Get-It-Done Guy's Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More

Learn to divorce your computer to limit your computer time to what's useful. Use your computer as a tool, and put it away when you're done with a task.

When you need to stop procrastinating, speed-date your tasks. Do a timed amount of work on each task and you'll be able to stop procrastinating and get your work done faster.

Learn how to accomplish your real goals and the goals that matter most with expert advice from the first chapter of Get-it-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More.

Sometimes you shouldn't send email because sending that email does nothing but waste time. Get tips on how you can stop sending unnecessary emails and save yourself work in the process.

Learn how to make hard decisions and get a very simple, yet powerful tip on how you can easily make those complex decisions than can stress you out.

Create a better to-do list by doing it the day before. That gives you the objectivity you need to create a better to-do list, rather than one driven by distraction and interruptions.

Task manager systems must handle everything in your life, yet be easy to use and update. Manage your to-do list using a combination of concepts from Getting Things Done and Autofocus 4.

Task management rarely tells us how to drop tasks from our to-do list. Understand which larger goal your tasks relate to, and drop tasks when their corresponding goal is outdated, when too many tasks relate to a single goal, or when a small goal comes to dominate your project list.

Overcoming obstacles is easy when you realize that every problem can be turned into an opportunity. Do it explicitly, by identifying your major problems and figuring out how you can use that very problem to enable you to do new things, to stop doing things you wish to stop, or to make contacts and connections that could lead to future success.

Find out how to remember your passwords and get tips for the best ways to keep track of your passwords when you have too many passwords to remember easily.

Keeping in touch with friends requires having a system for keeping their contact information (preferably not one that's at the mercy of a 3rd party!) Then you need to establish regular contact using appropriate in-person, phone-based, or text to keep in touch.

Plane flights are the ideal time to work on the kind of focus work you can't get done in an office. If you can't use a flight for focus time, use it to catch up on administrative work. Don't try to bring everything, and think twice before bringing your laptop.

Adult language learning can happen more rapidly than infant or childhood language learning. Use exposure to the language and graduated recall to activate your brain's natural language-learning mechanisms.

When you need to regain motivation in your job, you can look at the Mojo different job activities bring you. Using the Mojo measuring tool created by by Marshall Goldsmith, you can rate your happiness, meaning, professional, and personal mojo for the major elements of your job. Once you know where the gaps are, you can shore them up or eliminate activities.

Often, we name files based on what we're thinking when we need to create one. By naming your files carefully, you can sort them alphabetically and they'll stay neatly in a sensible order, even if you're sloppy about putting them in the right folders. Questions go to getitdone@quickanddirtytips.com or 888-WRK-LESS. Like what you hear? Help us out by writing a review at iTunes!