{"id":100663,"date":"2023-04-16T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T20:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=100663"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:55:06","slug":"how-to-maximize-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you have big dreams but continually fail to make much progress? How many moments have you squandered just today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Someday Is Today<\/em>, Matthew Dicks explains how you can eliminate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/time-wasting-activities\/\">time-wasters<\/a> and increase your efficiency on necessary tasks. Then he argues that you must learn how to maximize productivity and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/reach-your-potential\/\">reach your full potential<\/a> so you can become as successful as possible, as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading for Dicks\u2019s top six principles for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-more-is-less\/\">maximizing<\/a> productivity and an exercise to help you apply them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-use-every-spare-moment-to-do-something-productive\">#1: Use Every Spare Moment to Do Something Productive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dicks&#8217;s first piece of advice on how to maximize productivity is to<strong> use <em>every spare moment<\/em> to make progress toward your goals. <\/strong>He explains that most people struggle to make progress because they feel like they don\u2019t have time to be productive, or they\u2019re waiting for the right conditions\u2014for example, a quiet space, an hour\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/time-block-schedule\/\">time block<\/a>, the \u201cright\u201d hour of the day, and so on. However, these are just excuses to delay taking action. You don\u2019t need perfect conditions to get started: All you need is a few minutes of free time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you\u2019re waiting for your professor to start her lesson, pull out your notebook and start <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-brainstorm-effectively\/\">brainstorming<\/a> your next creative project\u2014even if you only have a few minutes, you\u2019ll be a few minutes closer to reaching your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Using <em>every spare moment<\/em> to do something productive might be counterproductive because it leaves no time for breaks. In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/hyperfocus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Hyperfocus<\/em><\/a>, Chris Bailey explains that <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/hyperfocus\/chapter-7#why-rest-matters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rest\u2014not just sleep, but restful breaks throughout the day\u2014is essential to productivity<\/a> because it increases your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/improve-working-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein\/\">working memory<\/a> capacity and your ability to focus on and perform tasks effectively. Consequently, Bailey recommends taking a 15-minute break every 90 minutes or so. During this time, don\u2019t perform any tasks (even menial ones like scrolling on social media)\u2014just let your brain wander.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#2: Don\u2019t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, <strong>avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, <\/strong>Dicks suggests.<strong> <\/strong>He explains that people who dedicate themselves solely to <em>one<\/em> goal, discipline, or area of interest won\u2019t reach their full potential and achieve extraordinary things. They\u2019re blind to additional areas in which they might thrive because they\u2019ve never considered pursuing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To overcome this self-limiting behavior, Dicks offers two tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Take every opportunity. <\/strong>Dicks argues that you should take every opportunity you\u2019re presented with, even if it doesn\u2019t necessarily contribute to your current goal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Branch out. <\/strong>Pursue multiple goals, disciplines, or areas of interest at the same time, Dicks notes. This is important for two main reasons:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You\u2019ll solve problems and remain productive in the meantime.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll increase your creativity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#3: Fail Often<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, Dicks recommends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-push-yourself\/\">pushing yourself<\/a> and failing often.<strong> <\/strong>He argues that, to progress, you must fail first\u2014the more you fail, the closer you\u2019ll get to success. <strong>Failing makes you realize what you\u2019re doing wrong, and every attempt from that point on will be better as you correct your mistakes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Analyze Your Failures Using the \u2018Five Whys\u2019 Technique<\/strong><br><br>Some experts agree that pushing yourself and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/personal-life\/self\/learn-from-failure\/\">learning from your failures<\/a> is crucial to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/steps-to-achieve-your-goals\/\">reaching your goals<\/a>. They add to Dicks\u2019s argument by specifying how <em>exactly<\/em> you can use your failures to your advantage: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/a27yhpa\/how-to-learn-from-your-mistakes#:~:text=3.%20Analyze%20Your%20Mistake\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Objectively analyze your failures to determine what went wrong.<\/a> You could use the \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/a3mi00v\/5-whys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Five Whys\u2019 technique<\/a>: First, ask yourself <em>why<\/em> things didn&#8217;t go as planned at the most surface level. Then, ask yourself <em>why<\/em> your answer was the case. Finally, repeat the process three more times until you\u2019ve asked \u201cwhy\u201d a total of five times. You\u2019ll uncover the fundamental reason for your failure so you can learn from and avoid it in the future.<br><br>For example, imagine you failed to get a graphic design job you applied for. Your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/5-whys-analysis-root-cause-analysis\/\">five whys<\/a> would be (1) Why did I fail to get the job? Because my style didn\u2019t match the company\u2019s needs. (2) Why didn\u2019t my style match? Likely because my designs are fairly simple compared to the intricate designs featured on their website. (3) Why are my designs too simple? Probably because I\u2019m used to designing for local businesses rather than big corporations. (4) Why do I always design for local companies? Because I tend to apply for smaller jobs that I feel confident I\u2019ll receive. (5) Why do I only apply for these types of jobs? Because I fear rejection.<br><br>Ultimately, your fear of rejection led to your failure in this situation because it prevented you from pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and adapting your graphic design style.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#4: Motivate and Inspire Yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dicks also advocates <strong>learning how to motivate and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-inspire-yourself\/\">inspire yourself<\/a>. <\/strong>He believes this is crucial to implementing his previous recommendation to fail often\u2014you\u2019ll only be resilient and persistent enough to learn from your disappointing failures and keep pursuing success if you can motivate yourself. Further, aside from failure, you\u2019ll encounter many obstacles on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-be-rich-and-successful\/\">the path to success<\/a> that require motivation to overcome\u2014disrupted plans, rejections, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dicks offers three tips for building <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-increase-intrinsic-motivation\/\">internal motivation<\/a> and inspiration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/know-your-why\/\">Find your why<\/a>.<\/strong> Remembering the underlying reasons why you\u2019re pursuing your goals will inspire and motivate you to continue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reflect on your struggles and successes. <\/strong>Dicks notes that it\u2019s easy to get worn down and feel like giving up when you face barriers or fail to see results from your work. To persist through these challenges, remind yourself of all the hardships you\u2019ve faced in the past and how you overcame them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Celebrate your achievements. <\/strong>Celebrate your achievements, big and small, as you progress toward your goals, Dicks suggests.