Productivity and Time Management: Beginner to Expert

1. Introduction: Hello. My name is doctor Osman, and with the PSD in Computer networks and over a decade of experience in the cybersecurity and software industry. I'm here to guide you. I've taught over more than 100,000 students in person and online across different continents from Europe to Middle East to Australia. I've also had the honor of delivering keynote speeches at several reputed venues across the world. I have been fortunate enough to work in a number of countries around the world. I did my PhD from France and worked at one of their best search lab. I also worked for a brief while as a researcher in Germany at Deutsch Telecom in Berlin. I also taught for a number of years in the Middle East. And more recently, Australia has been my home. I have both worked in the industry at one of the largest Telecoms here, as well as taught at different Australian universities. So all these experiences allowed me to observe how different cultures and countries work. And I was able to gain tremendous insights and knowledge about achieving efficiency in workplace, as well as in my everyday life. So having worked in different roles as a student, researcher, faculty member, and both junior and senior roles in the industry, as well as being fortunate enough to work in a lot of different cultures around the world. I will share my experiences with you. And one of the key takeaways from my personal experience is that achieving your goals is within your reach, and the biggest factor that can either propel you forward or hold you back is you. I'm so excited and thrilled to be your mentor in this course. This course provides key concepts in productivity and time management. We'll start by discussing some productivity quick wins to get you on track. We will discuss things like the progress principle and the Zegarnic effect, concepts that you can leverage to boost your productivity instantly. We will then have a deep dive into the productivity mindset to see what sets productive people apart, and how can we adopt the same principles in our life? Next, we'll discuss some productivity blockers and discuss strategies on how we can overcome them. We'll subsequently discuss time management techniques such as Pomodoro, time blocking, and task badging, which will help you get substantially more done in less time. Finally, we will also discuss some popular productivity apps that you can leverage to boost your productivity and become more time efficient. Something unique about this course is that I will share with you actual research findings that provide concrete evidence about what are the best strategies to be more productive and actionable knowledge that you can directly incorporate in your life to become productive. Moreover, the course extensively uses animations to make the learning journey more exciting and memorable. So what are you waiting for? Embark on your learning journey today, and join the ranks of students who've fallen in love with this course. 2. Productivity Quick Wins and The Zeigarnik Effect: Life is busy in today's fast paced world, and anything that can boost our productivity is worth investing effort in. Let me share some productivity quick wins, tips that you can incorporate in your life to boost your productivity and become more efficient. So let's start with a very simple example. Let's say you have to complete three tasks today, a complex one, a medium complexity one, and an easy one. If I were to ask you or an audience, which one would you do first? We'll get nearly a 50 50 split with some people advocating starting with the easy one first, whereas others would advocate starting with the hard one first, and both have their pros and cons. Let's discuss both the approaches and let's see what are the pros and cons, and then we'll see what does actual research tell us what are concrete research statistics and which approach is the best? Now, also assume that for these three tasks, all tasks are equally important as long as you get them done within the day. Now with that, let's start with the first approach. Let's say we tackle the hard one first, and then the medium one and finally, the easiest one. In this case, we could argue that while doing the first task would be difficult, but once we are done with it, we would get a significant boost in motivation because we have already tackled the difficult part of our day, and the rest of the tasks would be easy to accomplish. Now, let's say we reverse the order and we start with the easy one first. The advantage of this approach would be that it would be easy to get started right away as the easy task would be simple to handle. And then we can get small but meaningful momentum. And once we have that momentum, other more complex tasks would be easier to tackle. Both approaches seem to have their pros and cons. But what does research actually say? Which approach is actually the best? Well, research suggests that starting with the easiest task first is generally the best approach. Let's look at some of the key research work carried out in this area. For example, let's start with the progress principle. The progress principle is based on research by Harvard professor, doctor Teressa, which indicates that making progress in meaningful work boosts positive emotions and motivation. Completing small tasks can create a sense of achievement and