Transcripts
1. Intro: I think most of us spend countless hours searching for
the perfect productivity. You know what I
mean? The one advice that will change everything, The trouble is that the more
you look into productivity, more you realize there
are so many factors at play that things can get
confusing pretty fast. When I started my
first management role, very soon I realized that the productivity
is a focal point. Get the results in the
most efficient way. From the team, from the
individuals, and from myself. Hi Mana, author of the publication
and weekly newsletter. Weekly. Do I teach and write
about productivity? Weekly. When we talk about productivity, we often think about how much work we put in
and what we get out of it. It's a simple way to look
at it, but it makes sense. This equation looks
simple on a paper, but once you start
applying to your workload, you soon realized there's more
hidden underneath surface. Then it seems this class will provide you with the
key productivity skills you need to develop. Then I will share with you productivity principles
and productivity laws. Finally, we'll look at
productivity habits. Once you know and have
access to all these skills, principles, laws, and habits, you will be able to apply
them to your everyday life, your workload, tasks
and projects as needed. If you want to be
more productive, don't leave it to chance. This class has some cool tips to help you improve
your productivity. Sounds good if join
me for this class.
2. Module 1 Productivity Equation 00: Working long hours and checking
off end less to do this doesn't always mean you're being productive to really
get stuff done. You need to complete task efficiently and in
time effective manner. This means you have to be intentional about how
you structure your data. Don't leave your
productivity to chance. That's never too
good of a strategy. Instead, you can use tips from this class to get started and improve on
your productivity. There are different ways to measure how productive you are depending on what you're doing and what
you're focusing on. When we talk about productivity, we often think about how much work we put in
and what we get out of it. It's simple way to look at
it, but it makes sense. In this equation,
output refers to the amount of work done
or the results achieved. This could be the number
of items produced, tasks completed, or
any other measure of what you've accomplished. Input refers to the resources
used to achieve the output. This could include time, effort, money, materials, for example. If you could complete
ten tasks in 5 hours, your productivity could be expressed as two tasks per hour. You can tweak this equation
to fit your specific needs. For instance, in the
business context you can take into account
things like how good work is, how happy your customers are, and how cost effective the
output is when it comes to being productive is not just about doing more
stuff in less time, it's also about doing
efficiently and effectively. Sometimes focusing
on the quality of work or the quantity. It's also important
about being productive with taking care of yourself
to avoid the burnout. Okay, let's check out this equation from a
personal point of view. This way of getting
things done takes into account more than just
sticking off task from you. To do this, it's
about getting the most out of what you put in
value versus the effort. Let's take a closer look
at the two components. The value of what you produce and everything
you put into. To make it happen,
it's essential to measure your
achievement and goals based on what you
really want to achieve, not just the number of tasks that you've checked
of your to do list. Remember that quality
is also important. Don't be too hard on
yourself if it takes longer to achieve
high quality results, it's important to balance
the speed and the standards. Finally, don't forget to consider your happiness
and well being. It's essential to
feel good about your accomplishments
and personal growth. Time is pretty
straightforward when it comes to measuring how
productive you are. It's just the amount of time you spend on your task or activity. How much time you invest in, in your activities.
Think about it. Effort and energy are
important to think about how much physical
and mental effort you put into your tasks. And don't forget about the resources you're using
to achieve your goals. That could be
anything from money, materials, tools, or
even educational stuff. Lastly, you should also think about what you're giving
up to get things done. That could mean less free time, less time with the family, or missing out
other cool things. What are you giving up to
accomplish these tasks? Now let's try to put
this into practice. Take a moment to reflect on recent project tasks
you've completed. Evaluate the value
of the output. How did you measure
your success? Did you consider quality
and personal satisfaction? Assess the total inputs. So, how much time,
how much effort and how many resources did
you have to invest? What did you sacrifice
to achieve this? There are additional
things I want you to consider when it comes
to being productive. There are a few more things
you should keep in mind. Firstly, not all tasks
are equally important. Make sure you prioritize the high value ones to get
the most out of your time. Secondly, it's important to find the right balance and
avoid the burnout. Remember to schedule
some time for rest, leisure activities, anything you like to
do and that you enjoy. Lastly, include the learning and skills
development as valuable outputs. They may not produce immediate
results that you want, but they can help
you in the long run. Make the most of this
expanded equation. Just follow these
three simple steps. Figure out and measure the value of what
you're producing, not just the quantity. Take a look at all the
inputs you're using, like the time, effort, and resources change up
what you're doing to get the most value
of your output while using the
inputs effectively. Keep in mind that
personal productivity is different for everyone. What might work for one
might not work for you. It's important to
adjust these ideas to match your own goals,
habits, and lifestyle. Think of this class
as scaffolding. Of course, we all know what scaffolding means in terms of
building and construction. This is the term often used
in the psychology too, where coach offers
initial instructions and then removes the support. This class will provide you with initial instructions
and then help you develop your own approach to productivity that fits
your work and goals. Over the next three modules, I will share with you
productivity skills, principles, laws and habits that will help you
achieve your goals. By understanding these concepts, you will be able to develop your own approach to productivity that
works best for you. So far we discussed the
productivity equation, but in the next lesson, we're going to dig deeper into what productivity
actually means. We'll also take a
look at difference between being productive
and being busy. Of course, we'll talk about how focus and discipline
can help you get more done. Ready to dive in? Let's do this.
