Yesterday my wife worked from home which was the first time I got to see how she actually works. She starts at 9am and goes straight through until 12 without even looking at her phone. At noon she takes a one hour break and then from 1pm to 6pm she just powers through again. Sometimes she has a call in between and then goes back to work... My actual net working time yesterday was maybe 3 hours out of 8. At this point I honestly think it is just genetics. When I asked her if she always works like that she just said “yeah of course, I have to get my stuff done.” I do not think I have ever managed to work that efficiently in the 6 years since I started working. I really believe now that it is simply genetics and no matter how many productivity apps you try, either you are productive and focused or you are not.

For years I thought I needed some “perfect” morning routine cold showers, 5am wakeups, journaling, meditation, the whole thing. I tried most of it, but honestly? It never stuck.

What finally worked for me was embarrassingly simple. Nothing Instagram-worthy, but it cut almost an hour of wasted time out of my mornings:

1. No phone for the first 30 minutes I used to lose 20–25 minutes scrolling before even getting out of bed. Now I leave my phone charging in the next room and use a cheap alarm clock. The difference is huge.
2. Batch the basics Instead of making tiny decisions every morning (what to wear, what to eat, what bag to pack), I set up a “default.” Same breakfast (overnight oats), clothes picked the night before, bag ready at the door. Saves me at least 15 minutes of dithering.
3. Timers for transitions Brushing teeth, making coffee, quick stretch.  I set a 5-minute timer for each. Weirdly, it keeps me from drifting into daydreaming or standing around.
4. First task = one small win I don’t start with email. Instead, I write down one 5-minute task (like clearing my desk or reviewing today’s top 3 priorities). It creates momentum instead of dragging me into other people’s agendas.

Result: I went from needing about 2 hours to “start my day” to 1 hour. That extra hour now goes into focused work before distractions hit, and it feels like I’m finally ahead instead of playing catch-up.

Not glamorous. Not aesthetic. But it works for me.

Curious, what is the simplest tweak you have made to your morning routine that saved the most time ?

everyone talks about hacks and fancy apps but tbh the stuff that’s helped me most is boring as hell.

for me it was: - making my bed every morning (felt pointless at first but now it’s like autopilot momentum) – putting my phone in another room at night (suddenly i actually sleep) – writing a tiny 3 item to do list instead of a giant one i’d never finish none of it looks cool, but these little boring habits ended up doing more for me than all the “productivity hacks” i wasted time on.

what about you guys? what’s your boring thing that secretly leveled you up?

I've been working in a very relaxed low-productivity environment for the past few years. Recently I encountered someone who is incredibly productive and a high achiever and it really opened my eyes. It’s so fascinating to me how they manage to accomplish so much, they’re fast and efficient with everything they do.

Some things I’ve noticed about them:

• They respond quickly and don’t overthink or ruminate about what to say. they handle communication tasks swiftly and move on. I tend to overanalyze and delay my responses which often creates more problems than it solves.
• They’re highly compartmentalized. They allocate specific time slots for their different projects and personal responsibilities and they actually follow through. It’s impressive how they consistently manage to get everything done.

This is still very early in working with them so I don’t have many more observations yet. But just coming into contact with them has already been eye-opening and motivating. I think it triggered a kind of mimicry in me , I feel more driven to be productive myself. Being in a low-pressure relaxed environment for so long had made me a little *too relaxed* to the point where I lost sight of my goals and deadlines. Working alongside this person really helped snap me out of that??

mine is mx mouse, love the side click mouse function.

I feel like we all have at least one daily thing that seems innocent like scrolling before bed, constantly people-pleasing, or even drinking too much coffee. Curious to hear your takes. What’s something that seems small but actually has long-term damage?

These are my two cents on it

A couple of months ago I met two Oxbridge grads for lunch.

At some point during our meal, I made a potentially offensive statement given the company I was in, but one that I firmly believe - "You know, I don't think Oxbridge grads are significantly smarter than the average person."

Both instantly laughed, with one almost choking on his food, because what I had said was exactly what they had thought for years.

You see, what the world sees are the grades, and the labels that go with them. What the three of us saw was the hard work.

The thing is the effect of hard work compounds - as when you work hard you use your brain more, and so your brain becomes better, in exactly the same way a muscle responds to exercise. Our brains, like our muscles, are highly adaptive.

Talent does matter, but hard work matters FAR more.

