If you're looking for ways to improve your productivity, there are plenty of educational resources to be found online. The hardest part about finding new productivity tips is making sure you're looking at something helpful and accurate. We cruised through tons of online productivity resources and made a list of the best links and sites for you, so that you don't have to spend any extra time searching — that's just one more time-waster you can avoid.

Our list of links includes blogs, TED Talks, YouTube videos, podcasts, eBooks, online classes, and more. As for the thousands and thousands of online articles about calculating productivity — there are simply too many; so, we listed some popular websites with "productivity" categories at the end, and you can browse those sites if you prefer reading individual articles.

Happy learning! And stay productive, my friends.

Productivity-focused websites and blogs

These websites talk about productivity, and productivity only. If you're looking for fellow productivity-fanatics, these links are for you:

  • A Life of Productivity: They publish unique experiment results after trying many different methods for increasing  productivity. You can also find books, articles, and advice for time management, energy management, focus, and general productivity.
  • Productive Flourishing: Aside from featured articles on productivity, this site also includes a podcast, planners, and more.
  • The Productivity Pro, Laura Stack: A woman with a loyal following of passionate productivity enthusiasts. Her site offers courses to help you increase your productivity, links to her published works, free resources, and a productivity blog.
  • Productive! Magazine: They publish online issues of their magazine, featuring 10 articles on productivity and high-performing teams and individuals.

TED Talks about productivity

If you've never listened to a TED Talk before, you're missing out. TED Talks bring great speakers onto stages around the world to discuss their wisdom and impart their advice — including advice on productivity. You can browse their website for productivity talks via topics or the search bar. Here are two links to peruse to find the talks you're interested in:

Need a more definite place to start? Here are five productivity TED Talks we suggest:

Try Wrike for free

Productivity podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to learn while you're on the go. If you're in the car, on a plane, or you're sick of staring at your glowing laptop screen, open your ears and learn about new productivity habits from these business podcasts:

  • Back to Work: Hosted by Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin. They discuss productivity, communication, barriers to getting things done, productivity-enhancing tools, and more. New episode every Tuesday.
  • Home Work: Hosted by Aaron Mahnke and Dave Caolo. A podcast focused on productivity advice for anyone who works from home, freelancers and telecommuters alike. If you want advice on a specific topic, you can submit questions to be answered on the show. New episode every Friday.
  • The 5 AM Miracle: Hosted by Jeff Sanders. No, you don't have to wake up at 5 AM every day in order to be more productive (I shudder at the thought), but Sanders wants to help us be productive all day, every day. His episodes feature advice on making time for your passions, working with unpredictable schedules, and improving your brain to improve your work. He recently signed a book contract based on all the advice he has shared on his blog over the years.
  • Beyond the To-Do List: Personal Productivity Perspectives: Hosted by Erik Fisher. He discusses and interviews people about all aspects of productivity, from creativity and freelancing to being a parent and still hustling at work. New episodes used to come out weekly or biweekly, but have slowed down to about once per month.
  • ProdPod, a Productivity Podcast: Hosted by Ray Sidney-Smith. Listen to the ProdPod for hard-hitting productivity techniques, research, tool reviews, and other topics of interest for the productivity-minded. This show has already shared 90+ episodes at less than 2-minutes each, so you can listen to one right now for a quick break between tasks, or binge on several episodes at time for a nice 15-minute productivity session during lunch.
  • Defeat the Drama: Hosted by Kirsten E. Ross. Her focus is on helping you get more done at work with less drama — that means cutting down on emotionally-charged arguing and excessive back-and-forth in decision-making. New episodes are released every few days.
  • The Productivity Show: Hosted by Zachary Sexton. The "Asian Efficiency" blog has been offering time management and productivity tips for years, and now they host a podcast where they interview millionaires, actors, and regular Joes to discuss their business principles, and how you can learn from their success.
  • Timeboxing: Hosted by Carl Sondrol. Having a hard time letting your creative mind go wild, while also staying productive? This new podcast interviews creative workers on staying unique, getting in the right mindset for work, and being productive without feeling boring and repetitive — a challenge for many creatives.
  • Getting Things Done (retired podcast): Hosted by David Allen, father of the renowned Getting Things Done productivity method. He published 35 podcasts on how to successfully get started with his productivity method, sharing tips for different types of people, and tools you can use to fuel your focus.
  • Habit Chef Podcast (retired podcast): Hosted by Kendra Kinnison. Productivity is not only working harder and faster, it's also making sure that your work is good in the long-term, not just the short-term. Kinnison's episodes discuss how to set out to achieve your goals and change your bad habits — and make those changes stick. Though no longer releasing new podcasts, 44 episodes are still available for listening on her website.

