Wellness

17 Productivity Hacks TikTok Swears By

Get it done.

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A woman writing out her to-do list. TikTok's best productivity hacks will help you be your most effi...
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Your first association with TikTok might not be "productivity," but that doesn't mean the app you devote the most screen time to can't also help you get your work done. Videos hashtagged #productivity have over 6.5 billion views on the clock app, while the hashtag #productivitytips boasts more than 70 million. From revamping your to-do list (or even hiding it from yourself) to apps and web extensions designed to make your work or study life less stressful, TikTok is full of unique ideas for being more productive.

Sometimes, you just can't seem to get work done because you're not in the mood; other times, you can't for the life of you figure out which gargantuan task to tackle first because listing them all out is so overwhelming. Or maybe you hit send on that email to your boss when you really should have reread it half a dozen more times. Productivity hacks on TikTok can help you break out of that ruminating rut so you can knock out what you need to get done. And if TikTok itself is what distracts you from finishing off your to-do list, curating your For You page into a productivity paradise can help you stay on track.

Check out these 17 productivity hacks on TikTok that’ll help you be your most efficient self.

1

Turn Your Reading Into Podcasts

If you prefer listening to reading, turning text into speech might be your new favorite productivity tool. Podcastle AI is a Chrome extension that will turn all the articles you have to read into a podcast-style audio narrative. This TikTok hack explains exactly how it works.

2

Color-Block Your To-Do List

If you’re a visual person, you’ll love this TikTok productivity hack with over 350K likes. Create a four-column sheet on a physical sheet of paper with status trackers for tasks — the TikTok suggests “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Done,” and “Blocker,” but you can swap in whatever goalposts you need. Assign each color sticky tab a category — blue can mean tasks related to home, while orange can signify work to-do items. Move the tabs over to their respective columns as you work on them, and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a rainbow of tabs over in the “Done” column.

3

Listen To Classical Music

It's probably your instinct to tune into your favorite comfort albums when you're stressed and have a load of work to plow through. But according to this TikTok — and science — flipping on some instrumental or classical music can help you focus.

4

Bake Your Way Through Your To-Do List

Even if you're not the type to have an app for everything, you may want to give the Bakery app a try. Free to download, Bakery lets you select a pastry to bake. However long it takes to cook is the amount of time you're supposed to stay off your phone and work on your task. As this TikTok explains, the app will get upset with you — your pastries will burn! — if you try to click out of it and abandon your task

5

Unsend Oops Emails

We've all been there — you've proofread your email, but somehow missed that you addressed it to the wrong person. Or you spelled their name wrong. Or you forgot the attachment. The possibilities are endless, but hope is not lost. Set your Gmail to let you unsend your emails, and thank this TikTok every time you do.

6

Create A To-Do List In Excel

If you absolutely hate your never-ending stream of disposable Post-It to-do lists, this vid will help you rank your tasks by date and priority in Microsoft Excel so you can have everything you need in neat tabs on your computer.

7

Treat Yourself

If you’re a candy fiend, line up a row of Sour Patch Kids on your desk and tell yourself that you get one when you finish sending that email. If candy doesn't do it for you, try an episode of Selling Sunset as a reward for your next big task. Setting up a system of little treats each time you complete a work quest can make your to-do list more fun than stressful, according to this TikTok.

8

Hide Your To-Do List

For those days when you don't want to put on hard pants, let alone get any work done, try hiding your to-do list — sort of. Write out everything you have to do on your medium of choice, then write your top priority task on a Post-it. Put the rest of your to-do list away (X out of your tab, toss it in a drawer, whatever works). Focus only on your Post-it until it's done, then rinse and repeat with your second priority.

9

Declutter Your Inbox

Too many emails in your inbox? When subscription messages are preventing you from actually tackling the emails you really do have to respond to, this TikTok recommends trying unroll.me. It's designed to scan your inbox and help you unsubscribe from all those newsletters and updates you never actually open anyway — without having to click through and find the unsubscribe button in every single email.

10

Timeblock Your Day

Sometimes writing out the things you've got to do just doesn't help because it still feels disorganized. But if you separate your daily tasks into blocks of time, per this TikTok hack, you'll be able to clearly see that yes, you've got enough time to do all your work and rewatch Euphoria.

11

Timeblock Your Week

Writing out what you've got to do today might not feel sustainable during those weeks that seem endless. To spare yourself the overwhelm (and the crushing sensation that you have more tasks than time), take your to-do list a step further and scaffold your entire week out in time blocks. That way, you'll be able to visualize your whole week and realize that you can have your work cake and relax, too.

12

Scan Documents With Your iPhone

That awkward moment when you to scan something, but don’t own a printer thanks to being a Millennial, doesn't have to be awkward anymore. This TikTok will guide you through using the Notes app on your iPhone to scan documents so you can upload the darn thing and get on with your day.

13

Focus On What You Love

Having trouble getting going in the morning? Don't start with a list of things you have to do that you're probably not going to like doing. Instead, start your day by tackling a list of things you love doing. That way, you'll get off to an inspired start and feel much better prepared to dive into everything else.

14

Set A Day-Of-The-Week Routine

Having trouble getting going in the morning? Don't start with a list of things you have to do that you're probably not going to like doing. Instead, start your day by tackling a list of things you love doing. That way, you'll get off to an inspired start and feel much better prepared to dive into everything else.

15

Be The Main Character

This TikTok recommends beating the don’t-wanna-do-its with make-believe. “Pretend you’re in a movie and your character is an expert in whatever it is you need to do. Like it’s their life passion,” the poster says. What would the main character do when faced with, say, emptying the dishwasher?

16

Use A Priority Matrix

A to-do list isn’t the only way to keep track of what needs to get done. This TikTok suggests using a priority matrix to rank your tasks in order of urgency and importance. Seeing your tasks broken down like that can help you more efficiently manage your time.

17

Close Your Laptop

If you're perhaps a little too excited by productivity hacks, you might need this reminder from TikTok: Close your laptop at the end of the workday and go do something you love. Having hobbies is linked with mental health benefits in study after study, and the increase in emotional well-being in turn increases productivity, according to a 2019 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. In other words, be off when you’re off, so you can be more on when you’re on.

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