I put my phone in another room. I agree with aidanaguirre about using the Pomodoro technique; that was instrumental to me in developing my sense of work ethic and discipline. A major part of productivity is just removing temptations and distractions so that it's not even an option to do anything but work.
I use kanban style project management software to plan out projects. You could obviously just use calendars or a planner but for longer term projects i find this to be really helpful. in the past i would break these projects up into small chunks of progress and reward myself throughout the day with a little treat every time I completed a chunk... so I would say the carrot stick method of conditioning yourself to associate progress with a reward helps.
If your work is more task based I would recommend making to-do lists; sometimes I’ve also created schedules for the completion of to-do lists and rigidly adhered to them. Setting goals helps too!
At my most productive times I would diffuse a scent that I would only use while working and play ASMR ambience or field recordings associated with that scent (forest essential oil blend and forest sounds for example) to create kind of a relaxing sensory experience where the connection to productivity would grow stronger every time I was successful with it… advanced productivity hack.
Controversial but intermittent fasting helps my mind stay clear and focused in my sedentary work…
Going into nature on a regular basis helps me, spending time with my pets, eating good food, and also making sure to fully decompress at the end of the day with yin yoga and a hot bath.
May 23, 2024
Related Recs
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oh lord this is going to be so dorky. there's a lot of productivity tools and techniques out there and believe me when i say that i have read a bazillion articles and tried at least 50 apps and methods, but these are the ones that have truly helped me:
TOOLS
1. Apple Reminders & Calendar – ngl i used ot underestimate these two apps, but they work really great because they have an acceptable natural language input, comprehensive and simple user interface, seamlessly syncs across multiple devices(if you're an apple user), and they work with siri. the only problem is that these two lack integration features. so to solve that...
2. Fantastical Calendar – i use another calendar app is to see all my tasks on apple reminders and events on my calendar app in a single calendar and to-do list, and yes, this app does that! it's great because it also has natural language input, enables me to view all my tasks and events in different ways like a calendar or list, and it has many functional widgets.
3. Obsidian – oof, i am found guilty. i built a second brain with obsidian which is basically like a system of knowledge and data mainly in the form of markdown files (a text document that has formatting) with internal links. i write down as much as i could – recipes, minutes of meeting, takeaways from articles, ideas for projects, trivia, literally anything! i also have a daily journal to reflect on the stuff i do, write down random thoughts and ideas blah blah you get the point. the purpose of all this is to have a centralized and organized system of information with links to each other and make it easy to retrieve information you may need for later.
TECHNIQUES
1. Prioritizing my tasks – when there's too much that needs to be done and i feel overwhelmed, i set priorities with the built-in feature of apple reminders. if im having difficulty setting priorities and want to get a clearer vision, i organize them by using the kanban plugin for obsidian.
2. Timers for when i feel lazy – basically the pomodoro technique but more flexible. i can set the timer for 20 mins or 2 hours or don't use a timer at all depending on how lazy i feel that day or how forced i feel on the task. the more i hate the task, the shorter the timer is, cause get this–i dont want to disrupt my flow state when im doing something i really want to do. why would i work on someth for 20 min and take a break when i love doing it so much i could go on for hours. also an important note...do REALLY boring things during breaks to make the task more interesting or enjoyable – avoid triggering dopamine as much as possible.
3. Establishing scheudled habits – this helps me build consistency with the things i want to do more of. for example, i have a daily wake-up and wind down routine which consists of really simple things like washing my face and brushing my teeth, stretching for 2 minutes, drinking water, journaling. i also set a goal for myself to read a book and learn french every day. think of anything you want to do more of and set a schedule for yourself when you should be doing it and stay consistent with that schedule so your body and mind would get used to it.
4. Setting up a distraction-free environment – this is pretty self-explanatory. throw your phone away, paint the walls white, and get sound insulation for your room.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
SELF-CONTROL – without it, nothing is really going to work smh
May 27, 2024
* Prioritize your most important tasks and start on them first thing in the morning so that you get them done and out of the way and have room to move to easier things that take less time and energy.
* This also goes for the tasks that stress you out the most—best to get them out of the way so that you’re not procrastinating and thinking about them all day.
* Dedicate specific times in the day for administrative tasks and do them all together as a chunk.
* Use to-do lists or project management software like Trello or Toggl Plan. Weirdly I’ve been really loving Microsoft Notebook but I guess it makes sense because I used to be really into Evernote. You could try Notion too.
