Top 8 productivity tips i'd love to know 2 years ago

so most productivity advice is like "wake up early" "time block" "eat the frog" blah blah

here's some weird stuff i figured out that i never see mentioned:

1. i do boring tasks when im tired

sounds backwards but hear me out

when im fresh and energized in the morning i do creative work or hard thinking stuff. makes sense right

but when im exhausted at like 4pm instead of forcing myself to do hard work (which never works), i knock out all the boring admin shit. filling out forms, organizing files, updating spreadsheets, whatever

turns out boring tasks are PERFECT for when your brain is fried. you dont need energy to click buttons and move files around. and you still feel productive even tho youre running on fumes

2. i keep a "shit day" list

separate from my main task list. this is stuff that needs to get done but requires zero brain power

so when i wake up and im just... not feeling it, i dont even look at my main tasks. i go straight to the shit day list

examples: backup my files, clean my desktop, update my resume, sort through old emails, organize my bookmarks

stuff that if i never did it wouldnt matter but feels good to check off when i cant do real work

this stopped me from feeling guilty on bad days bc im still "being productive" even if im not doing the important stuff

3. i leave tasks 90% done on purpose

this one sounds insane but it works

if im writing something or coding or whatever, i stop when i KNOW what the next sentence or next line should be. like i literally stop mid-thought

next day when i sit down i already know exactly where to start. no staring at blank page trying to remember what i was doing

hemingway did this apparently? idk if thats true but it works. way easier to continue something than to start from scratch

4. i work in 3-day sprints instead of daily goals

daily goals stressed me out bc if i had a bad day i felt like a failure

now i just aim to get X done by end of wednesday. or by end of the week. whatever

some days i do a ton, some days i do nothing. but over 3 days it evens out

takes so much pressure off individual days. if monday sucks, tuesday and wednesday can make up for it

5. i have like 4 different projects going at once

everyone says "focus on one thing" but honestly having options helps me

some days i wanna code, some days i wanna write, some days i wanna just organize stuff

if i only had one project and wasnt feeling it that day id just... do nothing. but with multiple projects i can switch to whatever matches my energy

its not multitasking bc im only doing one at a time. its more like... having options based on my mood

6. i use boredom as a tool

deleted all games off my phone. removed distracting apps. basically made my phone boring af

now when im bored i either have to sit there being bored (which sucks) or do something productive

turns out if your only options are "be bored" or "work on that thing youve been avoiding" you suddenly feel motivated to work lol

forced boredom is weirdly effective

and if you need these apps to work or to talk with someone, use opal for distracting apps blocking

7. fake deadlines that come BEFORE the real deadline

if something is due friday i tell myself its due wednesday

then when wednesday comes and im not done i still have 2 days buffer. but like 70% of the time i actually finish by the fake deadline bc my brain thinks its urgent

and if i dont finish, im not actually screwed. just stressed for no reason but whatever ill take that over actually missing deadlines

8. i work at coffee shops even tho i could work from home

something about being in public makes me actually work? like i cant just scroll reddit for 2 hours when theres people around

also leaving my house forces me to "go to work" even tho im self employed. brain associates coffee shop with work mode

plus you cant take a nap at a coffee shop so thats one less distraction lol

what im using rn:

honestly just basic stuff. some task & habit app, i use melio tasks for that, google calendar also for time blocking, notes app and opal for focus

used to overcomplicate everything with like 10 different apps. now i just keep it simple

idk if any of this is helpful or if it only works for my weird brain but thought id share

what unconventional stuff works for you? not the generic advice, the weird tricks you figured out yourself