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#5: Maximize Your Creative Potential<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dicks also recommends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-more-creative\/\">boosting your creativity<\/a> by implementing the following tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Consume varied content. <\/strong>Consume a wide variety of content as often as you can, Dicks suggests. You\u2019ll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/expand-your-knowledge\/\">expand your knowledge<\/a> in new directions and come up with new, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/original-ideas\/\">unique ideas<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reuse your old work. <\/strong>Dicks recommends making the most of the work you&#8217;ve already created by reusing it for future projects. You can do this in three ways:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Repurpose a project that didn&#8217;t work out for a different, future venture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use components of past projects for future projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use past projects to inspire your work on future projects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#6: Create a Support Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, Dicks recommends <strong>finding a group of people to support you.<\/strong> They\u2019ll help you progress toward your goals by holding you accountable and providing encouragement and feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To create your support group, <strong>choose the people who love and support you<\/strong>\u2014avoid people who might envy your success, as they might undermine you. Further, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/share-your-work\/\">share your work<\/a>, goals, and deadlines with these people so they can give you constructive feedback and hold you accountable for completing goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Exercise: Create More Time for Productivity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dicks recommends boosting your chances of success by using every spare moment to do something productive. But to have more spare time, you must <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/making-the-most-of-your-time\/\">maximize your time<\/a> and efficiency. In this exercise, we\u2019ll identify the time-wasters that you can eliminate and tasks that you can complete efficiently to create more spare time for working toward your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Record five to 10 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/routine-tasks\/\">routine tasks<\/a> that you perform daily and the amount of time you spend completing each one: for example, scrolling on your phone before getting out of bed\u201410 minutes, making breakfast\u201415 minutes, reading your email\u201410 minutes, and so on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify whether each task you listed is necessary. Cross the unnecessary tasks off your task list and stop doing them. For the necessary tasks, estimate the minimum amount of time you can complete them in and make this your new goal. (For example, scrolling on your phone is unnecessary, so stop doing it; making breakfast is necessary, but you can probably get it done in five minutes rather than 15.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Now that you\u2019ve eliminated unnecessary tasks and minimized the time allotted to complete necessary ones, consider whether you can combine any tasks (multitask) to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-things-done-faster\/\">get things done faster<\/a>. (For example, rather than taking five minutes to eat breakfast and five minutes to check your email, combine these tasks and check your email <em>while<\/em> you eat breakfast.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At this point, you\u2019ve gotten rid of unnecessary tasks, minimized time spent on necessary tasks, and identified areas where you can multitask. Record how much time you\u2019ve now saved and how you\u2019ll use that extra time to make progress toward your goals. (For example, if you\u2019ve gotten rid of three unnecessary tasks that typically take 10 minutes each, reduced two 10-minute tasks to 5 minutes, and then combined those two tasks, you\u2019ve saved 45 minutes each morning. You can now use this time to send in audition tapes to progress toward your goal of being an actor.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have big dreams but continually fail to make much progress? How many moments have you squandered just today? In Someday Is Today, Matthew Dicks explains how you can eliminate time-wasters and increase your efficiency on necessary tasks. Then he argues that you must learn how to maximize productivity and reach your full potential so you can become as successful as possible, as soon as possible. Continue reading for Dicks\u2019s top six principles for maximizing productivity and an exercise to help you apply them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":27601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,43,30],"tags":[996],"class_list":["post-100663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-self-improvement","category-work","tag-someday-is-today","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To be as successful as possible, you must learn how to maximize productivity. Discover six principles for making the most of what you have.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To be as successful as possible, you must learn how to maximize productivity. Discover six principles for making the most of what you have.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-16T20:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T20:55:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-16T20:12:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-21T20:55:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\"},\"wordCount\":1485,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Someday Is Today\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Motivation\",\"Self-Improvement\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\",\"name\":\"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-16T20:12:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-21T20:55:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"To be as successful as possible, you must learn how to maximize productivity. Discover six principles for making the most of what you have.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg\",\"width\":1220,\"height\":650},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today - Shortform Books","description":"To be as successful as possible, you must learn how to maximize productivity. Discover six principles for making the most of what you have.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today","og_description":"To be as successful as possible, you must learn how to maximize productivity. Discover six principles for making the most of what you have.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-04-16T20:12:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-21T20:55:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1220,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today","datePublished":"2023-04-16T20:12:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-21T20:55:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/"},"wordCount":1485,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg","keywords":["Someday Is Today"],"articleSection":["Motivation","Self-Improvement","Work"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/","name":"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-16T20:12:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-21T20:55:06+00:00","description":"To be as successful as possible, you must learn how to maximize productivity. Discover six principles for making the most of what you have.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg","width":1220,"height":650},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maximize-productivity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Maximize Productivity: 6 Ways to Make the Most of Today"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/productivity-hard-work-motivation.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100663"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147531,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100663\/revisions\/147531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}