Life Laundry Day: Get Your Affairs in Order Each Week to Clear Your Mind

One of the least likable characters in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Count Vronsky, has a habit that I really like: every now and then he has a “laundry day” where he puts all his affairs (financial, career, etc.) in order, and completely clears his mind.

And when he’s done “doing his laundry” (he doesn’t actually wash his clothes), he feels like a new man. His friend says it always looks like he just got out of a bath.

The List to Beat All Lists: Top 20 Productivity Lists to Rock Your Tasks

The productivity list is a common animal these days (goodness knows I’ve done my share), but how do you sort among them all?

You’d need a list of the best lists, that’s how.

Never fear — I’ve done all the homework for you, and compiled the best of the best productivity lists, in my humble opinion. Some of them are a bit old, but that’s because they’re good stuff, and many of you might have missed them anyway.

The Unsurpassable Productivity List: A Handy Guide to Getting Important Things Done

And now, for the list to surpass all lists. The productivity guide you’ve been waiting for your entire life. The only resource you’ll ever need.

Well, it might not be all that but I hope this list of my best productivity articles will be of some use to you. :)

I’ve gathered together some of my best posts on productivity, ZTD and GTD, to help guide you if you’re having trouble getting work done. I hope this list will be a handy resource, and that you’ll bookmark it for future reading.

Lessons in Productivity from Ralph Waldo Emerson

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Brett McKay, editor of The Art of Manliness

Before there was Steven Covey, or GTD, or Zen Habits, before simplicity was hip, and even before the advent of a crushing load of modern technology from which people would long to be freed, there were the American Transcendentalists. The OG of simplicity. Foremost among these was Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the finest American minds, and a man who espoused principles that resonate even today.

9 Steps to Achieving Flow (and Happiness) in Your Work

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” - Buddha

Have your ever lost yourself in your work, so much so that you lost track of time? Being consumed by a task like that, while it can be rare for most people, is a state of being called Flow.

In my experience, it’s one of the keys to happiness at work, and a nice side benefit is that it not only reduces stress but increases your productivity. Not bad, huh?

When I wrote about the Magical Power of Focus, I promised to write more about how to achieve Flow, a concept that is very much in vogue right now and something most of us have experienced at one time or another.

Ask the Readers: How Do You Deal With Email?

If you’re like me, you get a lot of email. You might even live in your email inbox, doing a lot of work from there. But if you’re not careful, email can become overwhelming.

I’d like to hear from you — are you overwhelmed by your email? If not, how do you handle it so that it’s manageable? What does your inbox look like? What are your favorite tips and tricks?

So here’s today’s reader question:

How do you deal with email? Are you overloaded? Or do you have some tips that work for you?

Let us know in the comments!

How to Get a Lot Done – 7 Tips to Achieve More

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Collis Ta’eed, co-founder of AudioJungle, FlashDen, many other sites. You can find him on Twitter.

Have you ever written out a list of goals you’d like to achieve and thought, ‘How can I get all this done’? Or seen an opportunity that you’ve had to pass by because you are just flat out? Life is a torrent of choices and possibilities, and often it’s hard to let them go. Should you compromise? Or do you just need a better game plan?

As an easily excitable person, I have a really hard time constraining myself to doing just a few things. Every project seems worth doing, every opportunity worth taking. Still I know that for many people, work is a way to make enough money to relax and enjoy life. If that sounds like you, then you may not get much out of this article. However, if your days are filled to the brim and yet you still can’t wait to start that new project, then I am speaking to you!