momentum. Additionally, another study from the University of Chicago shows that completing easier tasks first can create a psychological boost, making it easier to tackle more challenging tasks later. So based on research, you would be much better off starting with the easier task first and then moving out to the more difficult tasks. Please bear in mind that this approach assumes that all tasks are equally important. If the criticality of tasks is different, then we need to take maybe a different approach, which we'll discuss later in the course. But at this point in time, we already have a general idea of what actual research proposes. A related and very powerful concept is the Zagernic effect. Now, this is a complex mathematical formula that you would need to memorize if you want to be productive. Okay, I'm kidding. It's not a complex equation, but it's a simple yet powerful concept that can do wonders for your productivity. This effect was basically discovered by psychologist doctor Blumer Zagern. She did her PhD from Berlin. And basically, she discovered that servers at restaurants or hotels, they remembered unpaid orders better than paid orders. So the theory is that our minds have a tendency to hold on to unfinished tasks compared to finished tasks. Unfinished tasks always linger on our minds, and we keep on thinking about them consciously or subconsciously. And this makes those tasks more memorable. This is why if you start a task without finishing it, your brain will keep on reminding you about it, and it will be difficult for you to forget about it until it is completed. Now, how can we use this theory to boost our productivity? Let's say you have to complete four tasks today. Let's say you had to create a PowerPoint presentation, you had to do some analysis, maybe create a checklist, and maybe write a report. Okay. Now, out of these four tasks, let's say these are the progress of these tasks? You've partially completed the first one, you've finished the second one. You've partially completed the checklist, and you're done also with the last one. Now, based on the Zegarnic effect, your mind would keep on reminding you about these two tasks again and again. Now that you have a basic understanding of the Zegarnic effect, let's see how we can use this to boost our productivity. The first way that you can use the Zegarnic effect to your advantage is by beating procrastination. How? An Excellent way that you can use the zagarnic effect to your advantage is to simply start a complex task that you have been postponing and procrastinating about due to its difficulty. Now, if you start the task, and even if you don't finish it, your brain will keep on pinging you to come back to it, and eventually you'll complete it. For example, let's say you have to write a complex report with a lot of analysis and other complicated stuff. If you just draft even the initial version of just the executive summary or even the introduction without even polishing it or finishing, even that section, your brain will be wired to keep on engaging you to continue where you left off. A very interesting way that the popular author Hammingwy, used this is that Hemingway would often stop his writing for the day in the middle of a sentence. He used this technique deliberately because first, when he came back to start writing the next day, he would know exactly how to proceed without having the daunting task of starting a new. Secondly, according to the Zegarnic effect, his mind would subconsciously still be working on and developing the thought that he had started, even if he wasn't actively working on it. So that was a very smart use of this effect. The second way that you can leverage the za garnic effect is to manage your workload. Sometimes it can be difficult to manage your workload if you have too many open tasks, or if you have one big and complex task at hand. Now, what you can do is to break this big task into smaller, more manageable subtasks, which you can then complete quickly. As you complete the different sub tasks, this will give you quick wins. And also enable you to manage your workload more efficiently because you won't be thinking about several incomplete tasks. This would give you a lot of clarity, and then you can obviously be more productive about the tasks that are remaining. So with that, I conclude a lecture. Thank you. I'll see you in the next one. 3. The Eisenhower Matrix: In the previous lecture, we discussed how starting small can help you gain momentum in being productive. However, we assumed that all tasks had the same importance and urgency. But what if tasks vary in priority and urgency? In this case, there is an excellent time management technique that can help us significantly boost the productivity, whereas at the same time, significantly reducing distractions. This technique is called the Eisenhower Matrix, which was proposed by former US President Eisenhower, who resided in office 1953-1961. The Eisenhower Matrix basically divides tasks into four categories or quadrants. So let's label these, so we have tasks which are important or not important. We can also divide tasks as being urgent or not urgent. The first quadrant or the first category of tasks are tasks which are both urgent and important. The second category are tasks which are important, but not urgent. Basically, we need to complete them, but not urgently. The third