Smarter Not Harder

Whether you’re about to start a new job or you’ve been digging wells for 10 years, productivity isn’t just about getting more done — it’s about getting the right things done and keeping your priorities straight.

That’s why the old cliche “work smarter, not harder” is still quoted everywhere from the fourth-floor office to the construction site. The principal remains the same whether we’re talking about boreholes and casing or adding AI into your workflow to help you update your SEO strategy.

At Corporate Tools, we know that the key is prioritizing the important tasks and cutting down on distractions (even things like less important work) to make the most of your time. So, if you find yourself struggling with managing tasks, getting your priorities done, or just need a new system to shake up your workflow, we have some strategies and realistic steps to help you take back your day.

Doing What Matters

Not all tasks on your to-do list are created equal. The trick to staying productive is knowing what actually deserves your time. If you haven’t already, start by making a running priorities list.

Don’t think of this as a list where everything gets checked off. This is your to-dos by priority. Each day, this is where you start, putting the most important to-dos up top and shifting other tasks lower. It helps if this list is digital so you can shift tasks around. Of course, as you finish stuff, check it off. But remember, that’s priority number two here. Priority one is establishing your priorities.

One simple way to do this is with the Eisenhower Matrix. Sort your tasks into four categories:

1. Urgent and important
2. Important but not urgent
3. Urgent but not important
4. Neither urgent nor important

This simple mental tool can help you see what should be prioritized and what’s just noise.

Eisenhower Matrix

Get on it	Schedule it
Urgent and important tasks should happen ASAP.	Not urgent but still important? Plan a time to make it happen later.

Get help with it	Do it quick or don’t do it
Urgent but not super important? Pass it off to someone else or just crank it out if it’s quick.	If it’s not urgent or important, consider taking it off your list. If dropping it feels wrong, do it quickly.

Once you narrow down your biggest priorities, it’s crucial for teams to help each other stay on track. At Corporate Tools, we do this with multiple stand-up meetings each week to make sure our priorities stay front and center. These quick check-ins help us flag any roadblocks early, adjust when needed, and keep projects moving. It’s not just about staying accountable, but about making sure everyone has the support and clarity they need to get things done.

Chunking Out the Day

Time blocking, or chunking as we lovingly refer to it here at Corporate Tools, is another great way to make sure your most important tasks actually get handled. This is where your priorities list meets your calendar.

After you’ve Eisenhowered your way into a set of priorities, open your favorite calendar (here at Corporate Tools, we live and die by Zimbra) and schedule some meetings with yourself and your list. You can give them fun names or simply write the prioritized item in there if you’re feeling bored.

Setting aside this dedicated time helps you stay on track. Treat your chunks like real appointments, like you would a meeting with your lawyer during your murder trial (we know you were framed). Also, this way, if someone tries to schedule something during that time, they’ll see you’re already booked, and you won’t have to squeeze in high-priority work around random distractions.

Bonus tip: Grouping similar tasks together can make them easier to tackle and keep you in the flow.

Sweating the Small Stuff

OK, we’re 30 minutes into your workday. You’ve already used a matrix (Thanks, Ike!) and filled up your calendar. Do you smell that? The sweet scent of productivity has started to radiate out of your pores.

Now that we have our priorities and some time set aside for them, let’s switch gears and accomplish something. Remember those lower-priority yet urgent tasks? They’re often quick, but they like to pile up. We’re talking things like emailing your boss back, posting that blog post on productivity in time for socials to get it out there for poop o’clock when everyone is on their phones, etc.

One of the easiest ways to stay on top of tasks is by tackling smaller ones right away. The two-minute rule is perfect for this: if it can be done in two minutes or less, do it now! Answer that short email, file that document, or reply to a quick chat before it turns into a bigger to-do. Just stay away from those tasks that need more time or back-and-forth, since those are better off scheduled for later.

Another way to free up time is by automating whatever you can, especially those repetitive tasks that seem to swallow large chunks of time. Take advantage of technical tools or AI that can handle routine work for you, whether it’s scheduling social media posts, sending weekly reminders, or organizing files. And don’t forget the power of delegation and communication (a biggie here at Corporate Tools). Lean on your team, split up the work, and outsource when needed. The less time you spend on small, routine tasks, the more time you’ll have for high-impact work.

Cutting Out Distractions

Interruptions and roadblocks are inevitable. Drilling rigs break down. Tony in marketing comes in with the sniffles after a holiday, and the whole department winds up out on sick leave. That guy in IT keeps messaging you about joining the D&D night. Here are a few tips to keep them from completely derailing your work.

When you are pulled out of your flow by dings, rings, and chats that could wait until later, it can be hard to re-focus and get back into your work. The two-minute rule we’ve already talked about is key here, too. If something can be handled quickly, go for it. If it’s not urgent, tell the IT guy you’ll get back to him by the end of the day and mute the chat. The same goes for your cell phone or any other device of distraction. Turn it off, put it on mute, hide it from yourself under the rig’s seat cushion.

The goal isn’t to ignore everything—just to regain control of when and how you engage. When you’re in deep focus mode, stay there! Protect your attention, and don’t let small distractions chip away at your productivity.

For those larger problems, get scrappy. If your marketing team is all passing the flu around, it’s important to have clear policies and procedures in place to keep work moving and to stay aligned. This is where your brand guides, standard operating procedures, and established backup crews come into play, so work can keep happening. Maybe Emma, who plays the dwarven barbarian in your company’s D&D campaign, can pause her work on blogs and write content for a landing page to get the new ad campaign out in time. Maybe you subcontract to Shane, who started on your well drilling crew but cut out to make his own name a couple of years ago, until your rig gets fixed.

Taking Breaks

Breaks play a big role in staying motivated. They give your brain and body a chance to rest, reset, and recharge, so that you can keep going strong without burning out. Movement is the key—whether it’s a quick stretch, a walk around the office, or even a little dance to get your blood flowing.

One popular technique for balancing focus and breaks is the Pomodoro Technique. Start with 25 minutes of focused work, followed by a five-minute break. As you get into the rhythm, you can gradually increase to 45 minutes of work with a 15-minute break. It’s all about finding that sweet spot that allows you to stay productive without feeling worn out.

Countless studies have proven that your brain needs these small breaks to help with processing. Breaks improve focus, increase your performance, and decrease stress, mistakes, and the likelihood of an injury. Ultimately, taking breaks isn’t just about getting more done, but about keeping at it for the long haul.

Adding Rewards into Your Workflow

Did you know that simply doing something you want to do after you do something you don’t want to do makes the task you don’t like easier? In behavioral science, this is referred to as Premack’s Principle, but we like to call it Grandma’s rule: eat your peas, and then you can have dessert. It’s a great trick for helping you cross off those get-on-it tasks that get pushed to the bottom of your list because you spend more time dreading them than doing them.

It might sound like magic, or BS, but it’s real. In fact, if you’re consistent, you can even trick your brain into enjoying the thing you hated. And if you get good at it, you can even use this hack to get your partner doing those chores around the house they always put off.

All you have to do is pick an activity you actually enjoy. Whether that’s talking to your favorite coworker or taking five minutes to house hunt on Zillow, just be honest with yourself about what you pick. If you choose eating kale or push-ups and you have been lying to yourself about your love of doing those things, this trick won’t work. Lastly, if you make a list of five things you love to do, you can switch them up to reward yourself, and that variation should make your less liked tasks more enjoyable.

OK, so you got the list of your five favorite things. Now what? Take that work chore you hate, and spend ten minutes of focused time on it. You don’t have to complete it, just make sure you are doing it. Now, ideally, before you’re grinding your teeth about it, stop and do one thing from your fun list. Then do some other work for a while. Once or twice a day, you can repeat this workflow, and pretty soon, you should find that dread has washed away.

If you really want to sweeten the pot and accelerate your shift into cranking through the worst portion of your priorities list, you can add a snack you love into the mix after you complete it. If you really hate the task, snack as you go. As it becomes less bothersome, save your snack for the end. Once you don’t find yourself dreading the task, start reducing how often you snack after it and save those snacks for the inevitable next terrible thing that lands on your list.

Asking for Help

If you find yourself bogged down in a task that just is not getting done, it can often be a sign that you need a hand or insights from someone with a little more experience. Whether you’re buried in analytics data or down a literal hole with a leaking well pump filling up the bottom, when you’re feeling in over your head, it’s a great time to seek out help.

Just remember, you have support. Reach out to your coworkers, your managers, YouTube, your favorite chatbot, etc. It can be easy to find yourself in over your head. Whether you’re in a new situation and unsure how to move forward or feel like you’re putting a lot of energy into something but still treading water, those are signs you need help. Schedule a time to look over whatever you have stalled out on with someone, phone a pal, or switch gears and do some research.

Getting ‘er Done

In this post, we covered a handful of ways to boost productivity and sharpen your time management skills. You’ve learned about Ike’s schema to create priorities. You’ve penned out your work tasks. You took care of those two-minute or less to-dos. Hopefully you took a short walk and got yourself a nice ice cream, or you’re about to after you finish reading this next paragraph. And you got a reminder that it’s OK to ask for help.

At Corporate Tools, we’re always poking around for ways to stay on top of our game while keeping work balanced and energizing. It’s not just about getting more done; it’s about staying challenged, fulfilled, and engaged in the work we do. If you’re like us and always looking for ways to level up your workday, try weaving these techniques into your routine one by one and see what sticks. And if you find something that helped or have a tip we missed, drop us a line. We can’t wait to see all the good work you do!