175 Powerful Productivity Quotes & Tips to Make You Super Efficient

Looking to increase effectiveness?

Try these productivity quotes and tips!

Small business owners, bloggers, and entrepreneurs will love these to improve efficiency.

This collection includes:

• Productivity quotes: motivational, funny, inspiring and more
• Procrastination quotes
• Steve Jobs productivity quotes
• Morning productivity quotes
• Productivity tips for work and for entrepreneurs
• Personal productivity tips and tools for daily success

Focus on a couple that you need most right now! Save ’em to Pinterest as reminders.

Plus 5 great productivity infographics at the end of this article:

• How to Be Productive All Day infographic
• How To Manage Your Time And Win At Life infographic
• 9 Daily Rituals to Boost Performance at Work infographic
• 75 Productivity Tips for Work infographic
• 10 Ways to Boost Productivity at Work infographic

LOTS to see here, so let’s get started!

20 Motivational Productivity Quotes

Get yourself moving with these motivational productivity quotes!

What we truly need to do is often what we most feel like avoiding.
~ David Allen

Don’t measure your productivity by the hours, but by the results.
~ Bernard Kelvin Clive

The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.
~ Benjamin E. Mays

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
~ Walt Disney

Ordinary people think merely of spending time, great people think of using it.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Multitasking is a lie.
~ Gary Keller

Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.
~ Donald Trump

Focus on being productive instead of busy.
~ Tim Ferriss

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
~ Jim Rohn

Think of many things; do one.
~ Portuguese proverb

Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.
~ Steve Jobs

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
~ Steve Jobs

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
~ Steve Jobs

You have a limited amount of time to get things done during the course of a given day… limit the scope of your to-do list to accommodate this constraint.
~ Damon Zahariades

The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity.
~ Tom Peters

Create with the heart; build with the mind.
~ Criss Jami

Cell phones, mobile e-mail, and all the other cool and slick gadgets can cause massive losses in our creative output and overall productivity.
~ Robin S. Sharma

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The Sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus
~ Alexander Graham Bell

I always had the uncomfortable feeling that if I wasn’t sitting in front of a computer typing, I was wasting my time – but I pushed myself to take a wider view of what was ‘productive.’ Time spent with my family and friends was never wasted.
~ Gretchen Rubin

Productivity is the deliberate, strategic investment of your time, talent, intelligence, energy, resources, and opportunities in a manner calculated to move you measurably closer to meaningful goals.
~ Dan S. Kennedy

You can find plenty more of the best motivational quotes…

Or scroll on for tons more on productivity!

25 Funny Productivity Quotes

These witty sayings will bring a smile while encouraging productivity.

The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.
~ Steve Jobs

Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.
~ David Allen

If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting if off.
~ Richard Miller

The key to productivity is to rotate your avoidance techniques.
~ Shannon Wheeler

My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do.
~ Francine Jay

It couldn’t last. Everyone was just killing time. But if all they did was kill time, time would end up killing them.
~ Michael Grant

Life is too complicated not to be orderly.
~ Martha Stewart

If you have time to whine then you have time to find the solution.
~ Dee Dee Artner

Don’t confuse the urgent with the important.
~ Preston Ni

At times, productivity means doing nothing at all.
~ Gina Greenlee

The way we measure productivity is flawed. People checking their BlackBerry over dinner is not the measure of productivity.
~ Timothy Ferriss

He that rises late must trot all day.
~ Benjamin Franklin

Without great solitude no serious work is possible.
~ Pablo Picasso

You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool your own mind.
~ David Allen

There is no substitute for hard work.
~ Thomas A. Edison

The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings.
~ Thomas Sowell

Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are.
~ Jose Ortega y Gasset

What looks like multitasking is really switching back and forth between multiple tasks, which reduces productivity and increases mistakes by up to 50 percent.
~ Susan Cain

…you cannot eat every tadpole and frog in the pond, but you can eat the biggest and ugliest one, and that will be enough, at least for the time being.
~ Brian Tracy

One day you will look back and recall all the time you spent on social media and wonder why you didn’t invest that time someplace else.
~ Germany Kent

Time is not refundable; use it with intention.
~ Unknown

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
~ Wayne Gretzky

It’s not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less.
~ Nathan W. Morris

It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
~ Henry David Thoreau

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.
~ Theodore Roosevelt

After you’re done here, check out the funny one liners for social media.

21 Inspiring Productivity Quotes

Get inspired and get stuff done!