quadrant are tasks which are not important, but they are urgent. They need to be done quickly. The fourth category are tasks which are neither important nor urgent. Let's delve a bit deeper into each of these quadrants and see how we can classify different types of tasks, and what should be our strategy to address or complete these tasks. Let's start with quadrant one, which is physically tasks which are both important as well as these are urgent. These tasks require immediate attention and are critical to complete. You should focus most of your productive energy on these tasks. Basically, the strategy that we would need to follow for these tasks is to do and do it now. For example, you may need to sign an agreement with a client today. Now, this is a task which is both important and it is also urgent. For these tasks, most of your productive energy should go towards these tasks. Let's discuss the second quadrant. These are tasks which are important, but not urgent. Now, these tasks are crucial, but they do not require immediate action. What's the best strategy to address these type of tasks? Scheduling them is the best approach. For example, if you need to complete a certification in two months, It is something which is important, but not urgent. You could allocate a four hour time slot every Saturday, for example, to work on it, ensuring that it fits into your schedule and gets done eventually. Now the next quadrant are tasks which are not important, but they are urgent. These are tasks that do require immediate attention, but are not significant in the long term. So these tasks can be delegated. For example, an urgent e mail requiring a response can be handled by your assistant. So these type of tasks you can delegate to other people. We're also going to discuss delegation in more detail in subsequent lectures. But for these type of tasks, an excellent strategy is to simply delegate them. Now, let's move to the fourth quadrant. Now, these are tasks which are neither important nor urgent. Now, these tasks are distractions and should be eliminated. So Examples include browsing social media or playing video games. So these are typical procrastination activities, and they eat up a lot of your productive time. Now, if you really think about the Eisenhower matrix, it's not really rocket science, and a lot of it is intuition based. In fact, research has found out that people excel in identifying some of these quadrants. So for example, people are really good at identifying quadrant one, which are basically tasks that are both important and urgent. These are the tasks that scream for attention due to their urgency and significance. There might be deadlines, crisis, or pressing problems that demand immediate attention. Most people are naturally good at recognizing these tasks as they often have visible consequences, if not dealt with properly. People are also good at identifying quadrant three tasks which are not important, but which are urgent. Now, this quadrant is also relatively easy for people to identify, especially in a work environment. Now these are tasks that might seem urgent due to someone else's request or a looming deadline, but they don't contribute much to your overall goals. People are often good at recognizing the need to delegate these tasks to others who might be better suited to handle them. However, people struggle with these two quadrants. Let's start with quadrant two. Important, but not urgent. This is where the real magic happens, but it's also where many people struggle. Now, these tasks are crucial for long term success, personal growth, and achieving your goals. However, since they lack urgency, they are easily pushed aside in favor of more pressing matters. People often fail to allocate dedicated time to these activities leading to procrastination and missed opportunities. Same is the case with quadrant four, which are basically tasks that are neither urgent nor important. This quadrant is often overlooked or underestimated. These tasks might seem harmless or even enjoyable, but they don't contribute to your goals or well being. Mindlessly, scrolling through social media, watching excessive TV, or engaging in other time wasting activity fall into this category. People often struggle to identify and eliminate these tasks as they can provide temporary pleasure or destruction. So if you understand the Eisenhower metrics and by correctly using the Eisenhower metric, you can prioritize tasks effectively, schedule the ones which are important, but not urgent, and thereby boost significantly your productivity and reduce your stress significantly. Now, what does actual research say about this? A study was conducted by the Development Academy, which is a UK based organization, and they surveyed 500 people across a range of industries, and here are the key findings. The first is improved sense of control. For all the people who used the Eisenhower Matrix, 100% of them reported that they feel their work is under control, either four or five days per week. The same study also proved that among several time management techniques, Eisenhower Matrix was by far the most successful time management technique. So if you know about Eisenhower metrics, how you can classify tasks into different quadrants, which one should you give your immediate attention to? Which one should you schedule? Which one should you delegate, and which one should you delete from your daily life? You can significantly boost your productivity. Thank you. I'll see you in the next lecture. 