8 guaranteed ways to totally smash your ‘to do’ list in 2015

There is a certain type of person who, despite having the same number of hours in the day as the rest of us, seems to get an unusual amount done.

Whether running businesses or ultra-marathons, they just keep making things happen. Call them successful, call them driven. They are massively productive.

More intriguing, I have found, is their ability to remain thoroughly nice, fun people to spend time with. It’s infuriating, actually, and I could bear it no more. I had to learn their secrets.

I’ve asked them for you, and they’ve told me. A dozen of the most productive people I know have spilled the beans. From practical pointers to new ways of looking at the world, here are some top tips for a productive year ahead.

1. Structure your week

Richard Moross, founder of Moo.com sets aside Friday mornings for non-MOO meetings. This could be for helping someone out or giving some advice. “That way the diary doesn’t get littered with non-MOO stuff (which is still important) and my time is naturally limited to a sort of office-hours slot.”

Richard (who, for the founder of a printing business is anything but stationery), also tries to work from home on a Wednesday morning. “Working from home rocks.” With hundreds of thousands of customers, so does his business.

Perhaps next Monday is already starting to look a little different. If so, take a tip from Amol Rajan, editing the Independent at the ripe-old age of… 31. He recommends setting yourself some weekly aims.

Not for him the long lunches of Fleet Street’s past. “Meet people for breakfast rather than lunch: morning is the time of day when you’re most productive, and taking out lunch can interrupt the flow of your day.”

2. Get off to a good start

Starting at the very beginning sounds good. Sadly, for some of us, our to-do list is more deary me, than do-re-me.