3 Simple Productivity Boosts to Jumpstart Your 2017

The confetti has settled, and the paper noisemakers are quiet once again. All sure signs that the new year is in full swing. Here are 3 things that take under a minute and get your 2017 going on the right foot.

Clean up your inbox in a few seconds

Confetti and noisemakers aside, the surest sign of 2017 getting in full swing is an ever-multiplying stack of unread newsletters and special promotions cluttering your inbox. Start the year with what you want to see, and cut the fluff.

Rather than manually sorting through a dozen daily event digests, try a free service like unroll.me that instantly shows you a list of all your subscriptions with a one-click-unsubscribe shortcut for anything.

Look at something inspiring (and a few reminders) in every new tab

Screenshot of Momentum in Chrome
The Momentum new tab window in Chrome – simple and elegant, but still very handy.

If you spend any amount of time working in a web browser, chances are you and the New Tab window in Chrome are frequent friends. Try adding a plugin like Momentum or Wunderlist that replace the staid default Chrome window with a daily changing background of visual inspirations. Even better for productivity, they include dead simple to-do lists for quick reminders in every new tab.

Seeing something visually exciting and different is a helpful momentary palate cleanser while you pause between spreadsheets of guests – and some of the pictures are great inspiration for event venues as well!

Another great one is Muzli, which you can use to set up inspiration feeds in new tabs, from sources like Behance and Design Milk, for a steady stream of new ideas on things like well-designed RSVPs, venues and spaces, and decorative details.

Try a “low-information diet” for the rest of the day

Newspapers and magazines on a table
You’ll still see headlines even if you’re putting yourself on a low-info diet.

The term—first coined by productivity wunderkind Tim Ferriss in one of his books, who now swears by it—means consciously not exposing yourself to news and social media when there’s no short-term benefit to you reading it. An information diet.

It’s certainly tempting to flip through a few dozen tweets after posting an event reminder (or sneaking in an article like this one between meetings, we’re not judging). But limiting your info-intake can free up time you never thought you had.

If you want to try a less drastic variation, a Chrome tool like RescueTime can at least tell you how long you’ve spent dilly-dallying online, and an app like Pocket can let you save anything really interesting you come across for later. But for now, you have some newfound productive time to spend.