4. The Productivity Mindset: So according to research carried out by renowned psychologist and Stanford University professor, doctor Carol Weg, individuals with a growth mindset believe that their abilities and intelligence can be developed with effort, learning, and persistence. So this mindset leads to higher levels of achievement and greater resilience. Let me share a fun fact with you. Doctor Carol, in her book, mindset, the new psychology of success. She carried out an experiment over seventh graders. Seventh graders who were taught that intelligence can be developed showed a substantial increase in their math grades over two years compared to those who were not. This proves that if someone is actually and genuinely convinced that intelligence can be developed, they are much more likely to actually go ahead and develop that. So how do you actually cultivate a productive mindset? So at the top of the list is positive self talk. What it means is that you should always consider your inner voice as a coach and not a critic. Did you know that an average person has about 6,000 thoughts per day, and many of which are self talk? So positive affirmations and self encouragement can boost your self esteem and belief in your abilities, making you more likely to tackle tasks with enthusiasm and persistence. So instead of focusing on what might go wrong, you focus on what can go right, leading to a calmer and more focused mind. It also enhances your resilience. So basically, you can bounce back from setbacks. By reinforcing the idea that mistakes are opportunities for learning rather than failures, you maintain your momentum and continue working towards your goals. It also improves your focus and concentration. Now, I would like to touch on an important point. A lot of the times people say that you should change your way of thinking from I can't to IC. But frankly, it's a very difficult step and it's easier said than done. A more practical and realistic approach is to initially aim for an intermediate step from C to Can learn to C. Now, this gradual but phased approach can help in a number of ways. First, it reduces resistance to change, and second, it feels more achievable and honest. By doing this, you would start thinking of challenges as learning opportunities. Now, let's discuss a real world example. Let's say your current position is that I can't give public species, and where you want to go is that you can give public species, okay? Now, following the same pattern from C, we next move on to Can learn. The interesting thing about Can learn is that it's a gradient, it's a spectrum. So you can start very small, and then iteratively in small steps, you can make your way toward success, which is a much more pragmatic and realistic approach rather than just trying to directly go from C to C. So let's see how this can work out in this example. So basically, you want to be able to give public speeches, okay? So your first baby step could be, I can learn to write a speech outline. So instead of directly focusing on the end target, you know, public speaking, you start with small but concrete steps. So your first step is I can learn to write a speech outline, great. Next step is maybe I can learn to practice in front of a mirror. So this would help me overcome my nervousness and a lot of other speaking issues. Next, maybe I can learn to speak to a small group of friends. Since the audience is friendly, I won't feel that much stressed. So basically you're easing your way towards your final goal. In the next step, I can learn to use visual aids effectively. Next, I can learn to engage with the audience. So basically, now we start with, you know, asking audience questions, taking their feedback, opening up discussions. And then we move on to. I can learn to speak at a community event. So you see how you can move from Can give public speeches to IC give public speeches. Via this route from IC, you move on to ICar and then you make small iterative, but concrete and measurable progress towards your goal. With the final result that you can. Now, this all comes in the backdrop of having positive self talk. You really want to motivate yourself throughout this end to end journey. So this lecture is very important. Before you can actually become productive and very efficient at time management, you really need to understand the productivity mindset. So by having a positive self image, positive self talk, positive thoughts, and a phased process where you go from ICT to a learning phase and then your final goal, you'll be using a much more realistic and pragmatic approach. 