Forget intros, let’s dive right in:

1. If a particular task takes less than 2 minutes to do, do it right away.
2. Loop a single song (such as Eric Prydz’s Opus or DeadMau5’s Strobe) on repeat to enter a trance-like, deep-focus state.
3. Avoid multi-tasking like the plague.
4. The only productivity app you need is an internet blocker.
5. While working, flip your phone on DND and chuck it to the far side of the room.
6. Enable grey-scale mode on your smartphone to decimate your screen time.
7. Set imaginary deadlines to wield Parkinson’s law to your advantage.
8. For every “Yes” you say to a thing that doesn’t matter, you slam a “No” on one that does.
9. Perform your important tasks before the urgent ones.
10. Have a bottle of water within your hand’s reach while working to avoid dehydration-induced fatigue.
11. The best way to do something is usually the simplest one.
12. Every night, before going to bed, write 3 things you’ll complete at any cost the next day.
13. Disable all (or at least the social media) push notifications on your smartphone.
14. Batch-complete your “shallow” tasks such as checking emails when you’re low on energy.
15. Save the prime parts of the day for your deep tasks — and alternate short bursts of work with brief pockets of leisure.
16. Sleep at least 8 hours every single night.
17. For a long uninterrupted stretch of work, schedule it alongside 16 to 24 hours of fasting.
18. Never, ever snooze the alarm — and if you’re feeling sleep-deprived, go to bed earlier.
19. Even better, ditch the alarm and train yourself to wake up at the same time every day by sticking to a solid sleep routine.
20. Jot down every single idea, trivial or serious, that comes to your mind.
21. Have a “Do-nothing” slot in your daily routine to encourage creativity and free-flowing thoughts.
22. Meditate for at least 5 minutes every single day — the benefits are truly immeasurable.
23. Don’t leave tasks unfinished — only move to another task when you’ve deemed the present one complete.
24. Have a fixed set of priorities and write them every single day so they stay at the top of your mind.
25. Doing any task is better than procrastinating by deciding which task to do first.
26. Capitalize on your commutes by reading books, listening to podcasts, or noting down ideas.
27. Don’t rely on your fickle motivation or willpower — build habits, routines, and systems instead.
28. When working on a batch of tasks, start with the easiest of the lot — the momentum will ease the others.
29. Coffee works, but don’t get addicted to it — reserve it for your most intense tasks.
30. Want something better? Go stand in a bone-chilling shower or splash a handful of cold water on your face.
31. Forget managing your time, manage your energy instead.
32. Determine your hourly value and either ignore or outsource the tasks that aren’t worth your time.
33. Don’t mistake consuming a truckload of productivity advice for productivity.
34. Think of your day as 86,400 dollars — spend each second wisely.
35. Disable auto-play on YouTube and Netflix to break the chain of binge-watching.
36. Exercise at least 30 minutes every day to work your body and rejuvenate your mind.
37. Smart work is still hard work, just a more optimal way of going about it.
38. Every second spent creating is worth more than a minute of consuming.
39. Capitalize on your pleasurable activities by scheduling them after your “hard” tasks.
40. If something is a priority, you will always find time for it.
41. Consistently sticking to a mediocre daily routine is much better than being sporadic with an “excellent” routine.
42. Waking up 2 hours earlier is always better than sleeping 2 hours late.
43. The higher the number of daily To-Do items, the lower your chances of finishing any of them.
44. The more productive you are, the more productive you will be.
45. 4 hours of deep distraction-free work beats 9 hours of shallow slogging any day.
46. Your two biggest productivity weapons are a pair of noise-canceling headphones and an isolated workspace.
47. Turn cleaning and decluttering your workspace into a pre-work ritual.
48. Even the best productivity tip you read is worthless if you don’t implement it.

This article was first published on Medium. It is written by Neeramitra Reddy who is a personal growth addict, a gym rat, and a bookworm. He is an 11x Top writer and 2x Columnist.