3. Module 2 Definition of productivity: Welcome. In this section we're
going to talk about what productivity really is and why it matters so
much to our lives. Once you have all the
knowledge about productivity, you'll be way better
prepared to make some real changes in how you spend your time and
get stuff done. But first, let me ask you, when I say productivity
comes to your mind, this would work much better if you were in the
same room with me. And we could have
an open discussion. But for now, let's
just row with there. When I ask this question, people often say things like time management,
goal achievement, focus on concentration,
motivation and discipline, organization or the
quality of work. People often associate
productivity with work life balance,
technology and tools. Apps that you can use, shows and burnout, or often efficiency
comes to their mind. All in all, we could
say that productivity means different things at different times to
different people. Productivity is indeed
about getting things done, but it's much more than just sticking off the task
from your to do list. Let's start by
defining productivity. Productivity is
about accomplishing tasks effectively
and efficiently. It's not just about
doing things, but doing them in a way that
saves you time and effort. Essentially, it's
quality over quantity. You've been productive when
you're creating real value, making a tangible impact. Now let's distinguish
productivity from business. Have you ever felt really busy, but at the end of the day, you realize you didn't
accomplish much. What about those days
when it's hard to figure out where the time
went and all honesty, not much was accomplished. That's the illusion of business. Being busy doesn't always mean that you've
been productive. Sometimes it can
even be a form of procrastination or
poor time management. Productivity, on the other hand, is about doing the right thing, being effective, and doing them in the right
way, being efficient. Let's post this video for a
couple of minutes and think about when you felt
productive versus time. You were just busy. You can share your thoughts in the discussion section.
How did you get on? Look, this exercise
isn't meant to make you feel bad or say
that you're not doing well. It is just to show how important this to be intentional
about what you do, how much work you take on, and the project you
get involved in, the seemingly small
decisions you make every day impact
your productivity. Or just at your business. Take a step back from
now and then evaluate whether you're actually being productive or you
just doing busy work. If you want to get things done, you need focus and
be disciplined. We all know that, right? Focus means you're paying
attention to what you're doing, not getting sidetracked
by anything else. Discipline, as about sticking
to your plans and goals, even when things get tough. It's about being consistent and keeping your
priorities in check. Remember that
productivity is a skill. It's about quality
effectiveness, efficiency, focus,
and discipline. Here is the optional
homework, if you up for it, I want you to track your
activities for a day, not in when you were truly productive versus
when you were busy. The point of this
optional exercise is for you to start paying attention when you're truly productive and when
you're just been busy, reflect on this and think about how you can improve
your productivity. Of course, you can share your thoughts in the
discussion section. Being productive
to me is not just about the skill and equation
I shared with you earlier. It's also about using the right mix of
productivity principles, laws, and developing appropriate
productivity habits. Here are all the
principles, laws, and habits we're going to cover in the next three modules.
4. Module 3 Productivity principles: In module three,
we'll be going over a bunch of basic
productivity principles. They can totally
change the way you handle your work and
your personal tasks. This module is all
about giving you practical strategies and
solid understanding of important productivity
concepts so you can work smarter instead of
putting more effort. By the end of this module, you'll have good
understanding of different productivity
principles and how to use them in
real life situations. You will learn how to prioritize
tasks, manage your time, effectively set and
accomplish goals, and continually improve
your work process. Module is designed to give you the power to handle
your workload, increase your productivity, improve your personal and
professional performance. We're going to kick off
with the number one tool, which is the tool you
probably know about. You should know about preto
principle parto principle. This is the principle
that says 80% of the good stuff comes from just 20% of the work you put in. What this means is
that if you focus on the most important
20% of the task, you'll get 80% of the
result you're looking for. This way, you can
be superproductive without having to work
too hard on everything. How could you apply the preto
principle to your workload? Let's take a look at
the key seven steps. Number one, identify key
tasks and activities. Take a look at all the tasks
and activities you do, and figure out which one helps you achieve
your goals most. You can also use past
performance data if you have it, to see which tasks have
worked best in the past. This will help you prioritize
your work and focus on tasks that are most likely to give you the
results you want. Second step is prioritize high impact activities
you want to focus on 20% you should focus on a task that make
the most difference. Start by identifying
things that give you the best results and
concentrate on them. These are the things
that deserve most of your attention and resources. Next, look at other tasks that don't contribute as
much to your results. Think about whether you can automate them, use
different system, or delegate them, or even completely get rid
of them altogether. These free up more of time for high impact activities
that really matter. Third step is optimize
your time and resources. Focus on a task that
are most productive. Give more attention
to the top 20% of tasks by putting in more
time, energy, and resources. Use time management techniques, like for example, blocking
or task batching, to make sure that those
high priority tasks get your undivided attention. By doing so, you can increase your productivity and
get better results. First step is set specific
goals based on the principle. Specific goals means that you're using the
Smart framework. You set specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, and time bound
goals that focus on 20% of activities that
are most effective to. Fifth step is you need to
continually assess and adjust. Make sure to check on your
task regularly and see how you do the 20% of the tasks that are most productive
might change over time. It's important to stay flexible, be ready to switch things up. Other tasks become
more important, so you need to move them about. Or if you go changes, you want to make the
right adjustments. Sixth step is to avoid
common pitfalls. Don't forget that
not everything can be squeezed into
the 80, 20 rule. It's more like a
guide rather than said rule Eisenhower matrix. This is an effective