If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?
~Steve Jobs

We need space to be productive, we need places to go to be free.
~ Laure Lacornette

Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.
~ Stephen Hawking

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.
~ Earl Nightingale

To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self disciplined is to follow in a better way.
~ Corita Kent

If you want something done, give it to a busy man.
~ Preston Sturges

We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.
~ Herb Kelleher

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
~Steve Jobs

Action is the foundational key to all success.
~ Picasso

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.
~ Stephen King

People often say that motivation doesn’t last long. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
~ Zig Ziglar

Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.
~ Caterina Fake

You must remain focused on your journey to greatness.
~ Les Brown

Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.
~ Corita Kent

If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress
~ Barack Obama

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.
~ Sam Levenson

All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality, and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else.
~ Plato

Luck is only important in so far as getting the chance to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you’ve got to have talent and know how to use it.
~ Frank Sinatra

Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.
~ Dale Carnegie

Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.
~ Coco Chanel

You don’t actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it. When enough of the right action steps have been taken, some situation will have been created that matches your initial picture of the outcome closely enough that you can call it ‘done’.
~ David Allen

If you need more when you finish this article, check out more of the best inspirational quotes.

16 Positive Productivity Quotes

Need a more positive attitude about productivity? These quotes are for you.

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
~ Steve Jobs

Touch paper only once.
~ Robert Allen

I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.
~ Oprah Winfrey

Both good and bad days should end with productivity. Your mood affairs should never influence your work.
~ Greg Evans

You don’t need a new plan for next year. You need a commitment.
~ Seth Godin

Productivity = Discipline + Planning + Quality
~ Haresh Sippy

You don’t get paid for the hour, you get paid for the value you bring to the hour.
~ Jim Rohn

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
~ Aristotle

It’s not knowing what to do; it’s doing what you know.
~ Tony Robbins

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.
~ Paul J. Meyer

Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that’s impeding forward motion.
~ David Allen

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.
~ Oprah Winfrey

You can do anything, but not everything.
~ David Allen

Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.
~ Franz Kafka

Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.
~ Peter Drucker

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
~ Albert Einstein

You might also enjoy this collection of positive quotes for life.

19 Quotes on Procrastination

Putting stuff off can be a productivity killer! Here’s a dedicated section for quotes about procrastination.

Lost time is never found again.
~ Benjamin Franklin

The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
~ Stephen Covey,

If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.
~ Bruce Lee

Time management is about life management.
~ Idowu Koyenikan

As a reformed procrastinator, I’m now getting things done in the first 10 seconds of the last minute.
~ Stewart Lee Beck

You may delay, but time will not.
~ Benjamin Franklin

KISS Procrastination Away: Keep It Super Simple, Keep It Step-by-Step, Keep It Scheduled and Systematic.
~ Lisa Mininni

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
~ Mark Twain

Don’t allow idleness to deceive you, for while you give him today, he steals tomorrow from you.
~ H. Croccoquill

Don’t interpret anything too much. This is time waster number 1.
~ Dee Dee Artner

Procrastinating is a vice when it comes to productivity, but it can be a virtue for creativity.
~ Adam Grant

You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.
~ Steve Jobs

Ordinary people think merely of spending time, great people think of using it.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Let’s go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday.
~ Steve Jobs

Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.
~ Leo Babauta

Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, and carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.
~ Denis Waitley

Turn off all notifications on your phone, except the most important ones. And check your social media only once or twice a day, not every minute. If you can do this, then perhaps there is a possibility, that society will not completely lose its sanity and health after all.
~ Abhijit Naskar

It couldn’t last. Everyone was just killing time. But if all they did was kill time; time would end up killing them.
~ Michael Grant

Where your attention goes, your time goes.
~ Idowu Koyenikan

Here are some great tips on how to be successful.

8 Steve Jobs productivity quotes

All the Steve Jobs quotes about productivity in one place!

If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?
~ Steve Jobs

Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.
~ Steve Jobs

You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.
~ Steve Jobs

The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.
~ Steve Jobs

Let’s go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday.
~ Steve Jobs

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
~ Steve Jobs

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
~ Steve Jobs

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
~ Steve Jobs

Find more wisdom from Steve Jobs in this collection of creativity quotes.

20 Morning Productivity Quotes

Get your day off to a good start with these productivity quotes for mornings!