YouTube channels and videos on productivity

Videos are becoming the most popular way to digest information. If you prefer a video over an article, check out these YouTube videos and channels for more advice on improving your personal and team productivity:

  • "Double YOUR Productivity in 1 Day With 5 Simple Tips": Sean Cannell (owner of the popular seanTHiNKS YouTube channel) discusses how he makes time to work full-time, co-run THiNKmedia and THiNK TV, do creative consulting work, create video blogs for his YouTube channel, lead a happy family life, and still have time to watch his favorite TV shows.

Free productivity eBooks

Never read an eBook before? It's a book-like PDF file that you can download and read from your laptop or carry around with you on your mobile device. They have great learning, and range from ten to hundreds of pages — but usually they are no longer than about fifty pages. Start with these four eBooks on better productivity:

  • Overcoming Procrastination: Free eBook from Free Management eBooks. Download to read through ten chapters on the psychology of procrastination, why quick-fix solutions don't work, and methods to identify your reason for procrastinating every time it creeps up on you.
  • Productivity: How to Get Your S*!% Done: Free eBook from Word Chef. Download this eBook to read 11 articles from different bloggers that cover various topics related to procrastination and productivity: "schadenfreude," the details behind the "standing desk" fad, and getting more real work done in less time every day.
  • The Productivity Manifesto: Free eBook from Nathan Barry. He owns a software design company and writes in his free time. His short eBook shares what he has learned over the years about personal productivity and ignoring the siren call of Twitter and Facebook to buckle down and focus on work.

Online classes on productivity

Are you motivated by the hustle and bustle of lectures and assignments? Take these online classes to learn in a structured environment and connect with other people who are also interested improving their time management:

  • Work Smarter, Not Harder: Offered on Coursera. This curriculum was set up by a professor at UC Irvine, and can be completed at any time. It includes 4-8 hours of videos, readings, and quizzes that will help you hone your personal awareness so you can use that knowledge to be more productive.
  • Wake Up Productive online productivity class: This class is not currently available at time of publishing, but you can sign up to receive their free videos by entering your email address, and get a message when the class opens up again.

Productivity resources found on social media sites

Social media can be a great resource to find information on any topic that interests you. Start with these productivity resources, and then see go out and find more on the other sites you love:

  • Slideshare: Productivity: A presentation given at an entrepreneur roundtable by Matten Griffel on productivity and how to organize your work.
  • Slideshare: Rules of Productivity: A research report on eight productivity experiments and their outcomes. Take their lessons learned and improve your own productivity.

Scientific articles about productivity

I know, I said I wasn't going to list any productivity articles. But I really liked these two studies, and their scientific findings about productivity and happiness are worth prioritizing on your "to read" list. Check them out:

Well-known news sites with productivity categories

Ready to read even more about everything related to productivity? Browse through the archives of popular online magazines and sites for more, more, more. Here's a list of productivity article archives you can start with:

What are your favorite online productivity resources?

Phew, that was quite a list — but I'm sure I missed some of your favorites. Share your go-to resource for productivity tips and advice in the comments below. I'm grateful for any contributions to our list.

And now, a poem:

Improving work productivity is so great
and we know you've heard a lot about it of late.
So we collected this list of links for you
to facilitate your daily work to-dos.
—Ashley Coolman

Related reads:
3 Notorious Productivity Killers and How to Fight Them (Infographic)
50 Productivity Tips to Boost Your Brainpower (Infographic)
Kick Butt in 2015 With These 16 Motivation Hacks

Mobile image promo promo
Desktop image promo promo