tool that helps you to prioritize tasks based on how urgent and
important they are. It can help you focus on
the things that really matter and avoid wasting
time on things that don't. The matrix separates tasks into four quadrants based on how important and
urgent they are. Quadrant one important
urgent tasks, you need your immediate
attention and action. Quadrant two are important, but not so urgent Tasks that are important for long term
success and fulfilment, but they don't need to
be done right away. Quadrant three is not important, but urgent task demand
your attention, but they don't help you
achieve your long term goals. Quadront four are not important. Urgent tasks that neither
are important nor urgent and often distract
you from what's important. Let's take a look
at the steps to apply the Asenhaouer Principle. If you want to use the
Asenhau principle, here are the steps. First of all, write down all
the tasks you need to do. Decide if each task is urgent, important, both or
none of the above. Put each task in one of four boxes based on
what you decided. Here is how you could
prioritize your task. If you put task
into quadrant one, that means you need to
do these tasks first. They're super important and need your attention right away. Second quadrant task, schedule these tasks for different time. You want to schedule them, they're important for
your long term success and personal growth. The quadrant three includes the tasks that you could give those tasks
to someone else. They're usually interruption or things that don't help
you match quadrant four. Try to avoid these
tasks if you can. Usually a waste of time and don't help
you reach your goals. To make sure you
plan your day and week by focusing on quadrant 1.2 don't forget to review and adjust your
priorities as needed. The two minute rule
popularized by David Allen, the rules suggests
that if a task can be done in 2 minutes or
less, do it immediately. This helps in reducing small
tasks that can pile up. The idea is that it's better
to get the tasks done right away instead of spending
more time to organize, track and come back to it later. Here's how you can use
the two minute rule to get things done quickly. First of all, find
quick tasks as you go through e mails to do lists or tasks that came up
throughout the day. Look for those that
won't take too long. Second step is check
how long it takes. If the task takes 2
minutes or less, do it. Now, simple tasks like
replying to emails, filing documents, making
a quick phone call, or sending a brief message
can be done in no time. The first step is get it done, work on, and complete
task right away. The key is to act now
and not procrastinate. First step is don't
get distracted while the terminate rule is about getting things
done quickly. Make sure you don't
get sidetracked by these little task and forget
about more important work. That's it. That's as simple as it is to use the terminate rule, the principle of least effort. All of us naturally gravitate towards the path of
least resistance. It turns out that that's a good thing When
planning tasks, finding the simplest
way to achieve a goal can often
be most efficient. Making things simpler
and getting rid of any unnecessary step is
what this is all about. Here is how you can make life easier by putting
in less effort. First of all, check your task. Take a look at everyday
tasks and see if you find any areas
where you might be putting in more effort
than necessary. Second step is to
make things easier. Simplify complex
process by breaking them down into
smaller simple steps. Cut out any unnecessary steps that are unnecessary
and redundant. Automate with technology. Use technology and tools
to make your life easier. For example, use email
templates to save time on common responses or use scheduling tools
for appointments. Prioritize your task. Focus on tasks that will give you the most
significant results, the least amount of effort. This is called Pero
principle and it is one of the first principles
that we've covered. Go back to the session. Be clear on your goals. Having clear and
achievable goals can help you find
easier path to success. Make a routine task simple. Create standard procedure for routine tasks to save time and make them less of a hassle,
delegate, and outsource. If someone else can do the
task more efficiently, delegated to them, it is not
essential to your main goal. Consider outsourcing
it, keep improving. Regularly, review
your methods and processes and find ways to make things easier
and less complex. Let me now give you
a practical example of how to use this principle. Let's say that you
in charge of making monthly reports to
make your life easier. You can follow the principle of least effort by
doing the following. You could create
template for reports. You don't have to start
from scratch every time. You could use the software that automatically collects
and organizes data, so you don't have
to do it manually. You could set regular
schedule for working on the reports to avoid
half minute stress. By doing these things, you can save a lot
of time and effort, which can then use for
more important tasks. Time blocking, this involves setting aside specific
time slots for task which helps you
manage your time better and stay focused
on important work. Let's take a look at steps
to implement time blocking. First of all, you list
all of your task. You start by listing all your
task you need to complete, then you prioritize them. You identify which tasks are
most important and urgent. Third step is to
estimate time you need. Estimate how much time each
task will likely take. You then allocate
specific time blocks to each task in your calendar, include start and end times. Ensure that you include
brakes to avoid burn out at the end of
the day, all week. Review how well you stuck to your time blocks and
adjust for the next time. This is how you use
the time blocking. But let me give you a
few more effective tips. Make sure that you
are realistic. Don't be too optimistic about how much you can
get done in a day. Be real, don't
overschedule yourself. Prepare some flexible
blocks of time that can be used for
unexpected tasks. Or if you need more time for
task than you thought you would try to do your regular activities at
the same time each day, like checking e mails or
taking a lunch break. Use digital calendar or
apps that can help you with time blocking and make
scheduling much easier. Time boxing is a time management
technique that involves setting fixed amount of time for specific task or activity. You sign a specific time
frame or a time box, like 30 minutes or an
hour to work on a task, and then you focus solely on
the task during the time. This means no multitasking. The end of the time box
acts as a deadline, which can help you
create a sense of urgency and reduce
procrastination. Let's take a look how to
implement time boxing. First of all, again, make a list of what
you need to do. This can include work project
or personal activities. Second step is estimating time. You need to figure
out how much time you realistically
need for each task. Don't worry if you don't
get it right first time, this time blocks
to your calendar. Think of them as important
appointments with yourself. Stick to them as
much as possible. When you're working on a task, focus on it and avoid getting sidetracked
