The full catalog
Habits for productivity
762 entries pulled from 62 stacks. Items are ordered by how many tracked people are on record about them, including discussion, use and recommendations.
Filter counts cover the full catalog. Type, goal and cost filters apply to items only.
Items
56 entries
Reset- HabitFREE, no cost01
Daily reading
A fixed daily reading block, usually books rather than feeds
On record from 25 of 62 tracked people: 23 do it, 2 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost02
Journaling
Writing to unload the mind, usually first thing or last thing
On record from 14 of 62 tracked people: 13 do it, 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost03
Early rising
A fixed, early wake time, often before anyone else is awake
On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 10 do it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost04
Daily writing
Write something every day, published or not
On record from 10 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 2 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost05
Daily minimum workout
A floor you never drop below: 20 minutes of movement and recovery on your worst day
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 4 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost06
Phone-free first hour
No email, news or social media until you have done something of your own
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost07
Weekly review
One scheduled hour a week to close loops and plan the next one
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it - HabitFREE, no cost08
Margin notes
Writing in the margins while reading, especially where you disagree with the author
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost09
Thinking retreats
Blocks of time cleared of the schedule to sit with one hard problem
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 has discussed it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.10
Batch cooking protein
Cook a week of chicken, lean meat or fish in one session so protein is always to hand
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - HabitFREE, no cost11
Deliberate discomfort
Choosing the thing you do not want to do, daily, as its own training
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 2 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost12
Habit tracking
Mark the calendar every day you do it, then protect the chain
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - HabitFREE, no cost13
Written goal sheet
Goals written down, in numbers, and kept where you see them every morning
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.14
Antilibrary
Shelves holding more unread books than read ones, kept that way deliberately
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 recommends it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.15
Eating the same meals every day
A fixed set of meals repeated for weeks so food needs no decisions
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost16
Open calendar
An appointment book kept almost empty so most days are free for reading and thinking
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - HabitFREE, no cost17
Training first thing
The workout goes before the workday; a session planned for later tends not to happen
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - HabitFREE, no cost
A high savings rate
Bank a large share of income by spending well below what the income allows
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Accountability mirror
Telling yourself the blunt truth in the mirror every day, then fixing it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Act on the thing causing stress
Make the first call or send the first email on whatever is nagging at you
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Asking for criticism
Book regular time with your manager and ask what you should be doing better
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Asking for help
Four words, can you help me, used on purpose rather than as a last resort
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Batch processing email
Sit down once and clear thirty or a hundred messages in a run
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Blackout poetry
Making a poem by blacking out most of a printed page with a marker
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Breaking one bad habit at a time
Dropping a single habit every six months and leaving everything else alone
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Commonplace book
A notebook kept only for quotes and passages copied out of what you read
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily design
Writing the day ahead in the past tense, then scoring it out of ten at night
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Documenting the journey
Filming and publishing the work in progress, failures included, before it succeeds
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Evening reset
Clear today's mess and stage tomorrow before you go to bed
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Extended sabbatical
A month or more entirely off work, announced well in advance
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
High-protein frozen meals
Ready meals chosen for protein and fiber when there is no time to cook
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Inbox zero
Empty the inbox by deciding once where every message goes
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Jotting ideas the night before
Rough notes at bedtime, organized writing the next morning
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Keeping a streak
One thing every day, with an unbroken count of days as the rule
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Lenten fasting
Forty days of giving something up, plus fast and meat-free days, in the Christian calendar
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Logbook
A few lines a day recording what happened, not what you thought about it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Making the bed
The first completed task of the day, done before anything else
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Memento mori reminder
A daily, deliberate reminder that you are going to die
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Morning newspapers
A stack of print papers read start to finish before the working day begins
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Morning puttering
A slow, unscheduled first hour or two: coffee, the paper, breakfast, no meetings
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
No meetings
Declining meetings and answering in writing instead
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
No meetings with strangers
A standing no to anyone with no existing reason to be meeting you
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
No television
Cutting TV out of solo hours, keeping it as something done with other people
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Phone calls after a workout
Spend the flat half hour after training on calls, not on hard work
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Public library
Borrowing instead of buying, and browsing shelves instead of recommendations
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Reading books out of order
Many books open at once, opened at whatever section fits your mood that day
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Rereading a small set of books
Going back through the best hundred books repeatedly rather than chasing new ones
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Rewriting notes by hand
Copying the same material out longhand, daily, until it sticks
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Saved answers to common requests
Write the reply properly once, then send it every time it repeats
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Saying I don't know
Admit uncertainty out loud instead of producing a plausible answer
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Saying I get to instead of I have to
Swap one verb in your self-talk and the daily grind reads as a privilege
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Staying put
Not switching jobs, fields or cities, so skills and trust keep compounding
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
The brain check question
Asking whether a choice is good or bad for your brain before you make it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Uncomfortable conversations
Say out loud that the conversation will be hard before you start it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Work and downtime device modes
Two profiles on one device, switched on a clock, so the machine changes job
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Working with a life coach
Regular sessions with a coach who sets priorities and holds you to them
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it
Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed.