Six productivity hacks that'll save you time in 2026

Let’s be honest: we’re all drowning in tasks, notifications, and things we mean to get to “eventually.” You’ve got a reading list a mile long, a budget you keep meaning to track, and morning routines that feel more chaotic than calming. Sounds familiar?

Here’s the thing: you’re not unproductive. You’re just trying to manage too much manually. In 2026, the people who get ahead aren’t the ones grinding 80-hour weeks, they’re the ones who set up smart systems that work for them.

That’s where IFTTT (If This Then That) comes in. It connects all your favorite apps and devices, creating workflows that make it easier to stick to what you set out to do. Whether it’s making sure you never miss a task, helping you stick to a budget, or building that reading habit you’ve been putting off, IFTTT takes care of the small stuff so you can focus your energy where it counts.

In this blog, we’ll walk through six practical productivity hacks and show you how IFTTT can help you actually follow through the year.

Why you’re struggling with productivity (and it’s not your fault)

You’re not struggling because you lack discipline. You’re overwhelmed because you’re trying to remember too many things at once. Between checking the weather, managing your calendar, tracking expenses, and trying to learn new things, something’s going to slip.

The good news? You don’t need to overhaul your entire life. You just need to set up systems that handle the tedious parts automatically. IFTTT connects all your apps and devices so they work together without you constantly managing everything. Set it up once, and it keeps working for you day after day.

Six productivity hacks for 2026

1. Automate your morning routine

How you start your morning sets the tone for your entire day. Instead of fumbling through the same sequence of tasks every morning: checking the weather, reviewing your calendar, catching up on news, let automation handle it for you.

With these Applets, you can create a morning routine that runs automatically, so you’re not scrambling to check five different apps before you’ve even had coffee. Set up a workflow to get the weather forecast delivered straight to your phone at 7AM every morning. No more checking your weather app while you're half asleep trying to figure out what to wear.

Want to start your day on a positive note? You can receive a daily email digest of good news for an uplifting start to your morning. And if you use Google Calendar, get a notification 15 minutes before your next event starts, giving you just enough time to wrap up what you’re doing and mentally prepare.

For the ultimate wake-up experience, you can even simulate a natural sunrise in your bedroom. Your lights will gradually brighten as the sun rises, making it easier to wake up naturally instead of being jolted awake by an alarm.

2. Master your focus with smart notifications

Constant interruptions from notifications destroy productivity. You sit down to focus on an important project and within minutes you’re pulled away by texts, emails, social media pings, and app alerts. Before you know it, an hour has passed and you’ve made little progress.

IFTTT can help you protect your focus time in seconds. Need to concentrate right now? Use the button widget to instantly block off the next hour as Do Not Disturb on Google Calendar. No more manually fiddling with settings when you need to get in the zone.

You can also set up location-based triggers to automatically mute your Android phone when you arrive at work. No more getting distracted by notifications the second you sit down.

And for deeper focus sessions, connect FocusTime to mute your Android phone when a session starts or block distracting websites at the start of each day.

3. Turn your habits into savings

Let’s talk money. We all know we should be tracking our spending and saving money, but who actually has time to log every coffee purchase and transfer to savings manually? Spoiler alert: almost nobody. That’s why budgeting attempts die after two weeks.

Here’s where our Applets get interesting: you can make saving money feel like a game instead of a chore. Hit your daily Fitbit step goal? Automatically save a set amount toward your Qapital goal as a reward for those healthy habits. Completed a Strava activity? Move money into your Qapital savings automatically. You're already doing the work, so why not pay yourself for it?

Want to try something fun? Take on the 1p Savings Challenge. Start by saving 1p on January 1st, 2p on January 2nd, and gradually increase each day. By the end of the year, you'll be surprised at how much you've saved without even noticing. The challenge resets automatically every January, so you can do it year after year.

You can even turn your social media habits into savings. Set up an automation to move money into a Monzo Pot every time you tweet. Suddenly, that scroll session is funding your vacation. These automations turn saving into something that happens naturally, not something you have to force yourself to do.

4. Build a smarter task management system

Your tasks are everywhere, and it's driving you crazy. Tasks are scattered across different apps, reminders you forgot to set, and that nagging feeling you're forgetting something important.

These Applets can bring order to the chaos by connecting all your task management tools. Use multiple calendar apps? Automatically sync new events added from your iOS Calendar to Google Calendar so everything lives in one place. No more double-checking two different calendars to figure out if you're free.

Track your productivity wins by automatically logging all your completed Todoist tasks into a Google Spreadsheet. It's oddly satisfying to see everything you've accomplished over time, and it's useful when you need to remember what you worked on last month.

You can also make task creation feel more seamless with Siri. Add a reminder the way you normally do in the iOS Reminders app, and it’ll automatically show up as a task due today in Google Tasks. And if you're an iOS user who loves the native Reminders app, save new reminders as Todoist tasks to keep everything synced. These automations mean less time managing your tasks and more time actually getting stuff done.

5. Turn "I should read more" into "I actually do"

We all have that pile of books we swear we'll get to "someday" or a reading list that keeps growing while you never seem to make a dent. The problem isn't that you don't want to read, it's that discovering and tracking what to read feels like work.

These Applets can solve both problems at once. Want free books delivered straight to you? Get a daily email listing posts that reach the top 10 in r/FreeEBOOKS on Reddit. You can also get notified through RSS feeds when free Kindle books are available. No more hunting for deals because the best free books come to you.

When you're browsing Feedly and mark articles as "read later," automatically send them to Instapaper so they're waiting for you in one organized place.

Spot an interesting book cover or movie poster while you're out? Use the camera widget to snap a photo and save it for later. No more "What was that book I wanted to read?”

These automations take the friction out of building a reading habit, so you can spend less time organizing and more time actually reading.

6. Be the smartest person in the room

You want to learn more, but who has time for online courses or lengthy tutorials? The trick is making learning happen in small chunks throughout your day, so it doesn't feel like another obligation.

IFTTT can bring learning to you automatically. Get a daily email update with the top posts from your favorite Reddit subreddit. Whether it's r/TodayILearned, r/ExplainLikeImFive, or any topic you're curious about.

Want to stay on top of your favorite blogs? Get AI-generated summaries of RSS feed posts delivered to your email as they're published so you can scan what's new and decide what's worth reading in full.

Got a random thought about something you want to learn? Use the Note widget to jot it down and you'll get a daily email reminder with your full history saved in iOS Reading List.

You can even set up a daily reminder to practice on Duolingo, keeping your streak alive without having to remember it yourself.

These small moments add up. You're not overhauling your schedule, you're just making it easier to stay curious!

Making productivity automation work for you in 2026

You don't need to set up all six of these hacks at once. Pick the one or two that'll make the biggest difference in your day. Maybe your mornings are chaos, you're tired of forgetting to save money, or that reading list just keeps getting longer.

IFTTT makes it easy to start small. Use our already-published Applets or create your own custom workflows. No coding required, no tech skills needed. Just pick what you want to happen and when, and IFTTT handles the rest.

Here's the thing: productivity isn't about cramming more into your day. It's about making the important stuff easier so you have energy left for what actually matters. When you automate the boring parts, you free up time for the things you care about.

Start with one automation and see how it feels. You might be surprised at how much easier your day gets. Join IFTTT for free today!