I get things done.

And as a boss, if there's one thing that I look for in employees, it's not intelligence or ability, but their ability to get stuff done.

So here are some basic rules I have that help me be more productive day in and day out.

1) Turn off notifications

More and more the research shows we (humans) cannot multitask. Males and Females. We have finite neural resources and switching tasks is hard for our brain. So any time you get a notification on your phone or computer: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Email, Texts, Hangouts, Strava, etc. Your brain is using valuable neural resources. Is it worth it? Not to me. I try to minimize the notifications on my phone by adjusting app preferences.  Do I still check Facebook, yes... but it's not a beacon of distraction calling to me anytime someone likes a post of mine.

2) Touch it Once

This follows on the heals of (1). If you are going to use neural resources to switch tasks and read an email... then go ahead and finish up with the task. Don't just read an email and think "I'll respond to that later," because you'll inevitably end up seeing and thinking about that email many times before you finally take action on it. If you're going to read an email, take action and move on. If you don't have time to read and action an email, then don't check your email at that moment.

3) Guard your inbox

Very few newsletters, marketing campaigns, and notification emails add value to my life. If they're not useful, unsubscribe or use filters to sort these out.