Managing yourself: how to be productive with your time

Managing  yourself:    how  to  be  productive  with  your  time  

Jo  Alcock  Birmingham  City  University  

@joeyanne  www.joeyanne.co.uk  

Audience  question  

What  do  you  hope  to  learn  from  today’s  webinar?  

WEBINAR  AIMS,  LEARNING  OUTCOMES  AND  OVERVIEW  

Introduction  

Webinar  aim  

 To  equip  you  with  tools  to  help  you  clear  your  mind  so  that  you  can  focus  on  Getting  Things  Done  

Learning  outcomes  

By  the  end  of  this  webinar,  participants  will  be  able  to:  

1.  Implement  the  Getting  Things  Done  productivity  system  

2.  Apply  productivity  techniques  to  optimise  time  available  

3.  Manage  requests  and  opportunities  to  enable  progression  without  overcommitting  

Webinar  overview  

Section  1  -­‐  Organising  your  tasks  

Section  2  -­‐  Getting  started  and  staying  motivated  

Section  3  -­‐  Preventing  overcommitment  

ORGANISING  YOUR  TASKS  Section  1  

What  is  Getting  Things  Done?  

•  Productivity  methodology  devised  by  David  Allen  

•  Series  of  processes  to  help  you  organise  information  and  make  decisions  about  what  to  do  when  

•  Sometimes  known  as  GTD  •  Can  be  used  as  full  system,  or  

certain  elements  can  be  used  

Getting  Things  Done  

Five  stage  process  for  managing  information  and  improving  productivity:  1.  Collect  2.  Process  3.  Organise  4.  Review  5.  Do  

Getting  Things  Done  cycle  

Collect  

Process  

Organise  Review  

Do  

Stage  1  -­‐  Collect  

•  Aim  of  this  stage  is  to  clear  your  mind  to  record  all  physical  information  and  anything  you  are  currently  trying  to  remember  

•  ALL  sources  of  information  should  ideally  come  into  one  place  (physical  or  virtual)  

Stage  2  -­‐  Process  

•  Process  each  item  one  at  a  time,  in  order  

•  Decide  what  each  item  is  and  what  to  do  with  it  –  Trash  –  Reference  –  Action  –  Project  (multi-­‐step  action)  –  Someday  

•  Don’t  leave  anything  in  your  ‘inbox’  

Stage  3  -­‐  Organise  

•  Separate  actionable  items  into  distinct,  separate  categories:  –  Next  actions  –  Scheduled  actions  –  Waiting  for  

•  If  any  action  takes  less  than  2  minutes,  do  it  now  

Stage  4  -­‐  Review  

•  System  needs  regular  review  •  Every  day  

–  Daily  calendar  –  Action  list  

•  Weekly  (?Fri  afternoon)  –  Full  5  step  process  –  Ensure  all  lists,  files,  folders,  

and  calendar  are  up-­‐to-­‐date  

•  Less  frequently  (?monthly)  –  Bigger  picture  reviews  for  

goals  

Stage  5  -­‐  Do  

•  Assess  situation  depending  on  following  factors:  –  Context  –  Time  available  –  Energy  –  Priority  

Alternative  productivity  systems  

•  Zen  to  Done  •  The  Seven  Habits  of  Highly  Effective  People  •  Never  Check  E-­‐Mail  in  the  Morning  

•  Bit  Literacy  •  The  Four-­‐Hour  Workweek  

•  One  Year  to  an  Organized  Work  Life  

Audience  question  

Do  you  have  a  to-­‐do  list?  If  so,  what  do  you  use?  

Using  lists  

 “I  have  a  secret.  I  make  lists.  That's  how  I  handle  stress.  And  whether  they  actually  help  me  accomplish  more  or  not,  they  make  me  feel  so  much  better.  If  I  can  jot  down  all  the  tasks  that  swirl  around  in  my  head,  I  shift  from  feeling  deluged  and  stressed  to  feeling  in  control  and  calm.  And  this  is  before  I  even  do  anything  on  the  list.”    

