Ask HN: What’s your favorite efficiency hack that people can implement in a day?

My favorite is to have a prirotized task list written the previous day, so I don't chase after shiny objects or procrastinate for fear of working on the wrong thing. Most things could be implemented in a day by someone who had already disciplined himself to similar practices: for example, not getting on distraction websites, as someone mentioned, or putting your phone in airplane mode during the workday.

Lacking that, though, I feel like most people are looking for small interrupts that inhibit the problematic pathways, like a delay in websites loading for distraction or prominently placed fruit/protein for someone with a bad snacking habit.

  127.0.0.1 news.ycombinator.com

(kind of serious)

It's a good question, yet I would propose the question itself is limiting. Being efficient includes being accurate and correct, as much as possible, over and over again, and such skills are developed with consistent practice, not with any "hacks", and usually taking more than a day.

As basic as they sound, my top 3 here are: Priority planing, execution management, and psychological self-management.

These do take more than a day to learn and implement, and after that, you are the most amazing professional possible.

Master the basic, existing tools for their job.

Maybe that's shell scripting, git, screen/tmux, ssh (keys, port forwarding, etc), microsoft excel, etc.

A shocking number of people use things day in day out for years, but basically never move beyond a beginner level of proficiency, and it takes them minutes to accomplish basic tasks that should be done in seconds.

80/20 exercise - list out all the regular tasks and responsibilities you have. Identify which of the tasks generate 80% of the value in your work, which only generate 20%. Delegate away the tasks that don’t deliver value, so you can focus on the high impact and high value tasks.

use sql

I started using a bullet journal (pen and paper). It saves my ass 2-3 times a week..

(I'm a millennial)