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Secrets of Productive People: 50 Techniques To Get Things Done
Discover the 50 secrets that productive people know - complete with strategies for putting them into practice.What do productive people know that the rest of us don't? Do they have a secret recipe for success? Is there a special alchemy to being productive? The Secrets of Productive People reveals the 50 things you need to know to get things done. Each chapter outlines one of the 50 ideas and gives three strategies for putting it into practice. Some ideas will surprise you, all will inspire you. Put these simple strategies together and you have a recipe for a better life, a formula that will unlock a more productive you. Whether you want to improve your efficiency, clear your desk, or be on top of your work, this book provides the tools and techniques you need to be more productive. With dedicated sections on having a productive attitude, managing specific projects, aids to productivity and productivity in action, it gives you everything you need to know.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2015
94 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
About the author
Mark Forster
24 books37 followersMark Forster is full-time life coach. He frequently runs workshops and seminars specialising in time management.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 12, 2015
My one criticism is that he can be a little vague, but I took one big thing away from this: why to-do lists might not be a good idea. I have always been an addict of to-do lists and they often just hang over my head and make me feel bad. I am trying out his alternative -- early days so we'll see how it goes. The jury is still out, but he really has made me think!
December 28, 2015
A few nice takeaways, such as:
1. Beat your personal a average, instead of your personal best.
2. Productivity through innovation
3. It's all about the process
1. Beat your personal a average, instead of your personal best.
2. Productivity through innovation
3. It's all about the process
June 27, 2020
- A book with lots of productivity advice, some relatively standard or uninteresting, but some quite unique or contrarian.
- One of the most valuable insights I gained from the book is the importance of questioning, and working on things "little and often":
- Ask a lot of questions about a lot of things, answer the questions. Continue asking the same questions every day and write down better and better answers over time. (The maturation technique)
- Ask questions and work on things a little but often. Repeated exposure and consistency. Consistency and repetition also builds skills.
- And Productivity is a skill that can be trained. Train yourself to become more productive by working with your time management system continuously. Get the low-level systems in order. Review what you have done each day and make small changes (continuous feedback). But avoid fiddling around with you time management system too much or your just paying attention to the system rather than doing the work.
- Good time management systems (like task management systems) have a few important characteristics
- Makes it easy to work on important tasks, they can be "actioned" effortlessly
- Important projects are given enough time and attention
- Good systems are in place to ensure that daily routines are handled with little conscious thought and effort (follow the path of least resistance.)
- Mark suggests that we don't prioritize tasks by importance, because anything that we have committed to doing should be important enough to do, and if it isn't you should just not concern yourself with that. Hell yes or no.
- Whatever productivity and time management system you use, practice it until it becomes second nature.
- One of the most valuable insights I gained from the book is the importance of questioning, and working on things "little and often":
- Ask a lot of questions about a lot of things, answer the questions. Continue asking the same questions every day and write down better and better answers over time. (The maturation technique)
- Ask questions and work on things a little but often. Repeated exposure and consistency. Consistency and repetition also builds skills.
- And Productivity is a skill that can be trained. Train yourself to become more productive by working with your time management system continuously. Get the low-level systems in order. Review what you have done each day and make small changes (continuous feedback). But avoid fiddling around with you time management system too much or your just paying attention to the system rather than doing the work.
- Good time management systems (like task management systems) have a few important characteristics
- Makes it easy to work on important tasks, they can be "actioned" effortlessly
- Important projects are given enough time and attention
- Good systems are in place to ensure that daily routines are handled with little conscious thought and effort (follow the path of least resistance.)
- Mark suggests that we don't prioritize tasks by importance, because anything that we have committed to doing should be important enough to do, and if it isn't you should just not concern yourself with that. Hell yes or no.
- Whatever productivity and time management system you use, practice it until it becomes second nature.
August 16, 2023
Speed reading (promo)
Book notes:
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. (Paul J. Meyer)”
“There are of course many aspects to productivity. But I want to highlight the two elements that seem most essential to me: Creativity and Efficiency.”
“You can make a formula of them: Productivity = Creativity × Efficiency.”
“you can improve your productivity by improving either your creativity or your efficiency.”
“Creativity comes mainly from questioning the problem”
“Efficiency comes mainly from good processes consistently applied”
“The heart of efficiency is systems and processes.”
“Productivity is a persistent and consistent interaction between creativity and efficiency”
“We have seen that productivity is essentially a matter of bringing our creative ideas into fruition. Without creativity productivity is reduced to mere efficiency. Without bringing our creative ideas to fruition they remain just ideas, mere pipe dreams.”
“Ordinary people think merely of spending time, great people think of using it. (Arthur Schopenhauer)”
“‘Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.’ (Vincent van Gogh)”
" Even a small move in the right direction will make a lot of difference."