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
~ Zig Ziglar

First thing every morning before you arise say out loud, ‘I believe,’ three times.
~ Ovid

Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day.
~ Glen Cook

Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life.
~ Yoko Ono

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.
~ Buddha

Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today.
~ Doe Zantamata

Be the morning in everyone’s eyes and make their day turn into a thing of beauty.
~ Anthony T. Hincks

Every morning is a revolution against the darkness.
~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Every morning, I wake up saying, ‘I’m still alive, a miracle.’ And so I keep on pushing.
~ Jim Carrey

Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.
~ Lemony Snicket

I get up every morning and it’s going to be a great day. You never know when it’s going to be over, so I refuse to have a bad day.
~ Paul Henderson

Be the person that when your feet touch the floor in the morning the devil says, “Awe sh*t, they’re up.
~ Dwayne Johnson

Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.
~ Meister Eckhart

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
~ Maria Robinson

Today’s goals: Coffee and kindness. Maybe two coffees, and then kindness.
~ Nanea Hoffman

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.
~ J. B. Priestley

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I wake up in the morning, I feel like a billionaire without paying taxes.
~ Ernie Banks

Having a routine is great, but only if it serves your goals. If it’s not doing that, it’s called a rut.
~ Josh LaJauni

50 Productivity Tips to boost your brainpower

Know when to delegate; know what you do well and what you don’t to help you stay focused and be more productive.

Chew a stick of gum to help you stick to a task and become faster and more accurate doing it.

Automate tedious tasks. Try scheduling Pinterest pins with Tailwind.

Perform concentration exercises to improve your ability to focus.

Write down your distracting thoughts on your “someday list” so you can forget them.

Reward yourself for sticking to a task until it’s completed.

Nip procrastination in the bud. Set up a routine to follow for tasks that you often procrastinate on.

If it’s not critical, don’t do it perfectly.

Don’t multitask by switching between one project and another. Multitasking can reduce productivity.

Be present when you are with others. Don’t look at your cell phone, email or social media updates.

Take advantage of phone and computer apps to keep you organized and productive.

Make time for fun and laughter to increase your memory. A good memory improves focus and concentration.

Learn to give up what’s not really important to be more productive. Are you willing to pay someone else to do it? If not, why are you doing it?

Combine low value tasks. Run all your short errands at the same time. Make all your phone calls in one sitting.

If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now.

Use templates for recurring tasks. These easy design tools offer a huge variety of graphics templates.

Keep a single minded focus on what you are working on at the time. Don’t think about what is coming later.

Set up your daily tasks the day before. Set up your top 6 priorities and when you will work on them.

Stick to your commitments. Don’t let others distract you when you are committed to working on something.

Use your mornings to focus on you. Meditate, read the paper, eat a healthy breakfast.

Take one day a week to recover, refuel and regenerate your mind and body.

Learn to say no to distractions in order to increase your productivity.

Cut out tasks that don’t help you reach your goals.

Turn off email, cell phones, and any other distractions so you can focus on one task at a time.

Set deadlines for important goals. This will force you to work harder and more effectively as you get closer to the deadline.

Make it a habit to touch paper only once. When you sort your mail, be sure to file it, trash it or pay it.

Create a “Stop Doing It” list. Put things on here you can outsource, no longer need to do, or no longer interest you.

Become completely aware of when you start doing a task, and become aware of the urge to do something else in the middle of it.

Keep a short 1-3 item list of tasks to do each day. These should be your “Most Important Tasks” list.

Don’t do anything else before doing the first thing on your short list. That includes email, social media and everything else.

Learn to single-task. Keep things focused and effective by single-tasking. Focus on one task until it’s done.

Do creative work first, while you’re fresh and inspired.

Be more productive by taking a short break at least once an hour. This keeps your mind fresh and awake.

What do you focus on that’s absolutely essential? What isn’t as important? Figure out your top priorities to be more productive.

Drop one feature that doesn’t need to be in your project, do one less service, or do one fewer project at a time to get laser focused.

A short walk can be a fabulous boost to your focus, productivity, and clarity of mind. It helps your health and waistline, too.

Set aside time to deal with any worries you have. Don’t bring them to your work area when you are trying to focus on a task.

Shift between high and low attention tasks to give your brain a boost after you’ve been concentrating hard.

Plug in your headphones to listen to peaceful music while you focus on the task at hand.

Break big tasks into bite-sized pieces.

Do focus exercises to increase your focus. Focus for one minute on one task. Repeat until your focus becomes longer.

If you’re feeling unfocused and sleepy, get moving! Outside is best, to get fresh air.

Use supplements to help you focus. The Vitamin B complex group as well as Vitamin D and Lecithin all promote brain health.

Eat superfoods like berries, walnuts, spinach and avocados to improve your concentration.

Use the Pomodoro technique to help you stay focused. Choose one task to focus on for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break.

Take your time and work steadily to get the job done. Work at a pace that allows you to get through your work without stress.

Use technology to your advantage. Online tools and apps for smartphones can keep your lists, goals organized. Evernote is one to try.

Do some exercises that are aimed purely at boosting your concentration, like reading a paragraph over and over.

Drink more water to keep hydrated. Dehydration can make you lethargic and have a lack of focus.

