How to Use Technology to Better Pace Your Work

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We work too fast and burn out. Or we procrastinate and get too little done, too late. Or we jump from task to task instead of focusing on one job and doing it well.

Whatever the particular issue, tech can help us find a pace that works best for us. That’s why it’s helpful to choose technologies—and strategies for using them—that let us organize our time more efficiently and prod us when we start to lose our rhythm. Here are some of the most effective tips I have found, depending on how you’re trying to adjust your pace.

If your biggest obstacle is inefficiency—you don’t work quickly enough, or you make poor use of your time—tech can help you set up a plan for your day and plow through small tasks much more effectively. For example: • Use reminders tied to specific times of day. If I start my day by looking at a long list of tasks, I want to crawl right back into bed.

So, I’ve mostly replaced task lists with notices that pop up on all my devices at various points, reminding me to tackle something on my list. These could be big things (“Review data tables for annual report") or small (“Put AirTag in my carry-on bag"). I use Apple’s Reminders for this; you can get similar features with Microsoft To Do and Google Keep, among others.

Since my reminders are now delivered throughout the day, I rarely fall into an extended period of spacing out or procrastinating; if a reminder arrives at a moment when I’m not actually in the middle of something useful, I tackle whatever pops up. And if one arrives at a moment when I’m in the middle of a call or deep in thought, I just use the “snooze" button to defer it. • Use location-based reminders.