Suzanne  Riss  (2007)  in  Maggio  (2009)  

To-­‐do  list  suggestions  

Physical   Virtual  

To-­‐do  list  features  

•  Record  next  and  scheduled  actions  

•  Utilise  contexts  –  @errands  –  @office  –  @online  –  @home  –  @phone  

•  May  assign  projects/tags  •  Accessible  from  anywhere  

Tickler  file  (43  folders)  

•  Set  reminder  triggers  for  time-­‐based  items  to  ‘tickle’  your  memory  –  Agendas  for  meetings  –  Tickets  for  travel  –  Event  information  – Materials  needed  for  

scheduled  task   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG0FU_M_YB8  

Tickler  file  (e-­‐mail)  

•  Email  folders  (or  labels)  for  each  month  and  date  

•  Time-­‐based  emails  moved  into  appropriate  folders/labels  

Organising  your  tasks  –  summary    

•  Employ  the  GTD  system  or  another  which  fits  your  workflow  

•  Use  a  to-­‐do  list  that  meets  your  needs  

•  Try  a  tickler  file  if  relevant  

Collect  

Process  

Organise  Review  

Do  

GTD  cycle  

GETTING  STARTED  AND  STAYING  MOTIVATED  

Section  2  

Right  time…  

•  Are  you  a  morning  person  or  a  night  owl?  

•  Can  you  structure  your  most  difficult  tasks  when  your  energy  is  high?  

•  Consider  utilising  'slump'  time  to  organise  to-­‐do  list  and  revitalise  energy  

•  Block  day  into  periods  of  work  (ideally  90  minutes)  

Right  place…  

•  What  sort  of  environment  is  conducive  for  certain  tasks?  

•  Can  you  work  in  different  places  for  different  types  of  work?  

•  Where  can  you  get  into  the  right  mindset?  

Right  information  

•  Where  do  you  store  information?  

•  How  do  you  make  sure  it’s  accessible  from  where  you  will  need  it?  

•  How  do  you  group  information  so  that  related  items  stay  together?  

Extracting  information  from  calls/meetings  

•  Make  notes  at  meetings  and  during  calls  

•  Highlight  any  actions  and  record  these  in  your  list  immediately  after  the  call/meeting  

•  Store  your  notes  for  reference  -­‐  somewhere  you  can  easily  recall  them  

Audience  question  

Do  you  know  what  makes  you  most  productive?  

Where/when/how?  

Getting  started  

 "The  secret  of  getting  ahead  is  getting  started"  

Mark  Twain  

•  Adopt  the  X  minute  rule  -­‐  spend  just  X  minutes  starting  a  task.  You  may  find  that  you  are  so  into  it  by  then  that  you  want  to  continue,  but  at  minimum  you  will  have  at  least  started.    

Dealing  with  procrastination  

•  Discover  the  source  of  procrastination  -­‐  lack  of  commitment,  knowledge,  motivation,  fear  of  failure,  overwhelmed?  

•  Deal  with  the  problem  •  Set  yourself  a  reward  

mechanism  

Staying  on  task  

•  If  during  a  task  you  hit  a  hurdle  or  need  extra  information,  make  a  note  of  the  question  or  jot  down  the  extra  task  to  come  back  to  after  you  have  completed  the  rest  of  your  original  task  

Dealing  with  interruptions  

•  List  is  constantly  evolving  •  Priorities  will  shift  and  

change  on  a  regular  basis  •  Use  time-­‐based  or  priority  

rankings  to  help  you  reorganise  your  tasks  

Pomodoro  technique  

•  Choose  a  task  to  be  accomplished  

•  Set  the  Pomodoro  (timer)  to  25  minutes  

•  Work  on  the  task  until  the  Pomodoro  rings,  then  put  a  check  on  your  sheet  of  paper  

•  Take  a  short  break  (5  minutes  is  OK)  

•  Every  4  Pomodoros  take  a  longer  break  

http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/  

Getting  started  and  staying  motivated  –  summary    

•  Aim  to  be  working  on  things  at  the  right  time,  right  place,  and  with  the  right  information  

•  Have  a  plan  to  deal  with  procrastination  and  interruptions  

PREVENTING  OVERCOMMITMENT  Section  3  

Knowing  what  not  to  do  

•  Do  you  need  to  do  this?  •  Do  you  want  to  do  this?  •  Is  it  something  you  feel  

you  should  do?  Why?    •  Can  it  be  deleted,  

delegated,  or  simplified?  

