5 Of The Best Products For Boosting Productivity, According To Amazon Users

Rome wasn't built in a day, but sometimes it feels like you need to build half of it before lunch. Even if you just want to get more done in a day than your coworkers do in a week, time is not on your side. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to do what you have to do (let alone what you want to do), unless you can pull off the ultimate magic trick: being more productive.

Whether it's life, bosses, or ourselves putting the pressure on to increase our productivity, that pressure is higher than society's pressure on renters to buy a home. Distractions, responsibilities, stress, and a cultural obsession with optimizing everything can create major obstacles to getting stuff done. Unrealistic expectations and unavoidable obligations will always make it harder to muster the brain power to master whatever tasks are at hand. But never fear: products to help boost your productivity are here, and users are raving about their favorites on Amazon.

Truly improved productivity requires achieving some physical and mental clarity, enjoying novelty, taking necessary rest and downtime, as well as establishing routines. Of course, a cheery timer couldn't hurt. These products to help with productivity have at least 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, with at least 1,000 customer reviews.

Sometimes getting time on your side starts with getting a timer on your desk. But not just any timer: a clever timer. You may already be familiar with the Pomodoro Technique. This method of working for 25-minute intervals interspersed with short breaks was invented in the 1980s by software designer Francesco Cirillo, who named the time-management method after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used to create it. Pomodoro means tomato, in Italian.

While the Pomodoro Technique has its own method to time-management madness, you don't need to stick with the cheery red tomato timer to utilize it. While popular in times past, current users aren't in love with the timer's ticking, even if this retro tomato timer is pretty darn cute. Multiple varieties of digital timers and visual timers that can be used for timed work sessions and breaks are available on Amazon, and run about the same price as you'd pay for half a bushel of real tomatoes.

For example, the Mooas Cube Timer series brings some flippable fun into time management. Each side of the cube features a different time increment. Top Amazon reviews say this timer is "great to help with focus," while another called it their "favorite gym timer of all time." Instead of using a phone timer and getting sucked into endless distraction scrolling, Amazon reviewers say physically interacting with these cube timers helps keep them on task. Each color cube has different time increments, and all sell for $14.99 on Amazon.

Classics are classics for a reason, and putting pen to paper might be just the most time-honored productivity trick. Even though a productivity app exists for every calendar need, workflow optimization, and to-do list tracker you can think of, you can't beat saving a little sanity with some sort of paper product.

While some get an organizational and artistic high from intricate habit trackers and bullet journals, others may feel just as accomplished using a notebook to jot down small to-do lists. Using a paper planner can be a frugal big money move you can make to keep important dates clear and your output top-tier. Paper planners can also help you see when you are overloading yourself and when to schedule some much-needed downtime.

The Panda Planner Classic is a "top pick planner for goal-setting" per The New York Times product review site, Wirecutter. It's also a highly-rated planner on Amazon. The pages allow for 90 days of continuous planning. Since the pages are undated, users can extend the use by picking the planner up in busier periods and setting it aside during slower weeks. Amazon users praise the organization and layout of the planner, as well as the look and feel of the product. One Amazon reviewer deems the planner "streamlined, functional, and superior" and claims the planner (which they have repurchased) helps them keep track of their progress and goals better than other planners. A variety of colors sell for $21.87 on Amazon.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love a whiteboard, and those who will one day discover they love a whiteboard. Dry erase boards are a simple, highly-visual way to keep to-do lists, mind maps, and project goals top of mind and tackled in good time.

Like with bullet journals, whiteboard layouts can be as intense or as low-key as you'd like them to be. A magnetized whiteboard stuck to your fridge can help keep meal planning or schedules clear for the week. They can also provide a handy way to keep track of groceries that are running low or about to expire. Americans lose a staggering amount of money to uneaten food each year, so dashing off a meal plan for purchased food will keep daily stress on what you're eating for dinner off your mind, and your money out of the trash can. A 17x11 inch Fridge Whiteboard with 4 Markers and Eraser from Cinch receives top user reviews on Amazon, where it retails for $13.99.

Amazon users also love the Small Glass Desktop Whiteboard with Drawer from TSJ, which has a variety of colors for $26.99. "I can easily write my to-do's for the day, erase when completed, and re-write the next day – no more notepads with messy strikeouts," says one top reviewer. Another says: "This little gem has made a significant difference in my daily organization and productivity."

Recharging with a good night's sleep every night is a top way to increase your productivity and your quality of life. However, high stress and low sleep hygiene standards can make grumpy, sluggish Guses of us all.

Chances are, you spend some of your nights worrying about stressful events at home and in the world, like what the best age is to set up retirement so you can get the most benefits, or why Taco Bell is now charging for an item that used to be free. Then, you catch a few Z's, only to be woken by the sound of a jackhammer in your ear. Jackhammer? More like standard phone alarm sounds. But there is a better way.

Sunrise alarm clocks mimic daybreak using gradually brightening light to bring you to wakefulness naturally, rather than violently throwing you into the fray of the day. Wirecutter's top pick, the Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light HF3520, is also a hit with Amazon users. Amazon users find the SmartSleep a peaceful and effective way to wake up. One top review especially praises the SmartSleep for the brightness it provides in dark winter months, and how the alarm saved her 30 minutes of harassing her child to wake, with the sunrise light instead waking her daughter "like magic." The SmartSleep also has sunset functions for falling asleep, and can act as a reading light. It retails for $108.95 on Amazon.

People mistake peak productivity as achievable only through nonstop work. Side hustlers should be especially aware of always being "busy," and so should hustlers of all kinds. In a country where the future of Social Security is uncertain and where new tariffs will totally impact your family's budget, the pressure to be productive enough to make more money may be higher than ever. So, too, may be the looming prospect of total burnout.

If you truly want to increase productivity, you need to switch out of work mode, even while at work. For some, this will look like grabbing a quick walk around the block, a coffee, or a chat with a pal. Whatever your little treat is, you do need one. Rewards-based productivity systems help keep work sessions manageable, and incentivize workers to achieve treat status.

Keep your eyes off of screens, and a fidget toy in your workspace. The Shashibo Fidget Cube is a handheld puzzle cube that gets top marks on Amazon, where it retails for $24.99. The cube takes on seemingly endless shapes as it is manipulated, and one top reviewer calls out how the cube is great for a "quick mental break." Another says the cube "engages thinking and problem-solving skills as you try to discover all the different shapes." All work and no play is out. All work with some play is in, especially if you want to work at the top of your game.