The Most Underrated Productivity Technique Is Also the Simplest

There are only two steps

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It’s not humanly possible to read every piece of productivity advice that exists, but I think I’ve come close. And at one point or another, I’ve tried most of that advice for myself, no matter how unpleasant or out-there it seemed. There was a time when I took cold showers because I heard it would help me combat procrastination. (It did not.)

Eventually, there came a moment when I realized that studying all these time-management hacks and calendar systems and multistep strategies was only stalling me from the real work of actually getting things done. I already knew the most powerful productivity technique. It was just a matter of using it.

There are only two steps:

1. Physically get in your work position.
2. Do one small thing.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

It’s simple, but it isn’t easy. Oftentimes, we do everything in our power to avoid that first step. We grab another cup of coffee, go for a walk, read a book, run errands. Before I wrote this piece, I meticulously rearranged my bookshelf. I tried to escape. The voice inside my head told me to turn on Netflix.