by other things. Trying to stay as
focused as possible. At the end of each time block, assess how much
you've accomplished. If you didn't finish the task, decide if you need more
time or different approach. This will help you
improve your time boxing skills over time. Tasking is all about
getting things done. It's about figuring out
what needs to be done, putting it in order of
importance, and then doing it. This can be anything from simple daily task to big
complicated projects. Tasking involves
several important steps necessary for
getting things done. These steps include figuring
out what needs to be done, decide what's most important, making a plan, actually
doing the work, keeping track of the progress, and getting help from
others when needed. Let's take a look at the steps of how you can
apply the tasking. First, you need to identify all the tasks that
need to be done. Whether the things
that need to be done right away or
things that can wait. Then you need to
decide which tasks are most important and
need to be done first. Once you know what needs to be done and what's most important, you can make a plan for how
to get everything done. This might involve
setting a deadline, figuring out how much time
you need for each task, or making sure you have everything you need
to get things done. Then it's time to
actually do the work. This is where you put your plan in action and start working on the task you've
identified as you work. It's important to keep
track of your progress, of course, to make any necessary adjustments
to your plan. If you need help, don't
be afraid to ask for it. Delegate tasks to other
people is a great way to get things done more efficiently
as long as it's appropriate. Before I let you go,
let me just give you a few effective task strategies you want to be using to do list, make a list of the stuff you've got to do and sort
them when they do, how important they are and
what category they fall under. You want to use good time
management techniques, you can try out time boxing
or the Commodore technique, or you can use the
Azenhau matrix. All of these we've already mentioned or are
included in this class. You need to use the Smart goals. You need to set goals
that are specific, measurable, achievable,
relevant, and time bound. You want to also consider the you might want to
use the task batching. Task batching is about grouping similar tasks together so you don't waste time
switching between them. You want to consider using
productivity apps or tools to help you manage your
task set reminders and track your progress. Goal setting theory tells us
that setting smart goals, specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, and time bound is
super important. If we want to stay
motivated and focused. The goal setting theory
says that to be successful, you need to have
specific and clear goals that can give you direction. It's important to set goals
that are challenging. Achievable as difficult goals can motivate you to work
harder and keep going. When you have a strong
commitment to your goals, you tend to perform better. Getting regular feedback on how you're progressing
towards your goal is essential to help you adjust your efforts and
strategies along the way. For complex goals, you
should make sure you have the necessary skills and resources and be ready to
take time to learn and adapt. According to goal
setting theory, your goals need to have
these five components, specificity, challenge, commitment, feedback,
and task complexity. Let's take a look
at the steps to apply the goal setting theory. If you want to
achieve your goals, you need to follow these steps. Step one, be specific. Make sure your goals are clear. Instead of saying
increased sales, say increase sales by
20% within six months. Step two, challenge yourself. Set goals that are
tough but doable. You'll get the motivated if you aim too high or achieve it. Step three, stay committed.
Write down your goals. Understand why they
matter to you, and talk about them with others to keep
yourself accountable. Step four, make a plan. Break your goals
into smaller steps. This will help you keep track of your progress and make your
goals less intimidating. Step five, get the feedback. Monitor your progress and adjust your strategy based on
the feedback you receive. Step six, learn new skills. If your goals are complex, give yourself time
to learn new things. Step seven, celebrate your wins. Recognize and celebrate your
progress along the way. To say motivated. Now let me give you
practical example. Let's say that you
are content creator who wants to grow
their online presence. To do that, you can
use the goal setting theory and set yourself
a challenging goal. For example, you can try to get 30% more subscribers to your channel in the
next four months. To make this happen,
you would need to make sure that you upload to high quality videos every week and interact
with your audience. Daily theory of constraints, if you want to get more done, you've got to find and fix
things that slow you down. That's called a bottleneck. You need to look for
the weakest link in your process and
make it stronger. By doing that, you'll
be able to improve your overall performance and
get more done in less time. Here is how to apply it. First of all, you need
to find the constraint. Figure out what's stopping
you from reaching your goals. It could be lack of resources, skills, time management
issues, or other things. Second is make the most of it. Here's what you have to
work around the constraint, change your habits or
strategies to deal with it. Third step is put
everything else. Second, you want to focus on
improving the constraint. You might need to put other tasks on hold
or reschedule them. First step is to
upgrade the constraint. If the constraint
is still there, think about how you
can change things. Maybe you need to
learn your skills, use new tools, or try
a different approach. The fifth step is keep going. Once you've fixed
one constraint, move on to the next one. There's always something
holding you back. Keep looking for
ways to improve it. Let's take a look now at
simple steps to apply the theory of constraints in
your personal productivity. First of all, you figure out
what's holding your back. Take a look at your day or week and find out what's
causing you to lag behind is a frequent
interruptions tasks that takes longer than you expected
or lack of certain skills. Second step is you come up with ways to manage this issue. Once you've identify
what's holding you back, brainstorm ways to work
around it and improve it. For example, if
interruptions are a problem, you might want to set
aside specific hours for focused work without
any distractions. First step is you align
your task and goals, adjust your workload and goals around
addressing the issue. If you lack a particular skill, for instance, you prioritize
learning and practicing it. First step, you look for
resources and tools. If the problem is due to
lack of resources or tools, do some research and invest in the things that can help you
overcome this bottleneck. The fifth step is
monitor and adjust. Check regularly to see if the changes you've
made are helpful and help you overcome the issue or you need to
make further adjustments. That's the theory.
