Ways To Be More Productive—This Stuff REALLY Works!!

Keep To-Do Lists -- Writing a simple list first thing in the morning goes a long way toward keeping you focused all day.

Get Enough Sleep -- Pulling all-nighters and drinking three pots of coffee won't last long. If you want sustained success, do a better job of planning your work and get a decent night's sleep every night.

When Stuck, Move on to New Tasks -- When you're fixated on a problem that starts consuming every moment of your attention, just move on and find an easy task to check off on your list. When your mind is fresh, you can attack the old problem with new energy.

Schedule E-Mail Checks -- Balance is the key here. Don't let e-mails stack up until things are unmanageable and don't hover around your e-mail box all day, every day. Instead, pick one or two times each day to knock out your inbox.

Don't Wait on Others -- Sending out an e-mail and waiting for a response is the perfect excuse to search funny cat videos for the next three hours. Don't do it. You need to be persistent and proactive with your correspondence. Or, at the very least, find productive things to do while waiting.