Soft productivity is the smarter way to work, and here's how to start
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There's a kind of workday most of us know too well. You're logged on early, you barely step away for lunch, and by 6 pm you're not entirely sure what you have to show for it. The calendar was full. The inbox moved. But the work you wanted to get done? It's Read More...
The Reddit-popular five-minute productivity rule that truly works for procrastinators
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most to-do lists have two kinds of items on them: the real work you're managing, and the small things that keep getting moved to tomorrow. Reply to that email. File that paper. RSVP to that thing. None of them take long, yet none of them seem to get Read More...
Digital decluttering tips that work without clearing your whole schedule
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You know that thing where you sit down to find one photo from last summer, and somehow it’s thirty minutes later, and you’re in 2019? Digital clutter does that. A chaotic phone or a laptop full of half-forgotten downloads creates the same low-level stress Read More...
What is an admin date? Why experts say it helps with productivity and loneliness at once
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You probably have something on your to-do list that has been there long enough to feel embarrassing. An email you owe someone. A subscription that sneakily renewed again. A form you have been meaning to file since winter. Every week, it just sits there, and Read More...
5 habits that separate growing teams from stagnant ones
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The strategy is fine. The team is capable. But at the end of the quarter, the needle hasn’t moved. Julie Turpin, Chief People Officer at Brown & Brown, says this pattern almost always traces back to the same thing: habits. “Results that stick are Read More...
Boosting your attention span: Tips to train your brain
We understand attention as a distinct mental or neurological process—however, as research in this field makes clear, "attention" is just the name we give to a variety of mechanisms we have for filtering out irrelevant or overwhelming information. The ability to selectively focus attention on Read More...
Britain’s four-day workweek trial shows no loss in productivity
According to a survey of participants published last Wednesday, the majority of the companies taking part in a four-day workweek pilot program in Britain stated they experienced no productivity loss throughout the experiment—and, that in some cases, productivity was improved. According to Jack Read More...
The benefits of "deep work" and how you can practice it
In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to decide which of the things on your to-do list (which somehow all feel urgent) to get done first. This leads many of us to try to do more than one thing at a time, which tends to result in feeling overwhelmed, scattered, and burnt out. If you can Read More...
Boost your productivity with a not-to-do list
There are a lot of distractions at our fingertips these days that can persuade us out of our productivity groove. You might feel like you’ve tried it all—from setting alarms and reminders to leaving yourself encouraging messages on post-it notes. You may even have tried the classic to-do list Read More...
This neuroscientist-approved morning routine is great for brain health
Do you ever find yourself so overwhelmed by the to-do list that you struggle to stay sharp and focused? Neuroscientist and creator of meditation app, BrainTap, Patrick K. Porter, Ph.D., and neuroscientist Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D., know the feeling. They shared with Well+Good what they do every Read More...