High-value habits require very little effort for significant results. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is planning a day’s work the night before.  Sean D’Souza of Psychotactics summed it up brilliantly (I must say) in his blog post Three Minutes That Save Three Hours.

Also, storing frequently used items on the side of your dominant hand. This makes retrieval instant and replacement convenient = far more likely to occur.  This is a high-value organization habit, believe it or not.

Here are some prize habits you can take on right now:

• Determine each day’s priorities the night before. (5 minutes)
• Review the day’s plan first thing. (5 minutes)
• Call instead of emailing for complicated questions. (5-10 minutes)
• Leave detailed messages to avoid phone or email tag. (30-60 seconds)
• Keep personal and work emails in separate accounts.
• Take frequent breaks from computer and phone work to relax and stretch. (5 minutes several times)

The good news: The best productivity solutions consist of simple habits that could save you hours every week of work (or aimless procrastination).

The bad news: You’ll have to get used to less clutter, rushing around, stress and fatigue.  But, I think you can handle that!