Eisenhower Matrix
Sort your tasks by urgency and importance to focus on what matters.
Pareto Principle (80/20)
Focus on the few important things that create the biggest results.
Ivy Lee Method
Choose six important tasks and focus on finishing them fully.
Eat the Frog
Start with your hardest task first to make the rest feel easier.
MoSCoW Method
Prioritize what you must, should, could, and won't do first.
Time Blocking
Plan your day by setting aside focused time for specific tasks.
Warren Buffett's 25/5 Rule
List 25 goals, circle the top 5, actively avoid the other 20.
Second-Order Thinking
Ask "and then what?" past the first consequence.
Inversion
Solve a problem by working backward from how it could fail.
Expected Value Thinking
Weigh each outcome by its payoff and its odds.
Regret Minimization
Choose what you'll least regret looking back from old age.
The 10/10/10 Rule
Judge a choice by how it feels in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years.
Opportunity Cost
Measure any choice against what you give up to make it.
Hick's Law
Recognize how more options slow and stall your decisions.
Circle of Competence
Know the edge of what you truly understand, and act inside it.
First Principles Thinking
Break a problem down to its basic truths and rebuild from there.
Occam's Razor
Prefer the explanation that needs the fewest assumptions.
Rubber Duck Method
Explain your problem aloud until the solution surfaces on its own.
The 5 Whys
Trace a recurring problem to its root cause by asking why five times.
The Map Is Not the Territory
Remember your mental picture is a simplified copy of reality.
Confirmation Bias
Seek out evidence that disagrees with you before trusting your belief.
Loss Aversion
Weigh a gain and a loss evenly so a small loss stops blocking a bigger gain.
Parkinson's Law
Set a tight limit on a task so it stops expanding to fill your whole day.
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Let go of what you have already spent and decide by what lies ahead.
Survivorship Bias
Look for the failures you cannot see before you copy the winners you can.
Parkinson's Law Applied to Deadlines
Set a tight, deliberate deadline so your work sharpens and finishes faster.
Pomodoro Technique
Work in focused 25-minute sprints with short breaks in between.
Deep Work
Protect long, distraction-free blocks for your hardest work.
Digital Minimalism
Keep only the apps and devices that serve what you value.
Implementation Intentions
Turn a goal into a specific when, where, and how plan.
Temptation Bundling
Pair a task you avoid with a pleasure you enjoy so starting feels inviting.
The Seinfeld Strategy
Mark each day you show up and work to never break the growing chain.
The Two-Minute Rule
Do any task under two minutes the moment it appears.
WOOP
Name your wish, outcome, obstacle, and plan to turn a hope into action.
Feynman Technique
Explain a topic in plain words to find the gaps in what you know.
Write, mark up, and sketch without pop-ups or notifications.