The Big List of 28 Christmas Gift Ideas for Productivity Geeks

Well, it's that time of year again and Christmas is just around the corner. Personally, I can't believe how fast the year has gone by and I'm already panicking about what to get people for Christmas.

If you find yourself in need of a gift for the productivity geek in your life (could even be a little something for yourself), then have a look at this BIG list of gift ideas. To put the list together, I reached out to productivity experts on Twitter and subscribers of my email list and got some great ideas – Thanks to everyone who contributed! What else would you add to this list? Leave me a comment below!

STUFF FOR THE OFFICE

Having a creative and organised workspace is vital for improved productivity. Let's start off with some gift ideas for the home or office. First up, posters… holstee manifesto The Holstee Manifesto – The Holstee Manifesto is a great reminder to work on what's most important. As we approach 2016 most people are going to reassess their goals and create new resolutions to work towards. The manifesto looks great in any office and serves as a reminder to always be chasing your dreams. joey roth Joey Roth Posters – Another great addition to any office, Joey Roth produces some very clever and inspiring posters. I personally like this one, titled “Grind/Dream” which illustrates the importance of hard work and perseverance. No matter how productive we are, hard work will be part of the foundations of any successful person. baronfig manifesto The Baron Fig Manifesto – If you're looking for something a little more obvious, check out the Baron Fig Manifesto. This poster serves as a great reminder to slow down, take your time, play, and do the work.

now year calendar

The Now Year Calendar – The NOW Year Calendar is based on the planning method by Mike Vardy, the best-selling author and productivity specialist. By looking at the next year through the lens of themes and words to act as guiding principles and pillars along the way, you’ll avoid getting stuck and can shape your weeks, months, and years in a way that promotes focused action every single day. You’ll enter your Three Words for the year, a practice popularized by best-selling author Chris Brogan. The words will act as “guiding pillars for what you will focus on in the coming year,” giving you some higher-level guidance when you want to ensure you are being true to your year…and yourself. moleskine Moleskine Notebook – Let's face it, no one was ever disappointed when they received a Moleskine notebook. These bad boys are a dream to write and sketch in, making them the perfect notebook for any desk or workspace. With a soft leather cover and available in a range of sizes and page styles, there's a notebook for everyone.

2016 planner page v2

The 2016 Planner – Make every day count with the 2016 Planner by Baron Fig. Every single day is present and accounted for and you can organise your life by the year, month, week, and day views.

squire v2

The Squire – To go along with the 2016 Planner, why not pick up the new Squire pen by Baron Fig as well? This beautifully designed and easy to use pen is the perfect weapon for any creatives out there. No point picking up a nice new notebook if you have to use a crummy old biro with it. After all, “the pen is mightier than the sword”.

5-minute journal

The 5-Minute Journal – Claimed to be the “simplest and most effective thing you can do every day to become happier”. The 5-Minute Journal requires that you spend 5-Minutes in the morning and evening writing down things you're grateful for, things you're going to do and awesome things that happened to you. It only takes a few minutes but can have a huge impact on personal confidence and self-esteem.

jot script evernote edition

The Jot Script 2 Evernote Edition – This slim and stylish pen is the perfect tool for writing on tablets, particularly if you find yourself using Evernote to jot down sketches and ideas. With a 1.9mm tip, it's super precise and accurate meaning you spend less time erasing your work and more time creating. When you get the Jot Script you'll also get 6 months of Evernote Premium – the perfect gift combination for Evernote fans!

pomodoro

The Pomodoro Timer – For fans of the Pomodoro Technique, this little timer is the perfect gadget for timing your work sprints. Simply set the timer for a 25-minnute work session and focus on one thing until the timer sounds. Easy as!

OUT & ABOUT

For productivity geeks who are constantly on the go, check out the following haul of goodies…

fitbit charge hr

FitBit Charge HR (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)– This is by far one of the best products I purchased in 2015. The FitBit Charge HR shows you key health and exercise metrics like steps walked, flights climbed, heart rate, calories burned and even hours slept, motivating you to stay active and look after your health. If you're going to treat yourself this Christmas, then this is the gadget I'd recommend you get!

ugmonk bag

Waxed Canvas Messenger Bag – Made by Jeff Sheldon of Ugmonk, this stunning messenger bag is a real treat for people on the go. Each bag is made from durable 14oz. waxed canvas, premium full-grain leather, and is lined with cordura nylon to keep your gear dry. The removable leather shoulder strap and top handle make it comfortable to carry and the interior pockets keep everything organized. This bag is built to last and will look even better with age.

grid it

Grid-It Organizer – No more digging around in your bag for that cable or charger. The Grid-It system provides endless configurations for digital devices and personal effects. Conveniently sized for your current laptop bag or travel case, you'll save time on the go by easily finding what you need in an instant.

 

scottevest v2

 

SCOTTeVEST Jackets – Okay, now we're getting into the realm of serious organisation. SCOTTeVEST produces a range of functional and durable jackets for staying organisation on the go. The Sterling Jacker, shown here features 25 pockets, tons of useful features and zip off sleeves (so you can wear it as a jacket or vest).