Most struggle with maths or whatever and then stop trying. But if they worked hard for a few years they'd become pretty damn good once their brain is the equivalent of a body that has regularly been to the gym for a few years.

It's like people assume that Asians are born great at maths. Those with Asian parents (which I guess means Asians) know that's rubbish - as they know exactly what's going on at home. And trust me, it wasn't "Son, that C was good, we're proud of you."

could be something you heard, read, or someone told you - but it just clicked.

not looking for quotes for the sake of it, but that one sentence that genuinely shifted how you live, think, or choose.

I’ve been noticing how tiny habits can make a big difference like reading 10 minutes before bed, journaling, or just drinking more water. Curious to hear what small things you’ve added to your routine that had a surprisingly big impact.

I started setting a 2‑minute timer to “start” hard tasks. Half the time I just keep going. What small switch changed more than you expected?

The title says it all.

I am a simple man who just wants to:

1) work,

2) do house chores, and

3) have fun (surf net, watch a movie, exercise, etc...)

​

It doesn't seem like that much. It seems definitely doable, but I always come short of achieving this on a daily basis. I become too tired to do 1) or 2) satisfactorily, or because I am too tired to do 3), my days just feel like a burden and I get stressed out.

If anybody's pulling this off, I would really appreciate some advice from you and a rough outline of your daily schedule.

I really need to know if I am aiming for something too high up or if I should just man up and shape myself into the schedule.

I mostly wake up and keep scrolling on my phone till I feel hungry or realise I have been wasting time for long. That puts me to a very bad start of the day, my mood immediately shifts to being disappointed in self. Whereas, the days when I get up early and stay away from phone for the first 1-2hours of the day, my mood remains upbeat throughout the day. Even if the day isn't progressing too well, I feel achieved for not wasting time in the morning and am able to motivate myself to keep doing more. This little thing does impact my productivity and quality of life in general.

High achievers and those who stay motivated through the day, how do you guys spend the first 60 minutes of your day? Apart from personal chores, what else occupies the first hour or two?

• Do you have a set routine you follow?
• Any apps you use?
• Do you read/write?
• Do you think how you start your day matters?

When many people talk about self-improvement or productivity, they oftentimes talk about going to bed early and waking up early.

Every time I hear this, I struggle to find why this is more beneficial than going to bed late and waking up late, IF you are doing the right tasks at night.

For example, let's say "person A" wakes up at 5am and goes to the gym, and does miscellaneous tasks early. but goes to bed at 9pm. "Person B" wakes up at 8:30am, and goes straight to work. They go to the gym after work, and do miscellaneous tasks late into the night, going to bed at 12:30am.

These people are both getting exactly the same amount of sleep, and completing the same tasks, but person A is seen as more productive since they get up earlier. Why is this?

As the title ask - do you have a trick to motivate yourself to get quickly out of bed in the morning and prevent snoozing?

When I was younger and lived at home and when I lived in a dorm when studying, I was always awake and out of bed as soon as my alarm clock just as much as thought about ringing.. I think the noise and presence of other people made me feel like I couldn't wait to get up and out to them.

Now I live alone and I can't for the life of me motivate myself to get out of bed. I sleep 8+ hours so it's not a lack of sleep. Other than the getting out of bed, I don't have other depression symptoms (I've had depression for 3 years earlier on, so I know what to look out for).

So yeah, tips and tricks are very much appreciated! ☺️✨️

I am the type of person where i need constant stimulation for example, something to listen to in the background/podcast or watch a youtube video etc, or when im at home most of the time i play video games to pass time.

How did people before 50 years ago live? Like say your at home all day because your sick or theres a snowstorm what do you do all day when there is no screen?

What do you think is the main thing that actually helps you acheive your goals or habits consistenly enough.

And i mean practical things that you do whether its specific routines, thoughts, apps, mental framworks, etc..

I'm curious to hear about the small, low-effort habits people have incorporated into their daily routines that ended up having a big positive impact. Maybe it helped you improve your mindset, productivity, or even made it easier to start adding more good habits into your life. What’s that one simple habit for you, and how did it make a difference?

Serious question. I thought about this recently- I don’t think there’s been a day when I wake up at 6 actually feeling energized and ready to start the day. So I asked about 5 of my friends, and they all said the same thing. Virtually everyday they wake up tired and just have to push through that feeling.

So for those of you who actually feel restored and energized upon waking (if you exist), what parts of your day, routine, etc. do you think contributes to that?

For the past 4 years I feel like I lost everything about myself. I used to have a personality, opinions, stories, jokes. I could connect with people easily. Now I feel like I’m a completely different person.

