5 pointers from Google’s productivity expert’s new book

4. Prioritize downtime

Being busy doesn't necessarily equal being productive. Downtime allows your brain to rest and refresh, enabling you to return to tasks with renewed energy and focus.

"Uptime in computers is any time a machine is on, operational and productive. I define it the same in our world. Finding your uptime is that feeling of being in the flow, on top of things, productive and well," Laura says. "And just like your computer needs to shut down and reboot to avoid burnout, you need the same. Without breaks to relax and process information and ideas, we cannot sustain uptime."

Plus, downtime is often the best time for creativity. "Your greatest ideas are more likely to come to you while on a walk or cooking dinner than during your 10th meeting of the day," Laura says. "You have to allow for downtime in your schedule to fuel your own propensity for big-picture thinking and inspiration."

5. Plan for "Future You"

Sometimes we fail to consider how our present-day decisions may affect our future selves. For example, you might schedule six meetings back-to-back on the day you'll return from vacation without envisioning how that future version of you will feel.

"Instead of planning for who we are now, we want to be constantly planning for our future self," Laura says. "What will Future You wish you had scheduled - or not scheduled - after that four-hour meeting block next week? What will End-of-Year You wish you had spent more time on? Less time on? This perspective helps us prioritize activities, allocate our time wisely and make decisions that align with our long-term wellbeing and productivity."