Now let's take a look at how to apply it. I'm going to give you
now specific example. Imagine that you are
a project manager and you figure out
that the biggest thing holding you back is spending too much time in
unproductive meetings. This leaves you with less time
to work on critical task. To fix this, you can
follow these steps. First of all, the problem
is that you spending too much time in the
meetings. Second. Make sure that the meetings you attend are efficient
and necessary. Reschedule or delegate added
tasks that you can focus on. The most important work
outside of the meetings, propose a new meeting
structure or policy to reduce unnecessary meetings and make them more productive. Once meetings are optimized, look for the next things
holding you back. You can follow these steps to make most of your time
and get more done. Kaizen is a Japanese
concept that's all about making small
improvements continuously. It's like making a tiny tweaks to your process to
make them work better. By applying kaizen,
you can always find ways to improve
how you do the things. Let's take a look at
the practical example. Imagine you're
spending too much time in meetings each week, which is affecting
your productivity. To fix this, you decide to use Kaizen approach by taking small steps to improve
the situation. In the first week, you suggest cutting the
meeting times by 10% to see if objective can
still be met effectively. If it works, you move on to
the second week where you propose agenda for every meeting to make them more
structured and efficient. In the third week, you could
introduce a rule to limit meetings to only those
essential people over time. These small improvements
can lead to significant reduction in
unproductive meeting time, thereby improving your overall productivity
and effectiveness. The work principle,
according to Newport, the key to producing high quality work is to focus
without any distractions. This means that you should
avoid anything that could take your attention away from what
you're working on. If you want to get
the best results, here are some simple
steps you can take to apply the
deep work principle. First of all, you plan
your deep work time. Set aside specific times in your day or week to
focus on deep work. This could be few hours a day or specific days of the week depending
on your schedule. You then choose the
right environment. You need to find a quiet place where you can work
without distractions. It could be a library or a room where you
can shut the door. Next, you turn on
notification and try to avoid checking
your phone or e mail. Let your colleagues and family
members know that you are focusing on deep work
for specific time. Also want to set a clear goal before you start
your deep work session. Have a clear idea of what
you want to achieve. This will help you stay
focused during the session. You want to start small. If you're not used to prolonged
periods of focused work, start with shorter intervals, like 25, 30 minutes. And gradually increase it to let's say 50, 60, 90 minutes. Take a regular breaks, you want to make
sure that you're using breaks to avoid burn out. The Pomodoro technique, which is 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes break,
can be helpful. You also want to develop
your own deep work ritual. Establish a routine ritual to get into the
deep work mindset. This could involve a meditation, a cup of coffee, quick walk, or anything else that
helps you get in the zone, get into habit with reflecting back on your progress
and performance. After each deep work session, reflect on what you achieved and how effective
your session was. This can help you adjust and improve your future
deep work practices. Before I let you go, let me just give you a
practical example. Imagine that you need
to write a report than working on it sporadically throughout the day
with interruptions. You could schedule
a two hour block in the morning where
you must alert. You would work in a quiet
space with phone notification turned off or your phone being left in
completely different room. You would focus solely on writing that report
during this time, resisting any urges to check your e mails
or social media. Because after all,
all you need to do is concentrate for
two straight hours. By the end of the session, you would make a
significant progress. You might even complete
the whole report, which may have taken
much longer if you were working in a
interrupted process. Single handling principle,
once you begin a task, continue until it's finished. This helps in reducing the
time lost in stopping and restarting the task
principle of progress. When you accomplish something, no matter how small, it can really motivate and
inspire you to keep going. It feels great to know you did something right and it makes you want to do even more effect. This is a psychological
term that means people remember stuff they didn't finish better than the
stuff they did finish. It's like when you
start something, your brain stays focused
on it until it's done. This can be helpful
for getting things done because it means
if you start something, even if you can't
finish it right away, you're more likely to remember to come back and
finish it later. The effect is named
after psychologist named Blumer Zigerik who
first studied it in 1920s planning fallacy. This happens when
you underestimate how long it will take
you to finish a task, even though you know
the similar tasks have taken longer in the past. It's like having a
rose colored glasses. When it comes to estimating
time planning projects, people tend to be overly optimistic about how quickly
they can finish things, which leads to unrealistic
plans and schedules. These were 17 or so
productivity principles. The idea was to give you the
understanding of what they are and how you can apply
them to your daily tasks. Just to be clear,
you don't have to follow all of these
all the time. It's good to know them
and use them as if it in the next module
we're going to dive deep into productivity laws
that can seriously boost your work productivity
efficiency and overall productivity catch them.
