How To Have A Productive Day, According To Scheduling Experts

Every morning, you wake up with the intention of having a productive day. But then life happens. Productivity is about staying proactive against the natural forces of reactivity: Expect the unexpected, but have a plan for managing your time and energy while responding to curveballs.

Being on top of your daily schedule is a crucial piece of the puzzle, so here’s how to create a productive schedule for your day, according to productivity and time-management experts.

1. Prepare the night before

David Chun, personal development and productivity coach and the creator of a productivity course called “Flow: The Mind on Fire,” says he wishes professionals would stop creating their schedules in the morning. “We all have limited amounts of willpower for the day, so you don’t want to waste that energy for creating your schedule, you want to use that energy to actually be productive,” he says.

“Willpower is like a battery – it’s strongest in the morning and will slowly deplete throughout the day, so instead of wasting it to create your schedule, use that time to do your work.” Creating your schedule at night allows you to avoid depleting your willpower tank in the morning.

On a similar note, preparing your outfit the night before is a smart move to have a productive day. “Again, if you’re spending 5-10 minutes thinking about what to wear and going into your closet every day, you’ll be draining willpower and time,” adds Chun, who recommends the book Willpower if you want to learn more about this concept.

2. Tackle important work early

There’s a reason tackling important work early is a timeless piece of advice – it works. Yet it’s so easy to get sidetracked.

“This suggestion is not new, but it’s tough for people. We want to check email, and before we know it, we’ve spent two hours going down various rabbit holes. Then, the phone starts ringing. The day comes to an end and the ‘big things’ still sit on the list,” according to Dr. Frank Buck, an organization and time-management expert and the author of “Get Organized!” and “Get Organized Digitally!”.

Before the end of your work day, Buck suggests identifying the five most important tasks you’ll need to accomplish the following day. Put them at the top of your priority list, and hit those first while your energy is high. “You have the rest of the day to handle smaller items before they become critical. You’re also free to respond to new input,” he says.

In order to prioritize effectively, remember the 80/20 principle, where 20% of efforts lead to 80% of the results, says Chun: “Ask yourself: If I could only get one or two things done today, what would make the most impact?” Build your task list accordingly.”

3. See your to-do list as a ‘kill list’

Speaking of lists, Chun recommends adopting an unconventional mindset when tackling your to-do lists: Look at tasks as items to kill, not just eventually get to.

“If it’s on the to do list, you MUST get it done. It is a kill list, you must check it off. Go at it with that mentality,” he says. “Having this psychology alone will boost your productivity.”

4. Link tasks to relevant assets/documents

You’ll want to be as swift and efficient as possible while killing those tasks. “Removing friction spells the difference between engaging with a task and procrastinating on it,” says Buck. “When the task says, ‘finish the XYZ report,’ where exactly is the draft of that report? Is it in a Google Drive folder? Is the information you need for ‘call Mr. Jones’ in an Evernote note?”

He suggests adding all supporting information to any tasks you create in your project-management platform: “When it’s time for the task, you’re one click away. The friction is gone.”

5. Track your time

According to Chun, tracking your time is one of the best tips for having a productive day. “Go to the time-tracking feature on Hive and set it to one-hour increments (or whatever is best for you) and work madly until the hour is done,” he says. “And keep track of how many hours of work you’re actually getting in. Most of us guess how many hours we are working, but when you actually track yourself, you’ll be surprised about those numbers being inflated.”

“To be more productive, track accurately and be conscious of where you’re drifting off. And because you’re more conscious of putting in more work, you’ll get into the habit of catching yourself when you’re not working.”

6. Batch tasks and leverage the ‘search’ function

Here’s another tip from Buck: Batch your tasks based on similar activities – and make the most of the “search” function in your productivity tool whenever a coworker drops in. You can turn the catch-up into a productive check-in.

“How quickly can you create a list of everything you wanted to discuss with that person? A quick search for ‘Jim’ pulls up every task where Jim is mentioned. This one practice turns interruptions into times where you will be able to check off multiple tasks.”

7. Avoid vague tasks

Finally, if a task is vague, remove it from your to-do list or shelf it for later. “Avoid tasks that are vague or where you don’t have the information you need. Schedule that item for the future,” says Buck. “If you’re waiting for information, the thing that must go on your list is a task to follow up with the potential bottleneck to be sure they are on track to get the needed information to you.”