5. Productivity Blockers: Share a fun fact with you. According to research carried out by a career counseling company in the US called Zepia, an average office worker is productive for around 3 hours in a typical day. The precise number is actually even less, around 2 hours and 53 minutes. Now, why is that? Let's have a look at the major blockers to office productivity. Topping the list at number one is reading news. Yes. Out of all the unproductive time, reading news consumes the blins share at around 28%. Coming in close second is browsing social media at 20%, and the third largest factor is talking to co workers. And this is regardless of who initiates the conversation. So these were the three major contributory factors to productivity blockers. But there are others as well, such as frequent interruptions due to other factors. For example, washroom breaks, then there are inefficient meetings, you know, those long and sometimes boring meetings where you really start to revaluate the choices that you've made in life. And of course, we have the aspect of fatigue, especially lack of sleep. So for example, lack of sleep can significantly disrupt your productivity and cause chronic fatigue. So what are the consequences of these? So the first is interrupted workflows. So picture this. You're in the zone, fingers flying across the keyboard, ideas flowing like a river. Then bam, a news alert, a Facebook notification or Bob from accounting pops up. Suddenly, your train of thought details, so getting back on track. It's like trying to remember your dream after your alarm goes off. By the time you're back in the groove, it's probably time for another coffee break. So the second factor is that it impacts mood and focus. So news and social media are like emotional roller coasters without the fun part. 1 minute, you're laughing at a mem. The next you're doom scrolling through an apocalyptic headline. Try focusing on your spreadsheet after that. And those office chats, they can leave you feeling like you're in high school again, complete with all the drama. Before you know it, you're more focused on office politics than your actual job. Talk about a mood killer. So the third one is that it could lead you down rabbit holes. You start by checking the weather, and 3 hours later, you're an expert on all the active volcanoes in the world. Or you pop onto Lind in for a quick profile update, only to emerge, having stock your entire professional network, their dogs, and their dogs instagram accounts. And let's not forget those office conversations that start with a quick question. And and with, you know, somehow you promising to catch it for your colleague's sister's best friend. So what can be done about that? So let's start with each one. Let's start with the elephant in the room, which is reading news. Look, we all want to stay informed, but let's be real, that 247 new cycle is a productivity killer. You start with one headline, and before you know it, you deep into an article about some obscure political scandal from three years ago. Next thing, you know, A hours gone by, and you haven't touched that report that was due at three. Plus half the time you end up reading depressing stuff that just puts you in a funk for the rest of the day. So how can you avoid it? So the first solution is that you set up fixed and time slots. So an excellent strategy for better time management is to time box and schedule specific periods in your day for reading news. For example, you can set aside 15 minutes in the morning and another 15 minutes during the lunch hour. This strategy can minimize continuous interruptions and help you maintain focus on your work. The second solution is to use news aggregators. One issue with reading news is that we often read news from multiple sites to Kerber thest. So an excellent strategy to minimize this problem is by using tools like Google News, which centralize your news consumption. So news aggregators like Google News compile news from various sources into a single platform, making it easier to stay informed without visiting multiple websites. So Google News is a type of a news aggregator, which is going to bring you news from all around the world. You can go to news specific to your country, to your region, to the world. You can also focus on business news, technology, entertainment, sports, science. But more importantly, there is a specific section for you. So based on your history of reading news, Google News is going to bring those type of news which you have shown interest in in the past. So this will be a more customized feed for your consumption. So another interesting way that Google News can help you avoid going down rabbit holes, you know, when you read an interesting news, and then you want to consult the same news on different news outlets, you know, covering from different stories, from different perspectives. So, for example, if you want to read more about this festival, which is coming up arma 2024, we can click on full coverage, and then it's going to bring you news from different websites, such as the Guardian, ABC News, and the Australian. And then, you know, you have sort of like a summary. And if you really want to follow through on some of these, you can actually click and go ahead and read it the more details on that specific website. Okay. Next on the list is social media browsing. We've all been there. You tell yourself you're just going to check Facebook for 5 minutes, and suddenly it's lunchtime and you've done nothing but scrawl through profiles upon profiles and pages upon pages. So social media is like a black hole for time and focus. So the first solution is the same one that we already discussed, fixing time slots for browsing social media, thereby limiting the possible impact. The next solution is very interesting. You can use website blockers. So basically, you implement website blockers or productivity apps that limit access to social media during work hours. So there are tools like stay focused, cold turkey or freedom that can help enforce these