“The difference between productive people and unproductive people is very largely a matter of developing the right systems.”
“Systems come in a hierarchy. At the lowest level we have systems for the normal day-to-day activities which no one can avoid unless they are in the fortunate position of having plenty of servants or staff to do the work for them.”
“Good systems for simple administration will free your mind for more productive work. Ideally you shouldn’t need to have to think about the lower-level stuff at all.”
“Most techniques for overcoming procrastination are based on ‘little and often’.”
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. (Jim Rohn)”
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot. (Michael Altshuler)”
" another thing to watch out for is non-productive meetings. These are one of the biggest time killers in many work places."
“All meetings should be cost-effective in terms of the results that they generate.”
“For productive people, discretionary time is one of their most valuable resources.”
“The question is not whether something is high priority or low priority, but whether it should be done at all. (Mark Forster)”
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started. (David Allen)”
“One of the basic systems we need is how to manage our time.”
“To become a truly productive person, the first thing that you need to establish in your life is the ability to carry out repetitive activity.”
“Avoiding the possibility of failure is a way of cutting yourself off from a huge variety of learning experiences.”
“One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all. (Brian Tracy)”
“The effect of enforcing fixed breaks may surprise you.”
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time. (John C. Maxwell)”
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. (Jim Rohn)”
“Pay someone else to do it: This is not always possible of course, especially if you are not in control of your own business. But to employ someone at a lower rate to do work which is preventing you from earning a higher rate is usually a good exchange.”
“Automate it: In this age of technology a lot of routine stuff which used to consume a lot of time can be entirely automated.”
“Time-limited projects are projects which have a definite end.”
" The main characteristic of a time limited project is that it can be scheduled."
“You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility. (Byron Dorgan)”
“Whatever activities you are engaged in – whether they include sales, advertising, learning a language, learning a musical instrument, finance, running a team, writing a book or any others of the myriad activities that people get up to – it’s highly important to get feedback. If you don’t get feedback you are just running blind with no idea whether your actions are having the intended effect or not.”
“Asking questions is a major tool when you are talking to other people about a subject or when you are researching it. Important though it is to ask questions of other people, nevertheless the most important questions are the ones you ask yourself.”
" ‘Redundancy’ is an important concept in training. It means that you train to a higher standard than you are called on to use in most situations. That achieves two things. The first is that in normal situations you are only exercising a fraction of your skills and ability. The second is that when an emergency or exceptional situation occurs you can still respond to it within your capacity. An example of redundancy training is the training of airline pilots on simulators so that they are able to deal with a whole variety of emergency situations which they wouldn’t otherwise meet in a lifetime’s experience of flying."
“If you’ve got one message from this chapter, it should be that productivity is not only about work. Rest and recreation are essential parts of keeping yourself at maximum effectiveness. The brain is part of the body and everything that affects the body will also affect the brain.”
" The productive person certainly knows that you can’t make progress without hard work, but they also know that work comes naturally once you have the right system. So rather than put their attention on psyching themselves up to work harder, they concentrate on developing a better system."
“Skimming will help you to identify the parts of the book which you want to read more closely.”
“If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, both are useless. (Darryl F. Zanuck)”
" Success does not come from sitting around trying to get into the right frame of mind – it comes from engaging with the project and working with it."
" productivity is not something you are born with, but is a learned activity. Like all learned activities it requires practice"
Best brain games (promo)
Book notes:
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. (Paul J. Meyer)”
“There are of course many aspects to productivity. But I want to highlight the two elements that seem most essential to me: Creativity and Efficiency.”
“You can make a formula of them: Productivity = Creativity × Efficiency.”
“you can improve your productivity by improving either your creativity or your efficiency.”
“Creativity comes mainly from questioning the problem”
“Efficiency comes mainly from good processes consistently applied”
“The heart of efficiency is systems and processes.”
“Productivity is a persistent and consistent interaction between creativity and efficiency”
“We have seen that productivity is essentially a matter of bringing our creative ideas into fruition. Without creativity productivity is reduced to mere efficiency. Without bringing our creative ideas to fruition they remain just ideas, mere pipe dreams.”
“Ordinary people think merely of spending time, great people think of using it. (Arthur Schopenhauer)”
“‘Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.’ (Vincent van Gogh)”
" Even a small move in the right direction will make a lot of difference."
“The difference between productive people and unproductive people is very largely a matter of developing the right systems.”
“Systems come in a hierarchy. At the lowest level we have systems for the normal day-to-day activities which no one can avoid unless they are in the fortunate position of having plenty of servants or staff to do the work for them.”
“Good systems for simple administration will free your mind for more productive work. Ideally you shouldn’t need to have to think about the lower-level stuff at all.”
“Most techniques for overcoming procrastination are based on ‘little and often’.”
