What's one productivity hack that you want to gatekeep?
I'll start, I can't believe I didn't know this -
A friend taught me earlier today regarding the "plus trick", also known as "plus addressing", for Gmail addresses.
You simply type in + after the prefix of your email address along with any text, and any email sent to this will still arrive in your inbox.
For example: If my email is sean@gmail.com, any emails sent to sean+business@gmail.com, sean+product@gmail.com, will still arrive in the inbox of sean@gmail.com.
It works because Gmail internally ignores + and any text that comes after it. Try it out.
Since I've shared mine, now I'm going to peer pressure you into sharing yours. Go!
Replies
@rodrigo_soviero Waking up at 3:30 AM, overdosing on caffeine, and locking your phone in a drawer? That’s commitment. ;)
I used to have a similar setup — 2:00 AM alarms, five solid hours of distraction-free focus, and by 7:00 AM, college projects magically done. Honestly, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to time travel. But the locked phone thing? That’s a boss move. I’d try it, but LinkedIn notifications have this sixth sense — the moment I focus, they pop up like, “Hey, wanna connect with someone you barely remember?”
But seriously, is this your daily life, or just for crunch time?
@ambika_vaish @rodrigo_soviero Waking up early definitely feels like a superpower at times and it makes the day feel so much longer than the usual 24 hours. Although 3:30 AM is a bit too early for me 😂. Personally I find 4:30-5:30 to be the "golden hour" to wake up.
@seanphwang I’m with you on the 4:30-5:30 slot. It’s like the world’s quiet, the distractions are still asleep, and you get this magical head start. Are you an everyday early riser, or do you save it for days when you’ve got big plans?
@rodrigo_soviero I feel this so much. It’s wild how one insanely productive day can convince you that you’ve cracked the code — until you’re three days in, jittery from caffeine, and trying to remember how to HUMAN.
Honestly, coming from someone slightly older (no ancient wisdom here, just a few extra “I’m too old for this” moments) — sleeping early is a "cheat code". I used to be all about those 2:00 AM focus sprints, but once I started going to bed on time, my brain stopped turning into mashed potatoes by noon.
Not saying I don’t slip back into the chaos sometimes, but now it’s a choice, not a survival tactic.
Ever thought of swapping caffeine for something lighter?
Product Hunt
An oldie but a goodie is that you can make quick Google Docs and Google Sheets by going to docs.new and sheets.new
related: go to github.new or repo.new to create a new repository — via @maxprilutskiy
@maxprilutskiy @fmerian These are all new to me! Have I been living under a rock 😂? I wonder if these domains are owned by the companies and it's customary to do this with .new domains.
If you ever need a quick focus boost, just switch your phone to grayscale mode. It’s like instant social media repellent. Everything looks so dull, even doomscrolling feels like a chore.
@ambika_vaish Oh yea I gotta try that out sometime!
Product Hunt
If you use @Cal.com for scheduling, you can do cal.com/<yourname>+<othername> to get times when you’re both free.
@rajiv_ayyangar Oh that's a good one!
Product Hunt
Gmail filter:
Anything that contains the word 'unsubscribe'
Mark it as read
Put it in a custom label
Product Hunt Dark Screen
i saw it on Instagram reels, my brother sent it but have not tried it yet.
I have so many of these little productivity hacks that I use on a daily basis, but if I were to only pick one that I could use, it would probably be using Brain.fm (I'm not a shill for them, I promise. Just a huge fan).
I used to play music from Spotify in my ears in the background to help me focus while working, but that didn't always help. There is just something about putting in my earphones, even in the middle of a loud, busy room - As soon as I turn on Brainfm, it's like flipping a switch in my mind and I'm almost instantly in deep focus. I sometimes look up, and it's been over an hour, and I feel like I can keep going for another hour at least.
They claim to have a lot a science behind how they create their music, making it boring enough not to distract you, but exciting enough to keep you in the zone. Whatever it is, it just works. Shameless plug for my referral link, where you can try it for 30 days instead of the standard 14 https://my.brain.fm/payment?extended_promo=30&utm_source=referafriend. Enjoy!
Using the "Do Not Disturb" mode more often—it’s a game changer for deep focus lightroom mod apk latest version!
Thanks for sharing! Good to know it
Thanks for sharing this, Sean! The plus addressing trick is a game-changer for organizing emails and filtering subscriptions. One productivity hack I’d “gatekeep” is using browser profiles or containers to separate work, personal, and side projects—keeps distractions minimal and focus sharp. Looking forward to hearing what others share!
On my MacBook Pro, I use a lightweight yet powerful tool called iBoysoft MagicMenu to enhance the Finder context menu and make file management more efficient. For example, previously, if I needed to create a new Word file, I had to open the Word application, click on the 'File' menu, and select 'New'. But with this productivity tool, I only need to right-click and choose 'New File'. It also saves me a lot of time moving/cutting files, quickly accessing software, web links, and documents that I frequently use, copying file paths, AirDropping files, etc., all with a simple click.