8 Productivity Quotes from Top Entrepreneurs to Fuel Your Work Day

As business owners big and small our time is precious, in fact it may be our most valuable asset. When we’re being pulled between internal or clients meetings, deadlines, or a never ending unread inbox our productivity  decreases as a result. Making it even harder to find a moment to recenter and focus the mind on what’s actually important.

However, finding moments to gain clarity and foster creativity are essential to long term success (and let’s be honest, sanity)!

Thankfully there are those that have gone before us and found ways to boost productivity in their daily lives and businesses. Here’s how they’ve done it:

1. “Have a clear system for to-dos: whether it’s ‘Getting Things Done’ or the ‘Checklist Manifesto,’ just have a system and stick to it. I have a very specific method I use in Slack and in email that works for me, and knowing I have that system keeps me from feeling overwhelmed even when I’m behind or the to-dos pile up.” —April Underwood, Vice President of Product, Slack

2. “The key for me is you have to understand how your brain works and when you are most productive. For me, I’m most productive and creative in the morning through early afternoon, so I’ve gotten rid of lunch meetings to keep my productive time going as long as I can. I make sure the tasks I have at the beginning of the day are the tasks that require the most creativity or, in other words, tasks I have never done before.” —Ryan Smith, CEO and co-founder, Qualtrics

3. “Dream big. Start small. But most of all, start.” —Simon Sinek, Author & Motivational Speaker

4. “Inbox zero is a fool’s errand. I don’t try to keep up. I feel perfectly fine picking and choosing what I want to engage in.” —Jeff Lawson, CEO, Twilio

5. “Never procrastinate. Just get it done right away. I don’t wait until I get home, I take calls wherever I am. I execute on any feedback I get right away. That way, the work never piles up.” —Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder, Grab

6. “Don’t build links. Build relationships.” —Rand Fishkin, MOZ

7. “Turn off everything—email, phone, stock tickers, news, etc.—as often as possible and focus on a single task without interruption.” —Dianne McKeever, Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer, Ides Capital

8. “Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life’s too short to think small.” —Tim Ferriss, Author of The 4-Hour Workweek