I've tried practically every 'productivity hack'. Here are the ones that actually made a difference

If you’ve been around the internet long enough, you’ve probably seen every productivity trick under the sun.

Color-coded calendars. Bullet journals. Standing desks. Pomodoro timers. The list goes on.

I’ve tried most of them. Some lasted a day, others a few weeks, and a few turned out to be completely useless for me.

But over time, I started to notice that certain habits actually shifted the way I work in a meaningful way.

Here are the ones that stuck—and why they matter.

1. Scheduling my priorities instead of prioritizing my schedule

Stephen Covey once said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” 

This flipped the way I looked at my days. For years, I was just rearranging tasks on an endless to-do list. By the end of the week, the things that mattered most—writing, deep thinking, creating—kept getting pushed aside.

Now I ask myself one simple question each morning: What absolutely deserves my best energy today? That gets a time slot before anything else.

It sounds small, but it’s huge. My calendar is no longer a reflection of other people’s demands—it’s a reflection of what actually matters. 

2. Completely eliminating multitasking

For a long time, I wore multitasking like a badge of honor. I’d be checking emails while listening to podcasts, half-drafting an article while bouncing between five open tabs. It felt productive, but my output told a different story.

Research shows that multitasking can reduce productivity by as much as 40%. That’s nearly half your capacity gone.

Once I forced myself to do one thing at a time, my work quality improved dramatically. Articles took less time. I retained more when I read. Conversations actually landed.

Now I think of single-tasking as a productivity superpower. Most people say they’re busy, but they’re just scattered. When you train yourself to go all-in on one task, even for 25 or 50 minutes, you start separating yourself from the noise.

3. Following my natural energy cycles

You know those people who swear by waking up at 5 a.m.? I tried it. Spoiler: it didn’t work.

I realized that productivity isn’t about copying someone else’s schedule—it’s about syncing with your own biology.

Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman puts it well: “Understanding and aligning with...naturally occurring cycles in focus and concentration can enhance overall productivity and work efficiency in the long term.”

For me, deep creative work is best in the late morning. Admin tasks? Afternoon slump territory. Reading or learning? Early evenings.

Once I started building my days around my natural peaks and valleys, work felt smoother. Instead of fighting against myself, I was working with myself.

4. Building systems instead of relying on goals

I love a good goal as much as anyone, but I kept running into the same problem: motivation faded.

That’s when I stumbled on habit expert James Clear’s line: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” 

That hit me. Goals are outcomes. Systems are the repeatable steps that get you there.

For example, instead of saying “I’ll write 15 articles this month,” I built a system: three hours blocked every morning for writing, no matter what. Instead of promising to work out three times a week, I laid out my gym clothes the night before and committed to showing up.

Goals give direction, but systems create progress. And progress is what keeps momentum alive.

5. Reflecting on my work for just 15 minutes daily

This one seemed almost too simple. But research shows that workers who reflected for just 15 minutes at the end of each day performed 22% better after a month compared to those who didn’t. 

So I started doing it. Nothing fancy—just opening a blank doc and answering:

• What did I get done today?

• What worked well?

• What didn’t?

• What’s the one thing I’ll do differently tomorrow?

That tiny pause shifted everything. Instead of sprinting blindly from one day to the next, I was actually learning from my own experience. Small insights stacked up, and soon I was shaving hours off tasks just by noticing where I stumbled.

6. Starting small to build momentum

There were so many times I waited around for “motivation” to strike. It rarely did.

As James Clear explains, “Motivation often comes after starting, not before. Action produces momentum.” 

The trick is to make the starting point ridiculously small. If I didn’t feel like writing, I told myself: just write one messy paragraph. If I didn’t feel like working out, I told myself: just put on shoes and step outside.

Nine times out of ten, that tiny start snowballed into real progress. The hardest part is always going from zero to one. Once you’re moving, the resistance melts away.

7. Letting some hacks go without guilt

Here’s the thing: trying every productivity hack also taught me what doesn’t work for me.

Bullet journaling? Too fiddly. Strict Pomodoro timers? Distracting. Productivity apps that promise the world? Most just turned into another inbox to manage.

And that’s okay. Productivity isn’t about cramming more into your day—it’s about doing what actually matters, with clarity and presence.

Sometimes the best hack is learning to drop the hacks that don’t serve you.

Final thoughts

After years of experimenting, I realized that productivity isn’t about chasing the latest shiny trick. It’s about a handful of principles that stand the test of time: protecting priorities, focusing deeply, syncing with your energy, building systems, reflecting regularly, and starting small.

Everything else? Optional.

If you’ve tried all the hacks and still feel stuck, maybe it’s time to simplify. Pick one of these approaches, test it for a month, and see if it shifts something.

Chances are, it will.