How to work more productively (based on my own experience)

We waste too much time working unproductively, saying that we don't have time for something meaningful. For me, it is a big problem.

I did this many times before. I still do it sometimes (doing my best not to fall into the same trap). I know what I'm talking about.

If I need to work 4/6/8 hours a day (remotely), I try to complete all the work in my working hours (7:00-10:00, 13:00-16:00, for example). Otherwise, Parkinson's law comes into play. It states that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion." If this is the case, I work more hours less productively, having less time for other things at the end of the day. Furthermore, I start feeling guilty and try to compensate for a wasted time by sacrificing my free time.

Having specific working hours is not the only hack that I use.
- I track my working sessions using a time tracker (I prefer Toggl). It helps not to get distracted when the timer is on.
- I have all my tasks in Trello, so I could take one from the "To do" column and start/continue working.
- If you're prone to surf socials during work, install special software, which will block certain websites. I used Self-Control for macOS. It is a free supersimple no-way-back type of app.
- If you're not alone, warn your mates that you don't want to be distracted during specific hours.

I hope these tricks will help you to be more productive and have more time for your hobbies. If you have some cool hacks not stated above and they work for you, I would love to know about them.