We all have things we do to give ourselves a break from our busy lives, but some those things might just be a force of habit. If you can eliminate some of of your unnecessary "me time" commitments, you'll have more time and energy to put toward productive tasks.

Some jobs, activities or tasks involve a certain amount of risk. When we first start the job, we're very aware of this risk, so we're cautious of it. However, as time goes on, we get comfortable and forget about the dangers associated with the task. That's often when mistakes and accidents happen.

The best productivity methods keep your to-dos in front of you and prioritised so you never wonder what to work on next. Some are complicated, but others are organised simply by priority — so easy you could use sticky notes if you wanted. Let's talk about one of those systems: Personal Kanban.

Everyone wants to make the best use of their time. The first step to getting there is getting better at the tasks we're assigned, but the ultimate step, Seth Godin says, is to stop working on someone else's task list and work on your own contribution instead.

iOS: Mail Pilot was a handy email app that allowed you to turn your emails into tasks so you could remember to deal with them. It was useful, but it was also a little clunky to use. Mail Pilot 2 fixes most of those problems by adding a lot of gestures.

Trello is an awesome project management tool that makes collaboration easy and, dare I say, even fun. But this visual list tool can do so much more, whether you're organising work projects, family chores, travel plans or just about anything else. Here are some ways to put Trello to use for managing your entire life.

We've all probably heard of the somewhat questionable 10,000-hour rule of practice. If that seems too daunting, try breaking down skills and working on each sub-task for one to three sessions.

When we talk about being "productive", most of us think about using our time most effectively. However, productivity guru Marius Ursache says it's not about time, it's about energy.

Inbox Zero is a noble, if difficult, goal. If you only receive a few emails a day, traditional strategies like only replying a couple of times a day are fine. But if you get dozens or hundreds, you need a harsher strategy: just ignoring some of them.

Your productivity can largely be determined by how you spend your time, and that makes tracking your time seem like a big help. It can also be a trap that eats up more time than it saves.

It can be difficult to remember that saying yes to something means saying no to something else. To keep this in mind the next time someone approaches you with an opportunity, ask yourself: "If I had to do this today, would I agree to it?"

Mac: Any.do, our favourite to-do app on the iPhone, is now available as a native Mac app. It comes packed with Notification Center integration, badges and more.

Being stuck can be draining. You may feel like you can grasp the problem if you spent just a little more time on it. Unfortunately, the next thing you know, you've wasted hours making little progress. Next time, if you're stuck and about to give up, spend just 15 more minutes on it — then ask for help.

Sometimes, real productivity is more about knowing when to take a break, not when to push forward. Just like a screw, your mind and body can be worked so hard that you become stuck for much longer than you need to be.

For you to accomplish the things you want to do, your goals need to be more than an idea. The "BSQ" framework helps you visualise each step you need to complete and when it needs to be completed.

There are some difficult problems in our work and personal lives that can't be solved with simple step-by-step, systematic strategies. In order to avoid frustration and burnout, you should take on two of these kinds of problems at a time, but no more.

There's something that is far more important than reaching one of your goals: the process that leads you there. If you're going to do something — no matter what it is — do it to the best of your ability.

We all have those tasks we haven't completed that seem to nag at us every day. It may seem like it will never get done, but you might just end up finding the rest of the time to complete it if you dedicate just a couple of minutes to it.

Web: To-do lists have a nasty tendency to expand infinitely. Zenlist is a minimal, web-based to-do list manager that helps you prioritise your three most important tasks for the day.