To-­‐don't  list  

•  Keep  a  list  of  activities  that  you  sometimes  feel  you  'ought'  to  do  but  know  drain  your  energy,  take  up  too  much  of  your  time,  or  are  unrewarding    

•  Be  sensible  and  realistic  about  your  capabilities,  skills  and  commitments  

•  Practice  saying  no  -­‐  be  firm  but  kind  when  turning  down  opportunities  and  offer  an  alternative  if  possible  e.g.  "I'm  sorry,  I  can't  do  that  but  Mr  X  might  be  interested"  

Saying  no  

 “Not  saying  no  often  enough  is  one  of  the  biggest  causes  of  being  too  busy”  

Maggio  (2009)  

•  Before  responding,  let  person  know  you'll  get  back  to  them  but  spend  time  making  the  right  decision  

•  Don't  give  excuses  if  it's  something  you  don't  want  to  do,  be  honest  and  keep  your  response  simple  

•  Saying  no  is  much  kinder  than  saying  yes  and  not  fulfilling  your  commitment  

Audience  question  

Do  you  have  any  tips  for  preventing  overcommitment?  Any  examples?  

Preventing  overcommitment  –  summary    

•  Know  what  not  to  do  and  when  things  can  be  deleted,  delegated  or  simplified  

•  Consider  a  to-­‐don’t  list  

•  Learn  how  to  say  no  politely  

SUMMARY  AND  RESOURCES  Conclusion  

Organising  your  tasks  –  summary    

•  Employ  the  GTD  system  or  another  which  fits  your  workflow  

•  Use  a  to-­‐do  list  that  meets  your  needs  

•  Try  a  tickler  file  if  relevant  

Collect  

Process  

Organise  Review  

Do  

GTD  cycle  

Getting  started  and  staying  motivated  –  summary    

•  Aim  to  be  working  on  things  at  the  right  time,  right  place,  and  with  the  right  information  

•  Have  a  plan  to  deal  with  procrastination  and  interruptions  

Preventing  overcommitment  –  summary    

•  Know  what  not  to  do  and  when  things  can  be  deleted,  delegated  or  simplified  

•  Consider  a  to-­‐don’t  list  

•  Learn  how  to  say  no  politely  

Recommended  reading  

•  Allen,  D.  (2001)  Getting  Things  Done:  How  to  achieve  stress-­‐free  productivity.  Piatkus.    

•  Hines,  S.  (2010)  Productivity  for  Librarians:  How  to  get  more  done  in  less  time.  Oxford:  Chandos  Publishing.  

•  Houghton-­‐Jan,  S.  (2008)  Being  Wired  or  Being  Tired:  10  Ways  to  Cope  with  Information  Overload.  Being  Wired  or  Being  Tired:  10  Ways  to  Cope  with  Information  Overload.  Ariadne  [online],  56.  

•  Maggio,  R.  (2009)  The  Art  of  Organizing  Anything:  Simple  Principles  for  Organizing  Your  Home,  Your  Office,  and  Your  Life.  New  York:  McGraw  Hill.  

Image  sources  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwvc/6306132745/    -­‐  tickbox  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/benelwell/9009855796  -­‐  overview  

http://pokechild.com/gtd-­‐flawed-­‐system-­‐helpful-­‐system/  -­‐  GTD  flowchart  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr/3915514724/  -­‐  investigation  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schlosi/6413179977/  -­‐  inbox  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr/3915516040/  -­‐  group  discussion  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmachiavello/3327609638/  -­‐  to  do  list  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelanman/366190064/  -­‐  calendar  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29254399@N08/3187186308/  -­‐  clock  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/4782854680/  -­‐  hurdle    

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliejohnson/2122722198/  -­‐  Quality  Street  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/splic3/6811683059/  -­‐  alarm  clock  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/callisto/2172555529  -­‐  information  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renaissancechambara/2927082003/  -­‐  do  not  disturb  

http://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/news-­‐in-­‐pics/2009/01/06/motivatior.jpg  -­‐  Mr  Motivator  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intersectionconsulting/7537238368  -­‐  overload  wave  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27282406@N03/4134661728/  -­‐  thank  you  

http://www.iconfinder.com  -­‐  icons  

Feel  free  to  contact  me  

Jo  Alcock  Evidence  Based  Researcher  @joeyanne  [email protected]