PRODUCTIVITY APPS & TOOLS

Most productivity geeks have a range of apps and tools they depend on for daily organisation and time management. Why not gift the productivity geek in your life to a premium/pro membership to their favourite apps… evernote Evernote Premium – With Evernote Premium users can upload up to 10GB to their account, turn notes into presentations, save notes for offline, annotate PDFs, search documents, save from email and much more… At just $-5.99 for the year, Evernote premium is pretty decent value and a sure bet for most productivity geeks.minute todoist ToDoist Premium – ToDoist is one of the world's favourite task management apps. With premium, users can add attachments to notes, set mobile reminders and location alerts, create custom filters, track their productivity and more. Buy a year's premium for just $29!

pocket

Pocket Premium – Pocket is a handy “read later” app which allows you to save articles and other links for future reading. With a premium account you can save these articles for offline use. This is really handy for traveling over the holidays when you need to entertain yourself without an internet connection.

dropbox

Dropbox Pro – Ah Dropbox, everyone's favourite app for online storage. Treat your buddy to a terabyte of storage with a Dropbox Pro account and they'll never run out of space again.

1password 1Password – This is hands down one of the best apps I've purchased this year. 1Password allows you to create super secure passwords for all of your online accounts and store precious login details, credit card numbers and other private information in one place. It's all protected by one password that only you know. In this day and age you really shouldn't be using the same old password for all your online accounts. 1Password is the answer to true online security.

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Grammarly

Grammarly Premium – Grammarly is a really hand spelling and grammar checking app that turns you into a better writer. It picks up on subtle mistakes in grammar as your writing emails and typing in any online form. You can also use the desktop app to spell check important documents as you go. Grammarly makes smart suggestions about how to improve your grammar as you go. This is ideal for people that write a lot like students and bloggers.

rescuetime

RescueTime – “What gets measured gets managed”. This is never more true than when it comes to managing your time. RescueTime is a really handy app that tracks what apps you use on your computer and which websites you navigate to so that you can manage your time more effectively. When you learn more about how your time is being spent, it's easier to make smart decisions around what to do and what not to do on your computer. I particularly like the goals feature which lets you set a goal for how long you want to use certain apps. For example, I can set a goal to spend less than an hour a day in email. This could be useful if you don't want to get carried away with email during the day.

PRODUCTIVITY BOOKS

Manage Your Day to Day – Should you answer that email, or answer your calling? Tune into social media, or tune in to your own voice? Respond to other people’s needs or actively set your own agenda? When it comes to creative work, every decision, every day, matters. 99U brings together the insights of 20 creative experts to produce “Manage Your Day to Day”. Learn how to build a rock-solid routine, find focus and sharpen your creative mind.

Getting Things Done – Getting Things Done is arguably the world’s most well-known book on productivity. The lessons in this book should be considered essential reading for anyone looking to pursue a more productive lifestyle. Normally when I write a book summary I outline the main points from each chapter. However with GTD, the book is jam-packed with information and ideas. In order to make this summary useful, actionable and concise I thought I would summarise the main lesson from the book as a whole instead of each individual chapter.

Sleep Smarter – Sleep Smarter is a quick and easy read packed with facts, studies and scientific insight all about getting better quality sleep. Shawn takes you through the essential components of a good nights sleep. The book also contains a few surprises about how much impact sleep has on your day to day health. When you improve the quality of your sleep, almost every aspect of your life improves, including, yes… you guessed it, your productivity. By the end of the book you’ll definitely be settling in for a good nights sleep.

The Miracle Morning – The Miracle Morning is an instructional book all about how to create a morning routine that sets you up for success in every aspect of life. Now practiced by thousands of people worldwide, the Miracle Morning is helping transform lives and create greater success for its readers. By using the morning to invest in and develop yourself, you to can live the Miracle Morning and start on your path to success.

Essentialism – The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. It is not a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter. By forcing us to apply a more selective criteria for what is Essential, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices about where to spend our precious time and energy – instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us.

The One Thing – You want less. You want fewer distractions and less on your plate. The daily barrage of e-mails, texts, tweets, messages, and meetings distract you and stress you out. The simultaneous demands of work and family are taking a toll. And what’s the cost? Second-rate work, missed deadlines, smaller paychecks, fewer promotions—and lots of stress. And you want more. You want more productivity from your work. More income for a better lifestyle. You want more satisfaction from life, and more time for yourself, your family, and your friends. Now you can have both – Less and more. The ONE Thing delivers extraordinary results in every area of your life—work, personal, family, and spiritual. What's your ONE thing?

Get-It-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More – Want to conquer your e-mail inbox once and for all? Need help getting organized and staying focused? Start reading! Millions of people already benefit from the innovative, time-saving tips that Stever Robbins dispenses each week in his #1 ranked Get-It-Done Guy podcast. Now he's come up with a 9-step plan to transform even the most overwhelmed into an overachiever.