61 Hacks and Techniques To Help Boost Your Productivity in 2023 Without Sacrificing Self-Care

10 min readJan 16, 2023

Since I started my blogging business 2 years ago, I’ve tried plenty of productivity hacks and techniques.

While some of them worked, others were not as effective.

I’ve since found that the most successful hacks were those that fit my individual needs and preferences.

And because I am on a mission to support you in building a healthy work-life balance, I’ve put together a list of my go-to productivity hacks.

These simple tips will help you boost your productivity without sacrificing self-care.

I hope this list will inspire you to explore and experiment with different methods of productivity so you can find what works best for you.

Aesthetic stock image of a pink Macbook on a bed with greyish pink bedsheets. The image is purely for decorative use only to support the blog post on Hacks and Techniques To Help Boost Your Productivity in 2023 Without Sacrificing Self-Care

New year, same old me

Last year, I was lucky enough to have kicked off January in Greece with some winter sun. That vitamin D hit boosted my energy for the better and I was extremely motivated and pumped for Q1.

But this year looked very different. Having spent the majority of 2022 being a digital nomad and travelling to Italy, Mexico, Jordan, Turkey and Dubai, I was looking forward to spending my December at home in the UK recuperating.

I promised myself that I would try to make friends with winter. To look at my time back in England as an opportunity to slow down, rest, get cosy, wrap up warm and snuggle up while watching (Xmas) movies which in all honesty was something I hadn’t done in a while.

What I hadn’t prepared myself for was that Crimbo Limbo period during Christmas and New Year where you don’t know what day it is and ask yourself hourly, “What am I doing with my life?”

I got myself into a bit of a funk of not really knowing what to do.

Shall I rest? Socialise? Try and be productive. Curl up in bed and cry?

I have to admit, it was an extremely weird time to navigate.

But instead of succumbing to my thoughts of “I haven’t achieved enough this year” I kept reminding myself to focus on what I did manage to achieve. I spent time reflecting on my year and celebrating my small wins.

And I took this self-reflection and applied it to my productivity too. To reflect on what worked well, what went better than expected and what didn’t work.

What isn’t working?

Simply put, productivity is about optimising your time and working efficiently and effectively towards your goals.

It is not about waking up at 5 am every morning to get a head start on the day before everyone else or working unrealistic 18-hr days with zero rest. And it’s certainly not overloading your to-do list.

Productivity is about working in a sustainable way which makes you feel good, accomplished and fulfilled. And if it doesn’t feel like this then it might be time to reconsider your productivity techniques.

Think of your productivity routine as you would your skincare routine.

If your face cream is making you break out in a rash then chances are you wouldn’t continue to use it.

So if your current productivity methods aren’t making you more productive or you’re struggling to reach your goals then why would you stick with them?

Reflecting on anything helps you to gain clarity as you can visually see results and understand where things are going wrong.

Journal prompts for your productivity

Here are a few self-reflective journal prompts that you can use to review your productivity and goals each year:

What were my most important goals for the year? Did I achieve them? If not, why not?
What did I do well this year? How can I replicate this success in the future?
What were my biggest distractions this year? How can I minimise or eliminate these distractions in future?
What did I struggle with this year? How can I overcome these obstacles in the future?
What did I learn this year? How can I apply this learning to my future goals?
What are my top priorities for the next year? How can I ensure that I focus on these priorities?
How can I be more efficient and productive in the future? What tools or strategies can I use to help me achieve this?
How did I manage my time this year? What changes can I make to manage my time in the future better?
What did I accomplish this year that I am proud of? What can I do to build on this success?
How did I stay motivated this year? What can I do to maintain or increase my motivation in the future?

8 journal prompts to help you reflect and review your productivity hacks and strategies | Infographic, black italic text on coloured rectangles

61 Hacks and methods to boost your productivity in 2023

Reconnecting with our daily routines and responsibilities after the festive season and taking time off can be difficult. So ease back in slowly by reflecting on last year’s progress (use the journal prompts above) and reviewing your productivity tools.

Go through your current productivity hacks and methods to see which ones are working and which ones are not.

It is also important to remember that your productivity hacks may need to be adjusted depending on your mood, the seasons or what life situation you find yourself in.

Taking the time to assess your existing tools and habits now will help you get back into the swing of things so you’re prepared for when you go back to work.

Here’s your cheat sheet guide of productivity hacks to experiment with, in 2023.

And to make it even easier for you to find your ideal productivity hack, I’ve split this list up into 4 sections:

Productivity hacks to use daily
Productivity hacks to use in the morning
Productivity hacks to use in the afternoon and evening
Productivity hacks to use on the weekend

I encourage you to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.

