These are a collection of my best tips & tricks for being productive at work. They're based on my work as the VP of Product at Timeful, a smart calendar company acquired by Google in 2015, and over 15 years developing productivity applications at places like MicroContent (later Jump!) and Palm.

1. GETTING THINGS DONE
TIPS AND TRICKS
Brian Frank
@bfrank
Product Manager, Palm
VP of Product, Timeful
“[Brian] is a *machine* of execution, getting more done in
a day (in priority order) than almost anyone I’ve met.”
- Leading Tech Exec

2. GETTING THINGS DONE
PROVEN METHODS
▸ Establish Rituals
▸ Do the ‘Hard Thing’ First
▸ Delay Reading Email
▸ Avoid Structured Procrastination
▸ Protect Your Most Productive Time
▸ Schedule Yourself First
▸ Ban Meetings - At Least for One Day
▸ Run Effective Meetings
▸ Schedule Others - And Be Nice
▸ Clearly Articulate Your Rules

3. RITUALS

4. GETTING THINGS DONE
RITUALS ARE POWERFUL
▸ Focuses your mind
▸ Makes you consistent
▸ Set you up for a ‘good day’
▸ Tip: Write the 3 things you need to get done that day right
when you walk into the office.

5. DO THE ‘HARD THING’
FIRST

6. GETTING THINGS DONE
‘EAT A LIVE FROG FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AND NOTHING
WORSE WILL HAPPEN THE REST OF THE DAY’ - MARK TWAIN
▸ You’re prepared to do the difficult stuff
▸ 85-90% are most productive first thing in the morning
▸ Getting the hard thing done makes you feel better
▸ Tip: Schedule chunks of a hard, multi-day project first thing
in the morning

7. DELAY EMAIL

8. GETTING THINGS DONE
EMAIL IS A ‘TIME SINK’
▸ There’s ALWAYS going to be plenty of email first thing in
the morning
▸ People are conditioned to pick up their phone after
waking up. Resist! (If you can’t, ‘triage’)
▸ It’ll be there when you get to it, and we have periods of
low productivity where checking email is the perfect task
▸ Tip: Schedule time to do email in your ‘low productivity’
time - after lunch, end of day, on the train

9. AVOID STRUCTURED
PROCRASTINATION

10. GETTING THINGS DONE
TO DO LISTS ARE EVIL
▸ They’re a record of everything you WILL NOT get done
▸ You intermingle simple things (‘schedule meeting’) and
hard things (‘work on project’)
▸ You set yourself up for Structured Procrastination
▸ Tip: Prioritize & say ‘no’ to things on your To Do List - its
liberating and helps you focus on whats important

11. PROTECT YOUR MOST
PRODUCTIVE TIME

12. GETTING THINGS DONE
WE HAVE RHYTHMS
▸ Most people are most productive in the morning
▸ People are less productive after lunch and later in the day,
but NOT just before the end of the day (special case)
▸ You work better when you have ‘commitments’
▸ Tip: Learn what times you’re most productive, and schedule
your tasks into those slots (ON YOUR CALENDAR!)

13. SCHEDULE YOURSELF
FIRST

14. GETTING THINGS DONE
NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM
▸ If you don’t schedule yourself, someone else will
(‘time thieves’)
▸ People fail at large projects because they don’t actually
account for the amount of work that will go into it
▸ So we ‘cram’ at the last minute, which produces lower
quality results
▸ Tip: Block off key times in your schedule, and be ruthless
about keeping them for yourself

15. BAN MEETINGS -
AT LEAST FOR ONE DAY

16. GETTING THINGS DONE
MEETINGS ARE THE ANTI-THESIS OF PRODUCTIVITY
▸ When you have to get something important done, having
clear time on your schedule to do it is critical
▸ Meetings end up breaking up the day, and you avoid
getting into ‘flow’
▸ Meetings are often not run properly (we’ll tackle that next)
▸ Tip: Agree with your team on a ‘meeting free’ day

17. RUN EFFECTIVE
MEETINGS

18. GETTING THINGS DONE
MEETINGS OFTEN DON’T YIELD TANGIBLE RESULTS
▸ We schedule 1hr long meetings because our calendars do
that by default
▸ There’s VERY few meetings where you actually need an
hour
▸ And every meeting should have clear objectives and
outcomes set upfront
▸ Tip: Book 30 min meetings, have a clear agenda, and do
them standing up

19. SCHEDULE OTHERS -BUT BE NICE!

20. GETTING THINGS DONE
WE’RE ALL VERY BUSY
▸ When dealing with others (investors, partners, customers)
make sure you are the ‘leader’ on getting it scheduled
▸ Recognize that everyone is busy, and you have to be flexible
on scheduling - so give several options that work for you first
▸ Don’t rush meetings onto the schedule - better to be
prepared and have a successful meeting
▸ Tip: ‘I’m happy to get that on our schedule, how’s these days/
times …’

21. CLEARLY ARTICULATE YOUR RULES

22. GETTING THINGS DONE
RULES ARE A WAY OF MAKING PEOPLE CONFORM TO YOUR PLAN
▸ We are inherently rule-driven creatures
▸ Rules are instilled in us at a very early age
▸ We feel guilty when we break peoples’ rules
▸ Tip: Make rules about days/times for meetings - i.e. - ‘I have
to take all my meetings before 4:30pm, because I need to
get home for dinner with my kids/spouse.’

23. TIME IS YOUR MOST PRECIOUS AND
SCARCE RESOURCE - YOU ONLY
HAVE SO MUCH, AND YOU CAN’T
MAKE MORE
Dan Ariely, Behavioral Economist
GETTING THINGS DONE