keep me honest helps.
If you knew all the things you wanted to get done in a day, including breaks and lunch, you could just add all those tasks in and run your whole day. Nice app.
Thank you for these Paula! I am always on the lookout for more ways to improve my time management since I am definitely the person that plans every hour and then never follows through!! 🙂
What you said in this post about having theme days is something I’d never heard before and I think will work well for me. I have homework, my business and a p/t job so trying to so too many things in a day hasn’t been workout out for me. Implementing this will help a lot!! Thank you for mentioning it.
Thanks for sharing with us on the tools and tips! I find some of it really useful! And yes i agree with you that task-switching can be very inefficient. Multi-tasking on workable for computers, not human. haha
Amazing post with some really amazing apps I will definitely check out! Some of these tips will make my workday so much easier. Thanks!
Great article! I copied some parts into my Evernote for future reference 🙂
Paula
I know this is an old post so you’ll probably never read this but seeing you walk batefoot in the picture concerned me. I doubt it is a good idea to walk for hours on a treadmill barefoot as you’ll have no foot/arch support. Please check with your dr or foot dr about this. We’re a support sandal like berkenstocks if you need to. Sorry, just concerned for your feet.
Hi Paula! I identified with this article, and I loved your idea of computer training. I need this a lot! I loved your blog and articles and the way it works. I’m making stoppages, and simplifying everything so as not to lose focus when I’m in jobs that require concentration. Thank you for your tips, I loved it!
Hello Paula, your blog is excellent, many simple tips but that make a lot of difference, I will put into practice in some of my projects. A hug and thanks for sharing your strategies
Excellent list of productivity tools. You mentioned a number of tools that I currently use, as well as a bunch that I’m looking forward to trying. That treadmill desk you created is pretty impressive too!
OneTab is up and running and maybe Chrome will stop crashing!! I can hope.
I am binge reading your website and love the info, the only thing is, I have three kids and no matter how hard I try, my day is not mine to plan…I’m striving for balance and desperately want to contribute to the household income again (it’s been 14 years since I’ve worked and I cannot stomach returning to corporate, EVER!) but I want more options for our family, especially in the coming years. Thanks for the info. I’ll keep reading!
I liked the way you structure your whole day. Stress free, no hustle bustle, exercise, treadmill…Hope i could also do the same…
I just discovered your blog by Googling “best personal finance blogs” and ended up on a post at Rock Star Finance with you listed. I really like this blog and will continue to shadow you. Thanks for the great info, I can use it and so can our readers.
Thanks Paula for the tips. I wish we had mint.com or similar in the UK. It would make tracking finances a lot easier. I currently use Google Sheets for tracking for this, it is really useful but needs a lot of attention to detail. Great post!
Very good post.
Thank you for all the tips – I’m thinking I will try just about all of them at least once to see what works for me. Oh, and your writing style is too awesome. I’m feeling inspired to write more because of it. So thanks again!
This is amazing! You should try using debitize to automate your credit card bill payment so you can forget about it and save time! 🙂
I read Deep Work and made quite a few changes to plan better for larger chunks of time. I really like this blog and will continue to shadow you. Thanks for the great info
I also structured a day a little that way. I like to wake up early and drink that coffee.
OMG I love whiteboards too.
I’ve got two that are 8 x 4. I can not work without whiteboards.
Bought them on Craigslist brand new for either $60 or $80 (can’t remember) for both.
These could easily be $150-200 each retail!
Great post Paula! I’ve just started using Omnifocus and I absolutely love it! As a millennial, I can’t believe I paid $39.95 for each version but I’ve never been more productive or prompt, so it’s absolutely worth it.
Before I thank Paula, my little time management addition is an app called Sloth. You can name tasks and set multiple timers. It is very simple and when there’s a day I need to do housework and other random things, it works for me. Or on days when I really can’t focus fore more than 20 minutes at a time, having a time to keep me honest helps.
Thanks Paula for a very helpful post. Do you use anything to post to multiple social media sites with one click? I’ve heard that such things exist but I’ve never used them and I imagine there are several options…I think that would help me a great deal as I prepare to launch my own blog. I appreciate any info you can provide.
Thank you so much for this article. Should come in very handy now that I’ve just ditched the day job. Time and vegetables are so underutilized.
Thank you for the tips.
I personally use Wunderlist to improve my productivy, it works great… Thanks for the tips !
Oh yeah, I love e.ggtimer! That’s a great one.
I’m using Wunderlist to improve my productivity, I’ve felt really good … Thanks for the tips!
Wow. Fantastic article you make my day. The anti – budget is something new for me but i will begin to learn more. TKS!
Awesome gadgets! 😀
But what I liked the most were the final tips, about how you structure your day
Thanks for sharing
That vertical mouse looks pretty cool! I didn’t even know it existed until now. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.
Fantastic article you make my day. Thanks for the tip!
Everynote its one of my favorites! Thanks for sharing this!
A treadmill desk is literally the best idea I’ve heard in my life. I’m gonna have to look into that!
Thanks for the tips. My goal is to afford them.
Great reflections… I am always looking for ways to reduce this and improve my productivity. Thank you for sharing.
Everynote is my king!!!
I have read this article several times and just looked it back up to read again. Here’s hoping you update it every couple years?