My Productive Tips

Get a Massive Afternoon Energy Boost in 30 Min by Combining These Three Things

On April 16, 2023 By Justin In Energy and Sleep

Do you ever hit a wall in the afternoon? Like, you just got off of work and now you get to do some of your own stuff (for fun, side projects, etc.) but you just have no energy? This is a common experience known as the “afternoon slump”. Well something that’s helped me have more energy in the afternoon has been combining 100mg of caffeine with 200mg of l-theanine, followed by a short power nap, and it has been a game changer. Caffeine Nap So I’ve already written a post about what a caffeine nap is, but a brief summary is that it’s a method that involves consuming a small amount of caffeine (typically 100mg or a cup of coffee) and then laying down for a short power nap (I set my alarm for 30 minutes). The idea behind this …

Get Things Started By Doing “Micro-Tasks”

On April 7, 2019 By Justin In Time Management

There’s a TL;DR at the end, so if you don’t feel like reading go ahead and skip down there (I get it, we’re all busy!). So as you can probably see from the date of my last posts, I haven’t been writing nearly as often as I want. I got a new job last year doing mainly project management (in addition to other tasks related to product management), and have been pushing hard to get up to speed in that field. This is a perfect time for me to test new techniques and strategies to help optimize my workflow, in an effort to not only get more done, but also reduce overall timelines AND reduce the amount of hours that I need spend on things in the office (the goal here is improved output so I can spend more time …

Need a Second Wind? Try a Caffeine Nap

On March 10, 2018 By Justin In Energy and Sleep, Time Management

As much as I wish that I could say that I’m able to be at peak performance all day, you know that would be a bold faced lie. We’ve all been there, it’s a couple hours after lunch, you still have a few hours left of client meetings until that sweet sweet time where you get to head home,. Then before you know it, it’s quitting time! Time to get started on your side project! Your true passion! That thing that you eventually want to do for a living, your path to financial freedom!!!….and once your butt hits that couch you’re out of gas, no work gets done, you push off the side business for another day…and another….and another… This is where the “Caffeine Nap” (or “Stimulant Nap”) comes in to save the day! The afternoon slump is rough, especially …

Do More Work By Taking More Breaks

On February 26, 2018 By Justin In Smart Phone, Time Management

TL;DR If you have trouble starting on a task, alternate between 25 minutes of work and 5 minute breaks. If you’re anything like me then you get those days where it’s just a total slog getting started. I’ll find any excuse to put off my major project work, by doing things that make me FEEL productive, while still procrastinating all the same. Maybe it’s “Oh, I should probably clean my desk!” or “I just remembered that I wanted to scrub down the shower”. While being necessary in their own right, do I really need to do these things now? No way, I’m just trying to fill time and delay some task that I really don’t want to do, even though the bigger task is probably wayyy more important. Pomodoro Technique In comes the “Pomodoro Technique”! Named after the tomato-shaped timer …

Think A Song On Repeat All Day Will Drive You Nuts? Think Again!

On February 16, 2018 By Justin In Working Environment

TL;DR Listen to a single song on repeat when trying to stay focused, it works. Everyone has their preference when it comes to choosing the noise level of a work environment. Now you won’t always get what you want, and I understand that if you’re working in an office environment you’re kinda stuck listening to your co-workers blabber on about the weekend for an hour, but if you could pick the noise level, what would you choose? Some people like complete silence, other’s enjoy the hustle and bustle of their local Starbucks (I have no idea how people choose to work there with all of the action going on, it would be impossible for me to focus!). Me, I will pretty much never be caught working without a set of headphones on. I have a whole array of headphones that …

About “My Productive Tips”

On February 12, 2018 By Justin In Other, Personal

Hi there, thanks for stopping by my blog! So the goal of this blog is to gather up and spread real, actionable, productivity tips that most people can implement in their lives. My motivation is that I find myself constantly caught up in “productivity porn”, little bits of content that tell us something that makes us feel like we could be productive, but is really just procrastination, and I figure I can’t be the only one out there like this. And yes, the irony of this blog probably doing the same thing to a degree is not lost on me, but I’m trying to go for things that are actionable, I promise! A few examples of this could be images with motivational quotes on them like “SHOOT FOR THE STARS”, or comparing which digital digital to-do list is the most …