Productivity hacks to use daily

Set clear goals that align with your values and the life you want
Build a flexible daily routine that adjusts to the seasons
Use a digital productivity and organisation tool like Notion to keep all of your ideas in one place
Don’t try to multi-task or do a thousand different tasks each day and instead keep it simple by batching similar tasks on the same day
Boost brain function, focus and overall productivity while improving your physical well-being while at work with an under-desk treadmill
Use Momentum Plus and transform your ‘new tab’ page on Chrome into a focused, productive, and inspiring dashboard
Organise your priorities and eliminate non-important tasks with The Eisenhower Matrix
Listen to instrumental music playlists so you can fully concentrate without lyrics to sing-a-long to
Take plenty of breaks
Outsource non-important and non-urgent tasks so you can focus your time on doing what is important
Leave gaps (aka breathing space) in your schedule
Know your limit and don’t be afraid of saying NO
Use a desktop wallpaper and organiser to keep your computer clutter-free
Nourish your body and drink plenty of water throughout the day
Work when you feel most productive

Productivity hacks to use in the morning

Build a nourishing morning routine that works for you
Read for 30-mins as soon as you wake up
Make your bed
Open your windows and let the fresh air in
Get your body moving and blood flowing with exercise and boost your energy levels
Go swimming (or have a cold shower)
Get dressed in an outfit that makes you feel good
Listen to a motivating and empowering podcast before you start work
Practice gratitude
Ease into the day by starting with the easiest task first to build momentum (the complete opposite of “Eat The“ Frog”“)
Establish your “daily best” by asking yourself how much you can give to the day
Set yourself an intention for the day ahead
Go screen-free for an hour when you wake up
Practice mindfulness or meditate
Wiggle your toes

Productivity hacks to use in the afternoon and evening

Use a Pomodoro Timer to complete tasks more efficiently and limit procrastination
Stop mindless browsing by using a website blocker tool like Freedom
Give your daily tasks a timeline to follow
Establish an end-of-day routine to help you shut down from work
Tidy up and prepare your workspace for tomorrow
Go for a walk
Take plenty of (fresh air) breaks
Simplify your tasks by breaking them down into smaller more manageable chunks
Relieve overwhelm by not setting yourself the goal of finishing everything on your to-do list and instead just put in the effort and do the best you can
Move your desk near the window to increase serotonin levels
Don’t work more than you need to. If you’ve finished all the tasks you set out to do that day quicker than expected, then take the rest of the day off
Reflect on your day and write down and practice gratitude by writing down 3 amazing things that happened to you today and 2 things you are looking forward to tomorrow
Go to bed at the same every night and get between 7–9 hours of sleep per night
Use a sunrise alarm clock to help regulate your bedtime routine and prepare you for a better night’s sleep.
Show yourself grace and take a step back when you need to

Productivity hacks to use on the weekend

Build a Sunday reset routine
Meal plan and start prepping your food for the week
Tidy up your personal spaces and prepare for the week
Turn off work notifications and limit social media usage
Reflect on the previous week and plan out the new week
Ask yourself this question, “What does my week need to look like for me to feel balanced?”
When putting together your weekly schedule, populate your calendar with non-work-related activities first
Figure out your top 3–5 weekly priorities (non-negotiable)
Reduce to-do list overwhelm when prepping for a new week with the “135 Rule”
Unsubscribe from irrelevant, pointless or annoying emails
Read Atomic Habits (affiliate link) and other productivity-related books
Create a vision board of who you want to be and everything you want to have achieved either by the end of this year or next. Once you’ve gotten creative, start to plan your next steps of how you can make it all happen
Celebrate your wins from the week and reward yourself
Dedicate time to self-care and doing your favourite things
Rest!

And hack number 61… Use a productivity planner

Setting goals are essential.

They give you a roadmap to follow so you can wake up every day with purpose and meaning. Setting goals and working towards achieving them helps you define what you truly want in life.

A productivity planner helps you to break down your goals into daily objectives so you can easily work towards them.

So if you’re currently struggling to reach your goals or you just want to simplify your daily schedule then let me introduce you to the Daily Productivity and Goal Setting Planner.

This planner was designed (by me) to make you more productive and provide you with the structure and accountability you need to get shit done. It will help you to set goals you’re excited about and work towards them so you can become the best version of yourself. And thanks to the colourful and quirky nature of the planner, it will also provide you with the motivation you need to keep pushing forward.

40-page undated daily productivity planner digital planner available on Etsy. Mockup image next to a beige text box and black writing.

40-page undated daily planner PLUS a 10-page quarterly goal planner
Choose between a daily or hourly planner
Weekly overview, goal tracker, to-do list and space for reflection
Break tracker, water intake, daily reflection and productivity score
Colourful, quirky design
Fillable on any computer or tablet
Digital download — get your order instantly and use it over and over again
Comes with a 14-page example guidebook to help you get started

Buy now

Final thoughts

I have written this list of productivity tips and tricks from a place of inspiration and guidance.

I don’t intend for you to copy this list hack by hack, but to play around with it.

Because productivity is not one size fits all.

I believe that we work differently from one another and we all have our unique way of doing things.

And being productive is not simply adopting someone else’s productivity hacks in the hope they will make you “do more.”

Although these productivity hacks are extremely actionable and simple enough to apply to any schedule, I recommend testing them out first to see if they suit you and if they don’t, then adjust them accordingly.

Please feel free to bookmark this page and give these productivity hacks a try until you find the one(s) that work best for you.

And drop me a comment below to let me know what productivity hacks you swear by.

I’m always looking to adopt some new tricks.

Until next week,

♡ Thalia xx