Habit Stacking: 127 Small Actions That Take Five Minutes or Less

by S.J. Scott

make a list of the tasks you want to accomplish during the day

perfect for someone who has to work on many tasks and can’t narrow down this list to the three most important tasks

Try to be realistic about your efficiency

rate the importance of each task: 1 (important and urgent), 2 (important, but not urgent), 3 (not important, but urgent), or 4 (not important, not urgent).

focus on your most important tasks (MITs) before anything else.

review goals daily, so you can create a plan of what you need to do that day

create five to seven goals per quarter

Keep your goals in an easy-to-access place.

ask yourself, “How does this action bring me closer to one of my goals?”

focusing on their hardest tasks

that it is also the task that will give you the most benefit.

Look at your list of MITs and underline the one that you know you’d put off indefinitely if you had the chance.

set aside time during a stack to create a step-by-step plan,

chunk it down into simple-to-complete steps.

Remove Distractions before Working

closing your email tab and banning social media

FocusBooster: Uses the Pomodoro Technique

Interruption-Free Environment

create a mini-stack that you’ll complete prior to any activity that requires 100% concentration.

set aside thirty minutes

identify all the distractions in your life.

map out a simple process for how you’ll r...

complete a five-minute habit before starting an...

Declutter Your Desktop

Spending five minutes clearing your work area

Clear all paperwork off your desk except what you will need that day.

deleting temporary files and downloads

Improve Focus by Playing Music

I use the focus@will app whenever I write or simply to need to focus on an important task.

you could use Coach.me,

Reward Yourself for Completing a Task

add small rewards to your workday.

Team Viz (a program that syncs between your computer and mobile phone)

Identify One Task to Delegate or Outsource

identify (and delegate) any activity that gets in the way of maximizing your job efficiency.

apps like IFTTT and Zapier.

unsubscribe from a few email lists each day.

Nick Loper’s Side Hustle Nation

Beyond: Another social media site for professionals,

Tracking your expenses is the most important financial habit you could ever develop,

A Cloud-based software program and app like Mint.

budgeting-specific tool like You Need a Budget.

app like 7 Minute Workout,

Browse Amazon’s Top 100 List (look in your preferred category).

commit to putting away three or more items every few hours,

While taking a few minutes of “me” time is always important, this can be critical whenever you feel surrounded by negativity.

do something during your lunch break to recharge your batteries.

evening, add an energizing habit that gets you out of “work mode”

Set aside two minutes every day to send a heartfelt text message.

leaving a note for a friend, family member, or loved one is a little action that goes a long way.