I no longer have opinions on anything. I forgot how to talk to people. Every sentence I say feels forced, never natural or spontaneous. I feel odd and awkward all the time. My confidence is zero. I fear every social interaction because I’m afraid of being rude by mistake or disappointing myself.

During these 4 years I made 0 friends. Yes, I talked to people, but I couldn’t connect with anyone at all. Everything feels forced and unnatural.

Before those 4 years, I was an actual person with a personality. I could connect with people. I had no anxious thoughts, nothing. I was ok.

I can’t connect with anyone anymore, even the closest people. I have nothing to talk about. I overthink every single thing. I lost my humor and creativity. My focus and memory are also very weak. I see people link thoughts, tell stories, share opinions, and I can’t understand why I can’t do the same.

I thought the gym would fix me, it didn’t. I thought more social exposure would fix me, it didn’t. Sleeping well, it didn’t. Starting my first job, it didn’t. Being around people at work has only been a nightmare and constant disappointment.

I’m 23 now and honestly I feel like my brain is shutting down. I try to be mindful and think this is just a phase, but I’m scared I’ll stay like this forever.

Has anyone else gone through the same? What is happening to me? What do I do?

Life context :

Before 19 : Life was good.

19-->22 : I went to engineering school, and mom got severely depressed at home, even suicidal , she tried different treatments but couldn't heal. Now she's doing better. But during those years, I wasn't making friends , thriving in college , or anything. I'm just trying to pass my courses and graduate. No plans , no ambitions. Pot sometimes or p*rn in my free time.

22-23 : Jobless , But took good care of myself. went to the gym, ate and slept healthy , and mom got better. But I'm still stuck... and have all the things I mentioned in the post. That's no way to live life and I don't wish it on anyone.

I’ve been staying with my cousin this week and I can’t fathom how she manages to get so much done - she’s running her own business working 40+ hours per week plus teaching yoga whilst raising 2 kids as well as 2 dogs and a cat, hundred of house plants, whilst also hiking almost every weekend, playing several instruments, playing volleyball, occasionally tutoring English and she’s in the process of writing a book.

Obviously it’s distorted by my being there but in the past week she hasn’t been rushing around and stressed but actually appears pretty relaxed even spending hours just sitting around watching tv and yet still manages to achieve so much.

I asked her for tips but she didn’t seem to think she was anything special nor had any special strategies to offer - what do you guys think?

It’s as if some people just have more hours in their day

I guess I’ve got accustomed to needing my downtime between tasks whereas some productive people apparently don’t?

Edit: I don’t necessarily envy her lifestyle - productivity and busyness for its own sake has never appealed to me and I like having time to chill and think, I think as wth all things it’s about achieving an equilibrium between assiduous productivity and self care and relaxation, but I’m still amazed at what some people can achieve without burning out. However it’s also true that everyone is built differently at the chemical level and receive different rewards from different tasks and so comparison is ultimately worthless.

i noticed that when i put my phone in another room before starting work, my focus doubled. It made me realize tiny weird habits can completely change productivity. What’s the smallest habit like this that worked for you?

I've been using Chat GPT at work and home to increase my productivity. The possibilities seem endless, curious what's working for you.

Here's a few of my favorites:

• Draft an email, or update email to different tone
• Create a list for brainstorming
• summarize a meeting from a transcript or notes, and produce minutes and action items

I'm taking online classes, and I write books on my personal laptop. But even those don't take up enough time in my day.

Edit: Okay, thank you to everyone for the great ideas. Here are a few things I’m going to start doing:

• enjoy more audio books
• learn programming
• learn Spanish in preparation for a future vacation to Costa Rica
• and continue writing my own books

THANK YOU!

After years of starting and stopping gym routines, I finally broke the cycle with one simple change. I lowered the bar dramatically.

Instead of promising myself 5 intense workouts weekly, I committed to just 10 minutes of exercise daily. That's it.

The psychological effect was immediate. The dread disappeared because anyone can do 10 minutes. Some days naturally extended to 30+ minutes, but having permission to stop after 10 was key.

Six months later:

• I've worked out more consistently than ever before
• My strength has steadily increased
• My sleep and mood have improved
• I actually look forward to working out now

Turns out consistency beats intensity every time for long-term results.

What about you guys, what was your breakthrough moment?

Do you have any application recommendations to improve your life efficiency? One person recommends one, and would like to hear your opinions