* Pomodoro technique for building focus… 25 minutes working, 5 minute break.
* Eliminate distractions when you’re trying to get things done! Use content blockers on your phone and computer if you have to.
* I like to create a working atmosphere that’s separate and distinct from my personal life, so I’ll play specific music or ambient sounds and diffuse the same essential oil blend or burn the same incense.
* Find ways to automate tasks… this isn’t AI it’s simple robotic process automation and it’s awesome! It frees up time you spend doing irritating repetitive tasks to do more impactful work. Look into something like Power Automate or Zapier.
Dec 16, 2024
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the work-eat-scroll-sleep-repeat pattern had me in a chokehold for ~3 years after I graduated from college, realized that a large part of the reason I struggled to break the cycle was because I’d want to “rest” after work but eventually do something enriching in the evenings, but didn’t actually have an idea of what I wanted to do so the lift to get off [app] was less willpower and more decision paralysis; the friction of figuring out what to do was what was keeping me in the cycle ~90% of the time.
what has worked for me:
1. going outside immediately after work (especially if working from home) to run an errand or go to a book or record or coffee shop
2. keeping a list of projects i want to / am currently working on or skills i want to develop and making progress on those
3. reading a book
4. (most effective) taking a class (writing, pottery, filmmaking for me) and either going to the sessions or doing the assignments
but also sometimes you literally just wanna rot and that’s cool too!
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i tried a couple different ways to structure my time:
1. daily timeblocking (3*/10): setting 5-6 to wind down; 6-7 for dinner; 7-9 for enrichment; etc… didn’t work at all for me. too structured.
2. theming days: (5*/10): mondays are for reading; tuesdays writing; etc… worked slightly better but sometimes you wanna do a different thing than the theme, introduces decision paralysis of whether to power through to build routine or to follow your instincts and have max fun
3. big list: (7*/10): here are all my projects (and subtasks) or hobbies or chores or errands i want to do; i give them a number score of how urgently i want to do them, then do the one i want to do most thats higher priority. bonus points if at the start of the week or month, you put some activities on a calendar for specific days even randomly to just have a schedule when you don’t have something you’re particularly called to do so that’s your default activity and not scrolling. works the best*!
(*for me)
Jan 16, 2025
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“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.”
— Anaïs Nin
This is uncharacteristically raw and personal, even for me, and pretty heavy! I know many of you have seen me posting through it and I feel safe to talk about it openly now that I’ve safely landed at the start of my new life. It’s honestly even a little bit embarrassing but I think it’s important to share.
I’ve never publicly mentioned it on here, but I have a husband; as of Friday, we’d have been together for 11 years, and we’ve been married for 3 years as of 2/22. I realize now that I wanted to explore what I looked like outside of my relationship with him because I had lost that. This is why PI.FYI has been so meaningful to me as a space to express myself and connect with people—to rediscover my voice.
I had been living a lie this entire time, to others but worst of all to myself. He’s been verbally and emotionally abusive, physically but without touching me, to the point that every day I spent with him I was in danger. I’ve been shrinking myself and walking on eggshells to avoid making him insecure and provoking his casual put-downs and fits of rage, while hanging on for dear life to the threads of good I could see.
I’ve wanted so badly to leave, more than anything, but I felt like there was no way out and that this was just something I would need to endure indefinitely—but someone who is so very dear to me helped me see that I have wings to fly, not by acting as my savior but by reminding me of my own power. The emotional safety they built and the gentle care they showed me made me feel like I could open up to them. With their encouragement I was brave enough to tell the truth to my friends, my family, my boss, and they have received me with warm, loving and open arms and rallied to support and protect me. The financial and logistical aspects were the most intimidating to me and it’s going to be tough for a while but I’m going to be better than okay!
Now I’m opening up to you. This isn’t the only abuse I’ve suffered in my life, and my old therapist told me she believed it was my mission to share my strength and light with others to inspire them and show them that change is possible.
I hope that by sharing this, I can reach even just one person who is going through something similar and show that they are not alone, and they are not weak. People with certain backgrounds may be more vulnerable to abuse, but it can happen to anyone. It thrives in darkness, shame, and isolation—and breaking that silence is the first step toward freedom.
Leaving is the scariest thing I have ever done but I have so many angels around me, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here with me 💌
Mar 16, 2025
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
Schedule sent my resignation email for the morning, effective immediately ✅💅
Feb 27, 2025