I am hyper aware that I have been mentioning this constantly for quite a while but bare with me. Since watching a few videos on YouTube about Notion, their algorithm thinks I am some kind of productivity hustle porn obsessive. It constantly forces videos about apps, morning routines and hacks to make my life my productive – when in fact my outlook is the opposite. There will always be more work to do, so it’s time to do less, but better.

My biggest productivity tip isn’t another app or staring at the sun at 6am. The best thing you can do is get a notebook and use it. You don’t need to spend much, it doesn’t need to be fancy. Any old book you have lying around or can pick up for cheap is fine. Simply have a notebook by your side and jot things down when you need to.

Everything, absolutely everything. Write it down in the same place as everything else. You could use a notes app if that’s your thing, but make sure you use one notes app, it really doesn’t matter which one, and keep all your notes in one place. I am a massive proponent of keeping a notebook, but digital notes are often the route for most people to get stuff done. Just make sure you write little notes about everything that there is even a small chance you think it might be helpful. You will not remember it, write it down.

You don’t need to start a second brain, or do some weird PKM stuff, you just need to have a place full of things that will help you out. Record things you find interesting, things you need to remember, things that might help you work later on, literally anything you might need later on. You don’t need to start a commonplace book or anything, you just require a notebook around, all the time.