Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Chances are you are already productive. So, an anecdote:

I noticed that when I make lists of things to do, and I see progress on the items ticked off, I know I am productive. No anxiety after that. (I usually write down the number of hours taken to complete each task and sometimes flip through the list to reassure myself with indulgent self-adulation).

Without the list, even though I am killing items, I still feel unproductive. It's that bizarre.

Make a list! :-)



Second this.

Making a list helps you to focus only the things that really matter, and prevents you to quickly jump to reactive-mode.

Also if you archive those lists daily, you end up with a nice work log that you can quickly scan in the future, looking for past references.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behance#Action_method


This! If a task is not on the list I don't feel good about completing it. It's like it never happened, and I look at the list and it's still full. "Nothing got done" scumbag brain says :)




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: