8 Productivity Experts on the Tricks They Use to Hold Themselves Accountable

Specific strategies for making sure you get things done

Alli Hoff Kosik
Forge

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Credit: DrAfter123/Getty Images

When Laura Vanderkam is dreading something on her to-do list, she uses it to kick off the workweek.

“If there’s something I really need to do and I’m not terribly excited about it — for example, organizing information so my accountant can do my taxes — I’ll assign it to myself on a Monday morning, when I tend to have more energy,” says Vanderkam, author of several books on productivity.

It’s a small scheduling trick, but little things like this can make all the difference when it comes to accomplishing everything you need to do. On any given day, there’s no shortage of items competing for your attention: You have multiple projects to juggle at work, errands to run, personal relationships to pay attention to, your own health and wellness to take care of, a home to keep (at least somewhat) clean. When you add up all the everyday tasks that go into running your life, in and out of the office, the prospect of getting through them all can feel a little overwhelming.

Below, productivity experts share the strategies they use to make sure they get things done.

Incentivize yourself with downtime

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Alli Hoff Kosik
Forge
Writer for

Alli Hoff Kosik is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn, NY. A voracious reader, she channeled her love of books into launching The SSR Podcast in June 2018.