This document provides tips for getting things done and being more productive. It recommends focusing on the most important tasks each day, setting aside time each day or week to work on big projects, waking up earlier to gain an extra productive hour, creating a "will not do" list to avoid distractions and time wasters, getting rid of distractions by turning off notifications and scheduling response times, adopting an "inbox zero" approach to email, making quick decisions using a "do it now" mantra, writing everything down rather than relying on memory, focusing on one task at a time through monotasking, using triggers to create habits and reminders, visualizing goals and steps to achieve them, allocating time based on a

1. Nguyen Manh Tu

2. Pick one thing and get it done today
The most effective way to do it, is to do it
If you don’t do it, it won’t get done. And if you don’t do it now, you probably
won’t do it at all. Motivation must defeat procrastination. This is a good time to
get started.
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done
You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good
Get shit done is the best way to predict your future
To have a great tomorrow get a lot of your work done today
Good things come to those who wait or those who are willing to get up and get
shit done
It always seem impossible until it is done
The best way to get something done is to begin
If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you will never get it done
The secret of getting things done is to act
Favorite quotes

3. 1. Most Important Tasks (MITs)
• At the start of each day (or the night
before) highlight the three or four most
important things you have to do in the
coming day. Do them first.
• If you get nothing else accomplished aside
from your MITs, you’ve still had a pretty
productive day.

4. 1. Big Rocks
• The big projects you’re working on at any given moment
• Set aside time every day or week to move your big rocks forward

5. 1. Wake up earlier
• Add a productive hour to your day by getting up an hour earlier — before everyone
else starts imposing on your time

6. 1. Create “I will NOT do” list
• Most people enjoy to-do lists
• Bad habbits are as signficant as the good ones
• They make you unproductive

7. 1. Get rid of distractions and time wasters
• It takes approximately 10 to 20 minutes from when you were first distracted to get
back to what you were doing
• Turn off Facebook and email notifications
• Schedule time for phone calls and answering emails
• Unsubscribe from email lists irrelevant to your business

8. 1. Inbox Zero
• Decide what to do with every
email you get,the moment you
read it
• If there’s something you need
to do, either do it or add it to
your to do list and delete or file
the email
• If it’s something you need for
reference, file it
• Empty your email inbox every
day

9. 1. Do It Now
• Fight procastination by adopting
“Do it now” as your mantra
• Limit yourself to 60 seconds
when making a decision. Decide
what you’re going to do with
every input in your life as soon as
you encounter it.
• Learn to make bold decisions
even when you’re not really sure.
Keep moving forward

10. 1. Write it down
• Don’t rely on your memory as
your system
• Write down:
 Any things you need to do,
 Your schedule,
 Anything you might need to refer
to,
 Every passing though
• Use:
 Your brain for thinking
 Paper or computer for keeping
track of stuff

11. 1. Monotasking
• We like to think of ourself as great multitaskers, but we aren’t
• Multitask: Devote tiny slices of time to several tasks in rapid succession
You have only one brain, don’t split it up. Forget multitasking, try monotasking
It takes more than a few minutes to really get into a task

12. 1. Triggers
• Place meaningful reminders around you to help you remember, as well as to
help create better habits

13. 1. Visualize
• Imagine yourself having accomplished your goals
What is your life like?
Are you who you want to be?
If not Rethink your goals
• Visualize yourself taking the steps you need to take to get there

14. 1. 50-30-20
Tasks
50% Advance your long-term, life goals
30%
Advance your middle-term (2 years or
so) goals
20% Affect only 90 days or so

15. 1. Do your worst
• Give yourself permission to suck
• Relieve the pressure of needing to achieve perfection in every task
Promise yourself you’ll go back and fix any problems later