I’ve worked as a content manager and copywriter for 15 years. Ask me which productivity apps I use, and I’ll say almost none.
My to-do list lives in Apple Notes. I start with the quickest tasks, keep my phone silent, and meet deadlines.
Every app promises to save time, yet each takes some back: setup, syncing, notifications, and features to learn. A few habits do more for my focus than any software.
My Stack
Four productivity tools cover my working day. A calendar holds my meetings and webinars. I write in Google Docs, and Apple Notes keeps my to-do lists.
Jira is the fourth, and I open it only when a client wants me to track my hours there.
That’s the whole list. I don’t use a task manager or a project board, and I don’t miss them.
Order
The best-known productivity advice says to do the hardest tasks first. Brian Tracy popularized the idea in his 2001 book, “Eat That Frog!”
I do the opposite. I start with the quickest tasks.
Easy tasks rarely take long. As I finish one after another, the list shrinks fast, and I reach the longer projects with momentum and a clear head.
After 15 years, I know how long each type of task takes, so I plan around deadlines. My list order changes every day. The due dates stay put.
Intervals
I did try one popular method. A version of the popular Pomodoro Technique splits work into 25-minute intervals with short breaks between them.
It didn’t work for me. Most of my work is creative, and the timer always rang at the wrong moment, usually mid-thought. After the break, I couldn’t always remember where I’d been going.
For writing, a timer is one more interruption. I’d rather stop when I finish a section.
Focus
What helps me concentrate is cutting interruptions:
- Turn off phone notifications,
- Mute sounds,
- Switch Slack to focus mode,
- Book calls and meetings in the morning,
- Finish one task before starting the next.
The meetings rule matters most. With afternoon calls, I spend the entire day in “waiting for the meeting” mode and can’t settle into anything substantial. With morning calls, the rest of the day is mine.
For me, interruptions cost more than time; they create stress and frustration, as does switching mid-task.
AI
Many people connect an AI assistant to Gmail to build their to-do lists and track important dates. I decline.
I don’t trust the companies that build those AI tools. Terms of use can change at any time, and I have no way of knowing how they’ll use my data. Moreover, my inbox holds clients’ confidential materials, which aren’t mine to hand over.
I do use AI for research, editing, and restructuring drafts. I check what it finds. But planning and thinking stay with me.
The less we think for ourselves, the more those abilities fade. A 2025 survey (PDF) of 319 knowledge workers by Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University points the same way. Respondents who felt more confident in AI reported less critical thinking. Those confident in their own skills reported more.
First Steps
Try this before you install another app. Keep one to-do list. Start with the quickest tasks. Silence your phone and Slack. Move meetings to the morning. Finish each task before you open the next.
Fifteen years in, that process works for me.