5. Module 4 Productivity Laws: Welcome to module four. This module will
help you understand how productivity and
personal effectiveness work. You learn about some
basic laws that can help you boost your productivity
and efficiency at work. By the end of this module, you'll know how to apply
these laws to get most out of your time and be as
productive as possible. By the end of this module, you'll know several
key productivity laws and how to apply them
in your daily life. You'll learn about
the importance of setting realistic deadlines and how to prepare for and
handle unforeseen challenges. Ways to keep control over
your task and schedules. The significance of
giving enough time for task and accepting
that there may be delays. The critical roles or the rest and balance
in stay productive, and techniques to
save energy and maintain momentum when
completing tasks. Law of Force Efficiency. This law suggests
that there's always enough time for the
most important task. It underlines the need to prioritize tasks
that are crucial. There's never enough
time to do everything, but there's always enough time to do the most important thing. It's important to know the
law of forced efficiency. The idea is to focus on
the most important tasks that have the biggest
impact, The deadlines. And the pressure can help
you stay efficient by making you concentrate on
the essential task only. Even though it can
be a challenge to work with time limits, they can actually make
you more productive. Let's now take a
look at the steps to apply the law of
the force efficiency. First of all, you
want to identify what tasks or goals are most important for
you to succeed. These are the things
that will have the biggest impact
on your success. Then you give yourself
a deadline to help you focus on
what's most important. Deadlines can help you prioritize your work
and get things done. Spend less time on tasks
that are unimportant. Focus on the things that matter that will help
you achieve your goals. Then you use the system
to prioritize your work. Like the urgent versus important matrix or
the ABCDE method, This will help you focus on
the most important task. As with any other
principle or law, you want to continuously review your task list and priorities. Stay flexible and
adjust the focus as needed based on the information or
changing circumstances. Make the most of
your time you need to minimize the distractions
while you work. Turn on notification, close
unnecessary taps or apps, and let others know
when you need to focus. If the others can help you with the tasks that aren't crucial
to your main objective, delegate those tasks
if appropriate. This will give you more time to focus on what's most important. Now let me give you
a practical example. Imagine that you juggling
several projects at once. You can use the law of force efficiency to
help you stay on track. This means you should
figure out which project or task is most important to
achieving your overall goals. Once you identify it, set the deadline and focus your best working
hours on that task. Make sure you give it your all. For other less important tasks, either delegate or set a shorter time frames
to complete them. The key is to stay
focused on what matters. Murphy's Law teaches us when things can go wrong,
they usually do. Murphy's Law reminds
us to plan for the worst and be ready
for potential setbacks, because if anything can go
wrong, it will go wrong. It's important to
expect the unexpected when working on any
project or task, you never know when the
issues might pop up. It's a good idea to plan
ahead and be ready for any potential problems or delays because they will happen. Here are some steps
you can follow to prepare for when things
don't go as planned. Think about what go wrong
before starting a project. This could include things
like technical issues, missed deadlines, or
communication problem. Once you've identified
potential risk, create a backup plans for each. If you use in a specific
software for presentation, have a backup solution. In the case of technical issues, it's always a good
idea to give yourself extra time to deal with
unexpected delays or issues. Keep an eye on your
progress and be ready to change your
plans if necessary. Being flexible is important when dealing with
unexpected challenges. Keep people in the loop. Let your team, stakeholders, or clients know about potential
risks and backup plans. Make sure you have
all the resources you need to deal
with the problems. This might mean having
an extra money people or alternative tools
for important task. Try doing some stress tests or simulations to identify
any potential problems. Look back at previous projects and tasks to see
what went wrong. This will help you avoid making the same
mistakes in the future. By following all of these steps, you'll be better
prepared to handle any unexpected challenges
that come your way. Parkinson Law, you know how it is when you've
got a task to do. It just seems to take up
all the time you give it. If you want to get
things done quicker, set yourself tight deadlines. That way you'll be more focused to get things done
more efficiently. Law of diminishing returns, when you start feeling like
the effort you're putting in is not giving you the
same benefits as before. It's time to recognize
that you've hit the point of
diminishing returns. In such case, the
best is to redirect your efforts towards something that will give you
better results. You know how sometimes working longer hours doesn't always
mean you get more done. This is what Law of Diminishing
Returns is all about. It's like when Alex, whose graphic designer, keeps
working on the project. But the more hours he puts in, the less productive he becomes. Let's take a look
at his scenario. Scenario will be
increasing working hours. Alex usually works
for 8 hours each day and get a lots of high
quality designs done. In that time he wants
to do even more. Naturally, he decides to work
for 10 hours a day instead. At first, he notices
that he's getting more designs done in
those extra 2 hours. However, after a few weeks, he starts to feel really tired and his work quality
starts to suffer. Even though he's working
two extra hours, he's not getting as much done as before. Thing gets worse. As time goes on, Alex
starts to feel burned out and his productivity
drops some day. He's too tired to be
creative or efficient. Even though he's working
for 10 hours a day now, he's not getting as much
done than he was before. The quality of his
design has gone down. If we wanted to
analyze this scenario, at the initial phase, Alex has worked more hours. He got more done, which is
pretty normal where you put more time into
a task or project. But when he kept
working longer hours, he started to see less
and less additional work. For an extra hour he's put in until it wasn't
worth it anymore. This is what we call the
low or diminished returns. When you get less
and less benefit from each additional
unit or work you put in. Eventually Alex got too tired and burned out
to work effectively. Which meant he got less work done and the quality suffered. To the conclusion
that we can draw from this scenario
based on Alex, it shows how working too much can actually make
you less productive. It's important to
find the sweet spot when you're working enough
to get things done, but not as much that you
exhausted and your work suffers. It's all about finding
the right balance. Law of control.
