Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved "work-life balance," whatever that might be, and you certainly won't get there by copying the "six things successful people do before 7:00 a.m." The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control — when the flood of emails has been contained; when your to-do lists have stopped getting longer; when you're meeting all your obligations at work and in your home life; when nobody's angry with you for missing a deadline or dropping the ball; and when the fully optimized person you've become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about. Let's start by admitting defeat: none of this is ever going to happen. But you know what? That's excellent news.

Do the most important thing first each day and you'll never have an unproductive day.

The one productivity system that controls all others: your emotions. 

When you are in love with what you’re doing, everything gets easier. 

When you hate what you’re doing, no productivity hack will save you.

"The most powerful productivity tool ever invented is simply the word "No.

Time-management hacks, life hacks, sleep hacks, work hacks. These all reflect an obsession with trying to squeeze more time out of the day, but rearranging your daily patterns to find more time for work isn’t the problem. Too much shit to do is the problem.

The less scheduled you are, the more creative you’re going to be.

One only criterion for (material) success: not having a schedule.

Productivity is often a distraction. Don’t aim for better ways to get through your tasks as quickly as possible. Instead aim for better tasks that you never want to stop doing.

the best way to create productivity is “to get rid of people.

productivity has nothing to do with how much you do, and everything to do with how much you accomplish.

Not scheduling your time will be one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Spend zero time on what you could have done, and devote all of your time on what you might do. Because in the end, nobody cares; just run your company.

if you want to become more productive, managing your time should take a backseat to how you manage your energy and attention.

Here is the #1 myth that kills people's productivity: 'if you fit it all in, you can have it all.'