← LCCPRODUCTIVITY
Productivity Cheat Sheet
UrgentNot Urgent
ImportantQ1 — DO NOW Crisis, deadlines, emergenciesQ2 — SCHEDULE Planning, prevention, skill-building, relationships
Not ImportantQ3 — DELEGATE Interruptions, some meetings, some emailsQ4 — DELETE Busy work, mindless browsing, trivial tasks
★High performers live in Q2. Most reactive people live in Q1 and Q3. Q2 prevents Q1. Ask: "Is this truly important, or just loud?"
  1. Weekly plan (Sunday 20 min) — Identify 3–5 most important outcomes for the week. Block 2–3 hour "deep work" blocks for each
  2. Daily plan (morning 5 min) — Look at calendar, pick the Most Important Task (MIT) of the day. Do it first, before email
  3. Block types — DEEP WORK: Complex tasks, no interruptions. SHALLOW: Email, admin, calls. BUFFER: 30 min between for overruns
  4. Protect morning — First 2–3 hours after waking = peak cognitive performance. Use for hardest work. No meetings before 10 AM if possible
  5. End of day shutdown — "Shutdown complete" ritual: review tomorrow, close browser tabs, write one closing note. Protects off-time
★If everything is a priority, nothing is. One MIT per day, completed = productive day. Three tasks "partially done" = unproductive day.
Basic cycle
25 min focused work → 5 min break. After 4 cycles → 20–30 min long break
Rules
Phone on silent and face-down. One task per Pomodoro. If interrupted, note it and continue or restart
Adjust for deep work
50 min work + 10 min break works better for complex tasks requiring flow state
Why it works
Time pressure removes perfectionism. Breaks prevent fatigue. Counting Pomodoros builds awareness of where time goes
Apps
Forest, Focusmate, Pomofocus.io (browser), Be Focused (iOS), Focus To-Do (Android)
  • Schedule deep work at the SAME time daily — routine reduces activation energy ("I work from 8–10am daily")
  • Eliminate digital distractions: phone another room, website blockers (Freedom, Cold Turkey), notifications off
  • Set clear end goal: "By end of this session I will have ___." Ambiguous goals produce low-quality work
  • Build in incrementally: Start with 60-min deep work if 25 min feels too short. Increase over weeks
  • Single-tasking rule: One browser tab, one document, one task. Multitasking reduces IQ by up to 10 points
  • Environment signals focus: Clean desk, specific playlist (lyric-free), same spot for deep work — cues the brain
  • Stop mid-sentence: Hemingway's advice — end a session mid-thought so you know exactly where to start next time