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. (Jim Rohn)”
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot. (Michael Altshuler)”
" another thing to watch out for is non-productive meetings. These are one of the biggest time killers in many work places."
“All meetings should be cost-effective in terms of the results that they generate.”
“For productive people, discretionary time is one of their most valuable resources.”
“The question is not whether something is high priority or low priority, but whether it should be done at all. (Mark Forster)”
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started. (David Allen)”
“One of the basic systems we need is how to manage our time.”
“To become a truly productive person, the first thing that you need to establish in your life is the ability to carry out repetitive activity.”
“Avoiding the possibility of failure is a way of cutting yourself off from a huge variety of learning experiences.”
“One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all. (Brian Tracy)”
“The effect of enforcing fixed breaks may surprise you.”
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time. (John C. Maxwell)”
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. (Jim Rohn)”
“Pay someone else to do it: This is not always possible of course, especially if you are not in control of your own business. But to employ someone at a lower rate to do work which is preventing you from earning a higher rate is usually a good exchange.”
“Automate it: In this age of technology a lot of routine stuff which used to consume a lot of time can be entirely automated.”
“Time-limited projects are projects which have a definite end.”
" The main characteristic of a time limited project is that it can be scheduled."
“You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility. (Byron Dorgan)”
“Whatever activities you are engaged in – whether they include sales, advertising, learning a language, learning a musical instrument, finance, running a team, writing a book or any others of the myriad activities that people get up to – it’s highly important to get feedback. If you don’t get feedback you are just running blind with no idea whether your actions are having the intended effect or not.”
“Asking questions is a major tool when you are talking to other people about a subject or when you are researching it. Important though it is to ask questions of other people, nevertheless the most important questions are the ones you ask yourself.”
" ‘Redundancy’ is an important concept in training. It means that you train to a higher standard than you are called on to use in most situations. That achieves two things. The first is that in normal situations you are only exercising a fraction of your skills and ability. The second is that when an emergency or exceptional situation occurs you can still respond to it within your capacity. An example of redundancy training is the training of airline pilots on simulators so that they are able to deal with a whole variety of emergency situations which they wouldn’t otherwise meet in a lifetime’s experience of flying."
“If you’ve got one message from this chapter, it should be that productivity is not only about work. Rest and recreation are essential parts of keeping yourself at maximum effectiveness. The brain is part of the body and everything that affects the body will also affect the brain.”
" The productive person certainly knows that you can’t make progress without hard work, but they also know that work comes naturally once you have the right system. So rather than put their attention on psyching themselves up to work harder, they concentrate on developing a better system."
“Skimming will help you to identify the parts of the book which you want to read more closely.”
“If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, both are useless. (Darryl F. Zanuck)”
" Success does not come from sitting around trying to get into the right frame of mind – it comes from engaging with the project and working with it."
" productivity is not something you are born with, but is a learned activity. Like all learned activities it requires practice"
Best brain games (promo)
August 11, 2016
Probably a bit too long, but a decent amount of useful advice and tips here, as well as some broader strategic advice on handling medium-long-term goals. (This book is written by the inventor of the "Final Version" system, which is why I read it.)
October 15, 2016
I love reading Mark's blog about his constant experiments with time management. This book is full of wisdom.
August 28, 2017
Some would say this falls into "self-help" book, but it's far from it! Easy to skim, full of deep insights and tactics, without any promises of silver bullets!
Very methodic and aware of importance of (subtle) repetitions in the the process of adopting of ideas, Mark Forster provides a great insight in the way we tend to act when left without guidance and importance of deliberate regular attention. It helps understanding our very nature which is the basis of being productive and creative (or failing while trying). The text stacked with useful advice, examples from real life (not only office-like context). It provides insights into habits and examples of truly great and inspiring figures in world history, which in turn can provide inspiration to the reader. I'd also recommend skimming through entire book before reading it in detail - it's written in such way that skimming it lets the most important concepts emerge and be understood easily (with details and fine-print elaborated afterwards).
After being stuck with various apps, todo lists and "silver bullet" systems to clear my inbox and do stuff on time, this book shed light that there's no "one size fits all" approach, and clearly outlined the principles which, if set in motion, can help becoming more productive. I've been reading it over a course of several months, but I was able to apply some of techniques and principles after reading just a few chapters!
Very methodic and aware of importance of (subtle) repetitions in the the process of adopting of ideas, Mark Forster provides a great insight in the way we tend to act when left without guidance and importance of deliberate regular attention. It helps understanding our very nature which is the basis of being productive and creative (or failing while trying). The text stacked with useful advice, examples from real life (not only office-like context). It provides insights into habits and examples of truly great and inspiring figures in world history, which in turn can provide inspiration to the reader. I'd also recommend skimming through entire book before reading it in detail - it's written in such way that skimming it lets the most important concepts emerge and be understood easily (with details and fine-print elaborated afterwards).
