As our attention spans decrease, productivity tools, tips, and techniques have become increasingly important. The internet is flooded with information about productivity. The tips have become a bit repetitive. With so many tips to follow we end up following none of it.

People generally think productivity is measured by the amount of work they accomplish in a given period. But being productive is all about doing the right things, not just doing a lot of stuff. And it doesn't mean that you become a workaholic zombie.

In this memo, I’ll be discussing 5 of the best Productivity hacks that have helped me in getting the right things done. These hacks will assist you to beat procrastination and allow you to do high-quality work.

1. The 80/20 Principle 

First, all the tasks you do throughout the day don’t hold equal importance. Some tasks hold far more significance than others.  It is also known as The Pareto principle or 80/20 rule.

In layman’s terms, 100% of your efforts don’t necessarily yield 100% results. Sometimes putting in 20% of your work in the right direction will produce 100% of the desired results, while other times, even after grinding 80% of your energy may only produce 20% of the results.

Prioritizing your tasks according to the degree of their importance is the foundation of beating procrastination and becoming productive. If you don’t know what is crucial to you then you’ll end up wasting your precious time on activities that you should’ve avoided or delegated.

Whenever you find yourself overwhelmed with work and fail to effectively prioritize your tasks. Ask yourself one question “What’s the ONE thing I can do, such that by doing it everything else will become easier or unnecessary?” Resist the urge to clear up small tasks first.

2. Make your “Why” Crystal Clear

All these tips & hacks are worthless if you don’t have a clear answer to the question “Why do you do what you do?”It’s a crucial aspect of staying productive. Long-term thinking improves short-term decision-making.

If you are doing a task and can’t state your “Why” in a clear way, then make something up, and give it meaning. Make this mundane task a part of the bigger picture, and you’ll discover that the task suddenly seems more bearable.

Instead of just jumping and hopping from one task to another, take a step back and devote some time to answering a crucial question: Why do you do what you do? And then rely on a system that helps you accomplish those tasks. It's not rocket science. Just Science.