Having control over your task and time can make you more productive and
happier at work. The key is to take charge of your schedule and
responsibilities. Here is how you can take control of your work and personal life. First step is realize
that you have the power to influence
your own actions, responses, and the environment. This is what we call
the law of control. Don't wait for the
things to happen. Instead, take charge of your life and believe that
you can make the difference. This is what we call
personal empowerment. Third step is be proactive
about your responsibilities and choices rather than just react to external circumstances. Let's take a look
at the actual steps to how you can apply
the law of control. First of all, set
the clear goals. Start by setting clear
and achievable goals, which will give you a roadmap to follow and it gives you
a sense of direction. Prioritize your task based on
the importance and urgency. This will help you feel more
in control of your workload. Use planning tools like
calendars to do or digital organizers to
manage your time more efficiently and reduce
the feeling of chaos. Establish daily and weekly
routines that work for you to bring some order
and control in your life. Set clear boundaries
between work and personal time to achieve a
better work life balance. Remember that it's okay
to say no to tasks that don't align with your goals
or your current capacities. Delegate tasks when you can. This will help you
manage your workload and give you more control
over important tasks. Have strategies in place to deal with stress and
unexpected situation, such as mindfulness
practice exercise, taking a short breaks, or taking a short
walks during the day. Make sure you regularly
review and adjust your strategies to
maintain a sense of control over your
workload and time. Of course, we'll end
with practical example. Let's say you have too much on your plate to make
things easier. You can follow the law of
control by doing the following. First, you break your task into smaller, manageable pieces. You sort your task by
importance and deadlines. You then create a schedule and specific times
for each task. You get someone else to do the tasks that are as important. If appropriate, you
make sure that you take regular breaks and
relax to manage stress. H law tasks always take
longer than we think. Even if we consider
hosts the law we need to remember to give ourselves more time than
we think we'll need. Law of Rest, it's
super important to take breaks and rest up if you
want to do your best work. Working too much without
the break and totally lead to burn up and make
you way less productive. Law of conservation of energy. When you want to be productive, you need to balance work
with taking breaks, eating nutritious
food, and doing some exercise to keep
up your energy levels. I would recommend checking
out the book called Glucose Revolution by
just say something, apology, my friend isn't good. This book provides research, but also some actionable steps to preserve energy
throughout the day, but also to avoid energy dips in the
evening and afternoon. The law of motion in productivity is like Newton's
First Law of Motion. It means that once
you start the task, it's likely to keep going
unless something stops it. The main point is that getting started is usually
the hardest part. But once you take
the first step, keeping up the pace
becomes easier. This law shows how
important it is to overcome the initial hurdle
of getting started and then keep going
to finish the job. It's a reminder that even small actions can
lead to big results. To apply the law of motion on your project or task,
ask yourself, following. Think about the project that
you've been postponing. What is the smallest
step you can take right now to
setting in motion? Reflect on a task where
you lost momentum, What external factors
contributed to this and how you could
address them in the future? How can you structure
your work to ensure that once
you start the task, you maintain a steady
pace towards completion. Now you are equipped
with 17 so principles, the seven productivity laws. I've also given you
practical steps and examples on how to put these principles and
laws into action. In the module five, we're going to dive deep
into habits and practices that can help you get more done and
be more productive. You will be given
some practical tips and tricks that you can use to make most of your time and find better balance between
work and life.
6. Module 5 Productivity habits: Welcome. In the module five, we're going to dive deep
into the habits and practices that can help you get more done and be more effective. This module is all
about giving you practical tips and
tricks that you can use to make the most
of your time and find better balance between
your work and life. Daily planning
involves taking time each day to outline
task and objectives, which provides direction and focus when you think is the best time to plan the night before
or the morning of, it's an ongoing debate. But I'd say the most important
thing is to actually take time to do the planning rather than
worrying about when you do it. To me, the planning
is no brainer. I have my work planned out in advance that I can
tell you what I'll be working on in June 2024. If the things don't
go to the plan, I'll just move the task on
the calendar. It's simple. Regular breaks, also known
as pomodoro technique. Taking structured breaks
such as working for 25 minutes followed
by five minute break, can improve focus and
prevent burn out price. Here, right? You've
got to take a break, move your body a little bit, grab some water or blend some smoothie and
then get back to work focused work sessions. It's a good idea to
have some time when you just focus on work
and nothing else. This way you can
pay more attention to what you're doing and
get things done faster. Believe it or not, it's pretty easy to cut down
on distractions. One way is to just move
your phone to another room, or you could go all out, like the authors of
the book, make time. What they did is they deleted all the apps that they
didn't really need phones. Do whatever it takes to minimize those distractions
and stay focused. Prioritizing tasks when it
comes to getting stuff done, focus first on a task that
will make the biggest impact. You don't want to waste time on things that won't
move the needle. The Pareto principle says that 80% of the results
come from 20% of the work prioritize those tasks that will get you the most
result for your effort. There are tons of
resources online that can help you figure out how to
prioritize effectively. There's really no excuse not to the four days of
time management. This principle all about sorting your task
into four categories. Do delay, delegate, or drop. It helps you manage
your work better and prioritize what's
most important task. Batching is basically grouping
similar stuff together to save time wasted on switching between
different types of work. It's quite similar
to time blocking to batch task effectively
follow these steps. Look at your to do list
and group together. Similar tasks like for example, phone calls, e mails, or content creation schedule specific times in your calendar. To work on these batches, you can choose to
allocate time daily, weekly, or whenever you need it. Work on one batch at a time
and try to avoid getting distracted by other tasks To
get most of task batching, minimize interruption
during each batch period. Day them in is a way
to get more done by dedicating each day of the week to specific type of tasks. It helps you organize your schedule and
make sure you give enough attention to all the
important areas of your life. The main goal is to
reduce the stress of constantly switching between
tasks and making decisions. By knowing what you
need to do each day. You can plan better
