You can read Part One of the Productivity Tips series if you missed it earlier.

Without further ado, here is the much anticipated (maybe?) part two list of My Favorite Productivity Tips.

Have a Daily Routine Checklist

Okay, so before I had my daily routine, I would wake up one of two ways:

1. In a bit of a panic, thinking of my giant mental “to do” list and wondering where I should start.
2. Blissfully unaware of all the things I should be doing, thinking I had the whole day to binge a TV show on Netflix or talk to my friends on the phone.

Obviously, both of these methods aren’t ideal. Now, I have a checklist for each day, and I find that it helps me stay more grounded. I know what I’m going to do every day when I wake up, and – for the most part – I stick to the list.

Now, I’m not super disciplined, so don’t imagine me jumping out of bed, putting on my furry slippers, and immediately jumping into my task list. I tend to lie in bed an extra 10 minutes after I wake up, stumble to the kitchen to make a baby’s bottle (because he’s screaming at me – that’s why I woke up), and just resting on the couch for a minute before I feel ready to tackle the day. But it’s still better than before.

I split my list into three different sections. Right now they’re labeled “morning,” “afternoon,” and “evening,” but I don’t really feel compelled to stick to these timeframes. Sometimes I mix things up. I’ve even been known to make the bed right before I climb into it at night. Overall, though, each task fits best in its own little timeslot, so the system works pretty well.

At the end of each day, I give myself a letter grade based on how many tasks I completed. It’s just a way to hold myself accountable.

{If you’d like to create your own morning routine, see my guide How to Create a Morning Routine. Bonus: There’s a free printable!}

Don’t Think About Cleaning

Unless you’re a weirdo or Monica Geller, you probably hate cleaning as much as I do. I’m not sure why, exactly, but I really dislike most aspects of cleaning (except laundry; I love laundry). However, I, like most people, really like having a clean house.

But I’ve always struggled with staying on top of cleaning tasks, mostly because I didn’t know when I should do each task. (Did you know some people vacuum every single day? I mean, I do now that I’ve got a robot vacuum, but I was a weekly vacuumer at best before Rosie.)

Then my sister told me about an app named Tody. I kind of love this app (and no, they aren’t sponsoring this post). I paid a whopping $10 for it, which I never, ever do ($1.99 seems to be my app purchase price limit). And it’s been worth it.

I’ve used Tody for over a year now, and it helps me so much. I have my home organized by room. Within each room, I have a list of cleaning, organizing, and maintenance tasks. Each task has its own schedule. For example, I like to make my bed every day, so the task resets each morning.

I like Tody because it shows me all the cleaning tasks that should be done each day, week, month, or whatever. It also has a color (red, orange, yellow, or green) indicator next to each task AND each room, so you know which areas need the most attention.

It takes a bit of time to get the system set up perfectly. When I first set mine up, I thought I should dust each room of my house every week. I’ve learned over time that several rooms really only need dusting once a month because they’re just not all that dusty. I also learned that our powder room needs cleaning half as often as the main bathroom.

It’s easy to make the changes, though, which is what makes this system so great. I really do recommend it.

Make Your Bed

I love to make my bed every day. This is something I just started doing over the past few months, and it makes a huge difference in my mindset for the day. I can’t say exactly why it works, but it just kind of makes me feel like I have my crap together, you know? Plus, it’s easy to do. On average, it only takes me two minutes to make my bed from start to finish.

Get Dressed

This one kind of fits with making the bed. Having my clothes on, hair (somewhat) fixed, and at least a clean face makes me feel ready for the day. So, it’s often one of the first things I do, even before I make the bed. It’s also a bit more practical. For one, our laundry area is in the basement, and I hate going down there without shoes or socks because the floor is so cold. When I get completely dressed, I don’t think twice about heading downstairs to start a load of laundry because my feet won’t ever touch the bare floor.

Drink Plenty of Water (or Sweet Tea)

Water is good for you. You need to stay hydrated. Yada, yada, yada. The truth is, I kind of hate water. I mean, not as much as I used to hate it, but it’s still one of my least favorite beverages. However, I also hate dehydration (which happens to me quite a bit).

I tend to be forgetful about things like eating and drinking. I know. I’m a weirdo. I often don’t eat lunch until the late afternoon hours, and sometimes I forget to drink anything but coffee till then, too. And then I get a headache, start feeling sluggish, and generally just feel bad. I’ll inevitably wrack my brain for the cause before I finally realize that I haven’t had anything to drink since that morning.

So, yeah, I don’t do so great in this area myself, but it’s one of my resolutions for the new year: Drink more water. And if you hate water (like I do), at least drink some sweet tea.

Arrange Your Home by Function

I read this tip in a book called The House That Cleans Itself (which I recommend, by the way).

The basic idea is that you should organize your home so it fits your lifestyle. Too often, we tend to organize things based on how they are “supposed” to function. We may have certain ideals based on how our homes were organized growing up, how Marie Kondo says to organize, or just traditional organizational standards.

A good example is the formal dining room. For decades, the formal dining room has been a standard part of most American homes. But some people really don’t use formal dining rooms at all, so all that space is just wasted. If you don’t ever sit at your dining room table, why not repurpose that room into something you actually will use, like an office or a den or a playroom?

We don’t even have a formal dining room, but we did make some smaller changes in our home. For example, I used to have my coffee stuffed in the pantry with our other groceries, while our coffee mugs sat on the top shelf in one cabinet, our sugar was in a canister on the counter, and our creamer was in the fridge. The coffee maker was across the kitchen on another counter. It really didn’t make sense to have all of these things separated, so I created a coffee station instead. Now, my coffee pot is on the counter with a small bowl of sugar and a spoon rest. The coffee, filters, and mugs are all in the cabinet closest to the coffee maker so it’s all within arm’s reach. The creamer still has to stay in the fridge, but there’s not much I can do about that.

Choose Tools You’ll Actually Use

Over the past decade or more, I’ve purchased and/or downloaded a ton of different apps, notebooks, pens, storage systems, books, etc. to help me stay organized. And then I never looked at half of them again.

I’ve recently stopped making the mistake of choosing tools that I know I won’t ever use. I’ve learned that I do best with things that require very little setup. So I buy all Apple electronics. I like that they sync well together, and they have built-in productivity apps. I have my Gmail calendar linked to my Apple Calendar so my husband can share things from his Android phone. All of the calendars show up in my Calendar app on my computer and my phone. Because it’s so easy, I know I’ll use it.

I’ve also learned that I won’t use an app if it does too much. For me, simpler is better. I’ve tried using Evernote for years. I like the idea – in theory. But it’s honestly just too much for me. So, instead, I just store a few documents there and forget about the rest. I prefer having separate apps for my lists and everything else.

I’ve also struggled with the paper vs. phone conundrum for years. I know that my phone is more practical, but I just can’t get over my love for good ol’ pen and paper. So now, I use both. During the day, when I’m running errand and whatnot, I make little mental notes in the Reminders app on my phone. When I get back home, I manually add those entries to my planner or “to do” list. It’s a little extra effort, but it works for me.

Now, what works for me may not work for you. My husband despises paper reminders, so he refuses to use them at all. In fact, when he’s going to the store for me, he makes me text him the list because he will just lose a paper list. We all have to play to our strengths, so do whatever works best for you.

Conclusion

Believe it or not, I have even more productivity tips. Find Part Three here!