11 productivity rules from Marc Andreessen that changed how I work

I'm Ziyaan Virji. I run Leaders of Today, a platform that helps young people find opportunities, and I geek out over productivity systems more than is probably healthy.

One rabbit hole led me to a blog post from 2007 by Marc Andreessen, who co-created the first widely used web browser and now runs Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's biggest investment firms. The post is usually called the pmarca guide to personal productivity.

What surprised me is how well it holds up. It was written almost two decades ago and it still reads like it was written for anyone juggling school, projects, side hustles, and life all at once.

Here are his best rules, broken down. Some are funny, some are savage, and all of them will make you rethink how you spend your time.

1. Don't keep a schedule

Marc refused to commit to meetings in advance. His rule was to never let future days get locked up with commitments, so his calendar stayed clear and he could always work on whatever mattered most right now.

He pointed to Arnold Schwarzenegger as an example. Arnold never scheduled far in advance, which gave him the freedom to pivot fast when he decided to run for governor of California.

The takeaway: leave space so you can focus on what matters instead of being trapped in busywork.

2. Keep three lists only

Marc kept things simple with three lists and nothing else.

• Todo list: things you must do.
• Watch list: things you're waiting on or need to check later.
• Later list: things you might want to do someday.

If it doesn't fit in one of those, delete it. Too many lists and categories create clutter and confusion.

3. The 3 to 5 rule

Each night, Marc wrote down three to five things on an index card that he wanted to get done the next day. Not thirty. Three to five. The next day, he focused on those.

He also kept what he called the anti-todo list. Every time he did something useful, big or small, he jotted it down. At the end of the day he could look back and see how much he'd actually accomplished, then rip it up and start fresh.

Simple, grounding, and motivating.

4. Structured procrastination

Marc admitted that he procrastinated. His trick was to use it.

If he was avoiding a big scary task, like a phone call he didn't want to make, he channelled that avoidance into a stack of smaller useful tasks instead. He got a lot done while "procrastinating."

The lesson: procrastination isn't always bad if you point it at something that still moves you forward.

5. Check email twice a day

Marc compared email to mice pressing a button for food pellets. Every new message gives you a small hit, and it wrecks your focus.

His fix was to check email twice a day, morning and evening, and keep it closed in between.

Hard to do. But if you pull it off, you'll actually focus long enough to do meaningful work.

6. Don't answer the phone

His advice was simple: let calls go to voicemail and batch your responses later.

He even suggested carrying two phones, one for family and close friends and one for everyone else. Answer the first, ignore the second.

The point is to protect your focus. Not every ring deserves your time.

7. Hide in an iPod

This one's clever. Just wearing headphones makes people less likely to interrupt you.

You don't even have to play music. The signal alone, that you're focused right now, is often enough to buy you uninterrupted time.

8. Strategic incompetence

This one's savage but smart. If you don't want to be asked to do something, be bad at it, or admit up front that you'll be bad at it. People stop asking.

The deeper point is that you don't need to say yes to everything. Protect your energy for the things that matter.

9. Only say yes when your head and heart agree

Marc warned against saying yes with your head while your gut says no. That's how you end up stuck with commitments you resent.

His rule was to only say yes when both are in it. It's a simple filter that saves a lot of time and frustration.

10. Eat a real breakfast

Marc believed a proper sit-down breakfast was one of the most important habits of the day.

It fuels your body, and it gives you quiet time to prepare mentally for what's ahead. It's not really about the food. It's about setting the tone. No rushing, no chaos.

11. Do something you love

At the end of it, Marc reminded readers that productivity isn't the point. The point is creating space to do work you actually care about.

If you don't love what you're working on, no productivity trick will fix it.

What to do with this

I don't share these because anyone needs to become a productivity robot. I share them because I've been on the other side of this, burnt out, overwhelmed, and saying yes to everything.

These rules are reminders that productivity isn't about doing more. It's about doing what actually matters.

Try one. Protect your morning with a real breakfast, or say no when your gut isn't in it, or just leave some space in your calendar. Your future self will thank you.