and stay more focused. This approach makes
it easier to manage your time and prioritize
what matters most to you. How does day team work? First, figure out the main areas of work that need
your attention. This includes job
personal interests, hobbies, family,
talent, and so on. Next, assign each team
to a specific day, but make sure you're not
overloading yourself with work. Finally, plan your tasks and activities according
to the day theme. Other types of work that
can be done on that day, but the theme should
be your priority. Let's take a look at
actual steps now. First, take a look
at what you need to do and decide what
themes make sense. Remember everyone's different. Customize your themes
to work for you. Then keep an eye
on how well it's working and be ready to
make changes as needed. You finally also want to try to combine day theming with
other techniques like time blocking or Ethenhaw Matrix for even better
results continuous learning it's important to
always keep learning and improving your skills so you can handle new challenges
effectively. Delegation, offloading task
to others when appropriate, can free up your valuable
time for more crucial tasks. Limiting multitasking. There's countless
research suggesting it's better to focus on one task at a time as it improves efficiency and
the quality of work. Reflective practice, if you want to get
better at what you do, it's a good idea to take a look at how you
get things done. You can use reflective
practice to figure out what's
working and what's not. You can improve your
productivity over time. Setting boundaries,
it's super important to set some boundaries between your work hours
and personal time. Doing so will help you maintain a healthy balance
between the two. You can do this by
establishing limits and being intentional about
how you spend your time, whether you're working or not. This way you can avoid feeling burned out and prioritize
your well being. Mindfulness and
stress management. Mindfulness techniques
like meditation can totally help you stay focused
and manage stress at work. This is backed up by
number of studies. Regular exercise and
healthy lifestyle, Physical health affects your
mental and emotional state. It's essential to take
care of yourself sleep. Getting a good night
sleep is super important for being productive
and thinking clearly. Make sure you have
a good sleep habits to help you get stuff
done during the day. Gratitude practice,
getting into the habit of being thankful for what
you have can boost your mental health and
make you more productive. Routine optimization, it's super important to keep
your daily routines in check so they work better
for you and help you get stuff done Effective. Debriefing, once you're done
with a task or project, take a moment to catch
up and review what went well and what could have been
better for the next time. Managing your energy levels is super important
for being productive. To do this, plan your day
around when you feel your best, both physically and mentally. Also, what you eat
is a big deal. The food put in
your body can make a huge difference in how much energy you have
throughout the day. You should check out the
book, The Glucose Revolution. It's got some really
interesting research and tips for keeping up your energy levels up all day and avoiding
those afternoon slums. If you want to find out
the best time to work, you should totally read book
called Went by Daniel Pink. It's a great book that will help you unlock your
ideal work schedule. Positive reinforcement. When you finish the task
or hit a milestone, take a moment to
reward yourself. It might sound silly, but treating yourself can boost your motivation and
make you feel good. Just make sure your
words are meaningful to you and help you stay on
track with your goals. Adaptability and flexibility. It's super important to
be open to change and ready to adapt strategies
as things evolve. Being flexible and
adjusting to the situation. My aim for this class
is to provide you with effective strategies and tools to improve your daily routine, leading to better performance
and productivity. Instant gratification
is when you want to feel good and satisfied
right away without waiting. This means you usually choose
the things that give you quick pleasure
rather than waiting for the bigger rewards
that take longer. The idea is important
because it can make it hard to control yourself
and make good decisions. You might pick things
that feel good now instead of things that will
be better for you no longer. When it comes to
getting stuff done, wanting instant
gratification can stop you from being productive. You might put off
important things and get distracted by things that make
you feel good right away. But if you want to be
successful in the long run, it's important you learn how to control your desire for
instant gratification. And stay focused
and work hard on your goals to be
more productive. You can mix and match these
principles, laws, and habits. Find what works best
for you and your goals. Now it's time to
take a step back and reflect as we dive deep
into your project work. Let's jump right into
the last module. Six.
7. Module 6 Project: Great. Now you know all the productivity
principles, laws, and habits. There is to know what can
be done, what can you use. Of course, you're not
going to be applying and using all of
these principles, laws and habits all the time. No, I want you to be aware
of all of them so you can make informed decisions
as to which to use. The idea is you pick
what works best for you. This section will help you do, just let's get to it. Here is what I need you
to do for your project. By the way, the project is
where practice meets theory. You really don't want
to skip this part. Theory is great, but we
won't get the work done. Your project could
be reflection. Which of these principles, loss and habits seem the most suitable for you and your
current circumstances? Why not Down your long or
short answer on document, piece of paper,
whatever format you prefer and post it as a project. Share your reflection with
the rest of the class. You get positive
reinforcement and feedback from me and
from your classmates. You can post the project in the project section of this
class. Can't wait to see it.
8. Conclusion: Wow, we have covered a lot. Well done for sticking with
this class until the end. Let's recap what we've covered. First up, we looked at the key productivity skills
you need to develop. Then I shared with you productivity principles
and productivity laws. And finally, we looked
at productivity habits. Then you were able to take
action and done your project. Of course, the expectation
isn't that you will be applying using all
of these principles, laws and habits
all the time now. Instead, I want you to
be aware of all of them so you can make informed
decisions as to which to use. The idea is that you pick
what works best for you. If you liked what you
learned in this class, check out my substack and consider subscribing to
my weekly newsletter. In my newsletter, I
share stuff about productivity and
personal effectiveness, including some Q and
A's and tutorials. Trust me is worth it. I've got some cool
new projects in the pipeline that I'm
releasing next year. One of them is a class
that complements this one. Perfectly called the right
method for your personality. In this class, you will find out which productivity method is ideal for you based on your personality
using this profiling. I'll also tell you
which principles, laws, and habits from this class work best for your personality type. Seriously, this is the
productivity class that's never been done before. I hope you enjoy this class and we'll consider joining
my newsletter. We keep learning and growing together and keep improving
our productivity. Catch you in the next laf.
Jana Smandrova, Productivity & Time management trainer