After being stuck with various apps, todo lists and "silver bullet" systems to clear my inbox and do stuff on time, this book shed light that there's no "one size fits all" approach, and clearly outlined the principles which, if set in motion, can help becoming more productive. I've been reading it over a course of several months, but I was able to apply some of techniques and principles after reading just a few chapters!
March 4, 2024
i have come to the shocking realisation that "productivity books" (what a horrible term) are my guilty pleasure. i have also come to the (completely unoriginal) realisation that these books don't ever fucking work. they all give you the illusion of productivity. reading one of these books makes you feel like you're being productive because you think about how putting all these techniques in place will make you productive in the future, so by reading it you're investing in the long term. you won't ever do anything in these books for more than a month, most likely a week. 50 techniques? 50? i'm supposed to remember 50 things? oh no i'm actually supposed to just skim the book (the book doesn't tell you that skimming is good for productivity near the end, surely it should tell me at the beginning so i'm not wasting productive time?) and go back to it whenever. isn't constantly going back to a book ruining my productive time? these books make no sense.
two stars because a lot of the tips here are just "do less stuff" which i don't actually see a lot in these books. they're usually about using some absolute dog shit 'system' (stupid phrase) which does not work and requires a course (paid, ran by the author to make more money) to fully understand (surely going to these courses wastes valuable productive time).
the whole industry is a sham and a scam, i look forward to reading more books on productivity in the future because i love chasing ghosts.
two stars because a lot of the tips here are just "do less stuff" which i don't actually see a lot in these books. they're usually about using some absolute dog shit 'system' (stupid phrase) which does not work and requires a course (paid, ran by the author to make more money) to fully understand (surely going to these courses wastes valuable productive time).
the whole industry is a sham and a scam, i look forward to reading more books on productivity in the future because i love chasing ghosts.
August 28, 2018
This book is a collection of a lot of subjects and ideas brought by other authors for the most part. Little from it was new to me at least, so if you've read a lot of similar books I guess your experience will be the same.
Still, what it lacks in originality it makes up for in quantity and ease of use. The book has a section about skimming while reading, and how you can make your writings skimmable. Well this author walks the talk as this book is rather well-structured and makes it very easy to skim through sections without missing any content that might be relevant to you.
A great read if you're not already familiar on the subject, a good read and a great review otherwise nonetheless.
Still, what it lacks in originality it makes up for in quantity and ease of use. The book has a section about skimming while reading, and how you can make your writings skimmable. Well this author walks the talk as this book is rather well-structured and makes it very easy to skim through sections without missing any content that might be relevant to you.
A great read if you're not already familiar on the subject, a good read and a great review otherwise nonetheless.
January 25, 2018
Excellent book!
Just what I needed! Every chapter full of solid, useful, applicable and readable advice. A solid overall strategy, which is to build a workable system to run your life by (with plenty of good advice on how to do so)
Just what I needed! Every chapter full of solid, useful, applicable and readable advice. A solid overall strategy, which is to build a workable system to run your life by (with plenty of good advice on how to do so)
February 11, 2022
An interesting collection of crisp ideas to up one's productivity game.
The key takeaways for me:
1. Always strive to better your average effort instead of your personal best
2. Brutally cut down your commitments
3. Focus on Work only you can do.
The key takeaways for me:
1. Always strive to better your average effort instead of your personal best
2. Brutally cut down your commitments
3. Focus on Work only you can do.
September 23, 2019
A guide to being more productive.
I thought this was a really good book, with some straightforward / good advice - some of which I am implementing.
Reading time around six hours.
I thought this was a really good book, with some straightforward / good advice - some of which I am implementing.
Reading time around six hours.
May 16, 2025
Good , practical
Yet long boring
Yet long boring
October 3, 2016
A nice reminder of things that we claim to know but never really follow through.
September 28, 2015
Nice ideas, open loops
I liked the ideas for focusing daily creative activities, but the recurring external daily commitments are relegated to a separate "system" or systems which opens this to the fallibility of ones own implementation. As such the recommendations in this book can't be taken immediately to implement a complete system. That is fine, except that later chapters keep referencing past sections as the system to follow, when it is not a complete system and in places discourages having other systems.
Still, I plan to adopt some of the practices into my existing system.
I liked the ideas for focusing daily creative activities, but the recurring external daily commitments are relegated to a separate "system" or systems which opens this to the fallibility of ones own implementation. As such the recommendations in this book can't be taken immediately to implement a complete system. That is fine, except that later chapters keep referencing past sections as the system to follow, when it is not a complete system and in places discourages having other systems.
Still, I plan to adopt some of the practices into my existing system.
October 30, 2015
Deceptively simple insights that really get to the heart of the matter of personal productivity. Mark Forster is a master of this genre and I wish he were more widely known and appreciated!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews