Marc Andreesen gets a lot done.

He has sold 2 companies for $1B+ each.

His venture firm has $28B in AUM.

His 11 productivity tips:

1/ Don’t keep a schedule

“Work on whatever is most important or most interesting” “Refuse to commit to meetings at a set time in the future”

Why: A free calendar is liberating You get the best odds of maximizing flow

[It’s rare to pull this off but this is the goal]

2/ Maintain 3 lists

Todo List: stuff you “must” do Watch List: follow up tasks Later List: everything else [Anti-Todo: unplanned tasks that you do in a day]

How: Each night, write the 3-5 things you need to do the next day Tear the Todo List daily after finishing your tasks

3/ Structured procrastination

Never fight the tendency to procrastinate. Use it to your advantage in order to get other things done. While you’re procrastinating, just do lots of other stuff.

4/ Strategic incompetence

To never get asked to do something again – royally screw it up

5/ Do email twice a day

Keep your email client shut and your email notifications turned off [This should be extended to Social Media]

Why: Email triggers an endorphin hit – you feel you’ve done something great

7/ Don’t answer the phone

Let it go to voicemail. Every few hours, screen your voicemails and batch the return calls.

Extra: Keep 2 phones – one for key family members, closest friends, boss and few coworkers. – the other for everyone else

6/ Email processing algorithm

Each of the two daily email sessions ends with an empty inbox. Every message is answered or filed away.

4 folders Action: current working projects Pending: needs a follow-up Review: needs to be read in-depth Vault: everything else

8/ Use headphones to make yourself invisible

Avoid distractions in the workplace by putting headphones on.

Why: People feel worse interrupting you if you are wearing them.

9/ Plan your sleep to get a good, relaxed breakfast

Eat a real, sit-down breakfast. Sleep early to wake early enough for 45-60 minutes of breakfast.

Why: Breakfast fuels you up and is the most important meal This time prepares you mentally and emotionally for the day

10/ Criteria for new commitments

It’s really easy to get asked to do something. Do it only if your head and heart should both say yes.

[the key is whether you’re really excited about it adrenaline spike = heart saying yes]

Thank you for checking this out.

Hope this helps boost your productivity.

For more high signal content, follow @rnjai_lamba.

I read 15+ books and 100+ well researched and high-quality articles every month on: • productivity • building a startup from 0->1

Cheers!