Part 2: Time management techniques that actually work

Lenny Rachitsky shares seven more practical productivity tactics following his popular time management post. The core argument is that small, concrete habits, such as arbitrary deadlines, physical to-do lists, graceful ways to back out of commitments, daily calendar reviews, and audits of time and energy, can make a noticeable difference in how well people use their time. The post also includes a giveaway promotion for a summit ticket.

01Key takeaways

• Let the person doing the work pick an arbitrary deadline; once a date exists, people tend to hit it.
• Keep to-dos on paper within sight and rewrite them each morning to focus on the top priorities.
• Backing out of an earlier yes is often feasible; tailor the message to the situation's urgency.
• A brief end-of-day and end-of-week calendar review reduces morning anxiety and exposes overloaded days.
• Audit both time and energy to align daily schedules with stated priorities and energy-giving work.

02Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.