Wiggle your toes. This mindfulness trick brings you back to what you’re working on if your mind begins to wander.

How to Be Productive All Day: Infographic

Wondering how to be productive when you’re already tired?

A solopreneur’s life can be tough. The to-do list seems endless. You’ve set goals, and you want to reach them.

Sometimes you just need an extra push to get things done. This infographic from STL will help you stay productive on the days that you’re dragging!

11 Essential Productivity Tips

1. Prioritize! Do the most important thing first.
2. Take a short break every hour.
3. Turn off phone and email notifications.
4. Stretch regularly.
5. Have a bulletproof coffee.
6. Switch up your workplace.
7. Hydrate regularly. Try a hydration tracker bottle.
8. Work standing up.
9. Listen to unfamiliar music.
10. Work with natural light.
11. Sniff peppermint oil.

How many have you tried?

I do most of these, though I’m not one to caffeinate after morning. That might disturb my sleep patterns – and starting each day with a good night’s sleep is essential!

I also like to work in silence, so I think listening to music would distract me.

As always, choose the tips that will help you!

And don’t keep pushing when you’re sick or exhausted. Personally, I would use these productivity tips sparingly, and recommend you relax and treat yourself well as soon as you can.

Check out this infographic and remember – there are 4 more, so keep going!

How To Manage Your Time And Win At Life: Infographic

Are you wondering how to manage your time?

Does it seem like the year (month, week) has just started, and you’re already behind?

Time management is a crucial part of people’s lives in the modern world.

In fact, it has always been. It’s just that now we’re noticing its significance more.

For decades and even centuries, people have been trying to foresee how much time they’ll need to complete a certain task. And it’s fair to say that there have been a lot of successful attempts.

As a result, today we have a bunch of time management techniques at our disposal. Some are more useful than others, but there’s always something to choose from.

Are you failing at time management?

But why do people still fail at managing their time so often – especially with all the knowledge and new possibilities we have in our modern age?

Well, it’s partly because the great number of options available makes it hard to decide which is most suitable. Another issue is today’s fast-paced lifestyle, which simply leaves no time for proper planning.

There’s also the human factor. Someone can decide to deal with the task of managing their time… tomorrow. Or next week. In other words, it just never happens because of… you know, reasons.

That’s why we’ve decided to make this infographic. Its main goal is to help people who are struggling with time management. It contains 15 tested and approved ways that you can plan your time more efficiently. It also includes a handful of tips to go along with the mentioned techniques, doubling their usefulness right away!

We’re not saying that you should try all of these 15 techniques. Nor are we claiming that all of them will work with everyone’s lifestyle. But you’ll definitely have many options to chose from to find the method most fitting for you.

Check out the infographic – it won’t take much time. And you’ll end up knowing how to save and successfully manage your time in the future. So, that’s a win.

Pin the infographic so it’s handy when you need these tips on how to manage your time.

9 Daily Rituals You Need To Adopt Right Now: Infographic

Do you use daily rituals?

They can be powerful for getting your day on track from the start!

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that incorporating a few daily rituals is the best way to get motivated and ready for the day’s challenges.

Why not consider the 9 daily rituals on the infographic? One or more may help you make it a great year.

Why use daily rituals?

There’s clear scientific evidence to show that rituals play a crucial role in boosting performance.

But why do they work?

Scientists say it all comes down to anxiety. It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to experience anxiety. Especially we solopreneurs who wear all the hats in our business!

Anxiety makes it tough to perform at peak levels. Performing a ritual before you attempt the task reduces anxiety, allowing you to be at your best.

My personal daily rituals

Since I’m on the West coast, when I get up at 6, most of the U.S. is already starting their workday. My first hour is my best morning time to reach folks on social media.

So the first thing I do is check in on my personal Instagram, and post a “flower of the day” photo, which I also share to my personal Facebook.

In addition, if I’ve scheduled a FB Page post (6:07am is “my” time), I check in on that and “like” it from every Page I can 😉

Next, I’ll probably make a cup of coffee and spend some time with a daily devotional. Then I often spend a few minutes stretching before heading to the computer.

One weekday ritual I rarely miss is my midday walk. I try to catch some sun as I walk on one of my half-hour routes around the neighborhood.

There are many more rituals I follow, but that’s a brief overview of the things that get my day going right.

Check out and Pin the infographic for future reference, and keep going for two more!

Infographic provided by Pound Place.

Conclusion: productivity quotes, tips, and infographics

Be sure to review and pin the infographics at the end of this article. There are 2 more!

To be more effective in your business, you might also enjoy reading:

How To Review Your Business For Success

Below: 75 Productivity Tips for Work infographic from Wrike.

Below: Boost Productivity at Work infographic from Fundera.