limits. Stay Focused is a Google Chrome extension, which you can add to your browser. Stay focus is a very comprehensive plug in. It provides you with a lot of flexibility. You can give a list of blocked websites, and you can also specify how much time you want to allow, for example, you can specify that I want to spend X amount of hours per day on Facebook, Twitter, Linked in combine. You can also specify active days, you know, maybe exclude the weekends or include the weekend or just include the weekends depending on your use case, active hours. You can also specify which websites do you want to allow. So this would be sort like a white list. You can also have the option of blocking all the rest and just allow the allowed websites. There's also the nuclear option. But I'll be careful with using this option because this can't be undone. So once you new Cem, for example, you can say that I want these specific websites to be blocked during these times or on these days, then you won't be able to visit those, and you can't turn it back off. Okay? So this is sort of like a one way option. And then, you know, there's lots of customizations and other options. So very useful productivity app, which I would recommend you to use, especially as in terms of office productivity. So the third one is talking with co workers. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for workplace friendships. But when that quick, how was your weekend turns into a 45 minute debate about the latest Netflix show? Some things gotta give. It's like, you know, you finally get in the zone on a project and boom. Here comes Chetti Kathy from accounting with a quick question that somehow involves her entire life story. And before you know it, you've lost your train of thought and half your afternoon. And let's be honest, sometimes you're the chatty one and you don't even realize you're derailing someone else's productivity. So what are the solutions for this problem? So the first one is that you can always use meeting rooms for discussion. If conversations are necessary, use designated meeting rooms or quiet spaces to avoid disturbing others in the open office area. Moreover, the fact that you have to go to the meeting room every time you need to have a relatively long discussion will create a sort of friction in your mind and discourage lengthy time wasting chit chats. Another challenge with this productivity blocker is that even if you are actively trying to avoid it, your colleagues may still initiate the conversation, and you may end up interrupting your workflow and wasting considerable time. A good solution to these types of issues is to implement, do not disturb queues or signals. So you can encourage the use of do not disturb signals such as wearing headphones or using desk signs. This can politely and non verbally indicate to your colleagues that you want to work without interruptions. To be really productive, we often need a continuous block of time in which we can focus on the task. So by using these non verbal cues, you can eliminate unwanted chit chat and interruptions. 6. The Perfectionism Trap: It's not about the work itself. It's our endless drive for perfection that keeps us stuck, stopping us from making progress on things we could actually change. Now, don't get me wrong. Perfectionism is not always bad, and there are several potential benefits of a perfectionist approach. For example, you give more attention to detail. We also get high quality work. So perfectionism can be motivating in certain contexts. For example, if you are a scientist building the next space shuttle or doing something that can play a critical role in your life, it's perfectly fine to be a perfectionist. But trying to achieve perfection in everything is wrong. So let's say you've got a brilliant idea for a project. You can see its potential. You know, it could be great, but days, weeks, and even months go by, and you haven't started. Why? Because you're waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect plan, the perfect. So what are the consequences of perfectionism? The first major consequence is what we call as analysis paralysis, which is basically your overthinking, which leads to inability to actually make decisions. The second consequence is diminished creativity. Due to the fear of making mistakes, for example, it has to be done perfectly or I'm not doing it. So it's this, either everything or nothing approach, which basically causes these kind of issues. So now, is there any way that you can find out if you are yourself caught in the perfectionism trap? Well, there's a great way to find it out and it's called self reflection. There are two key questions. You can ask yourself, and if the answer is yes, then you are in fact caught in the perfectionism tram. The first question is this, do I frequently delay starting tasks due to concerns about potential mistakes? Which basically means that do you keep on delaying and procrastinating because you want to start something perfectly? And the second question is, do I often struggle to complete projects because they never feel good enough? So you're always trying for that extra mile. You're always trying for that perfect result. So if the answer of any of these questions is yes, then you can identify that you have fallen into the perfectionism trap. How do we overcome the perfectionism trap? There are a couple of great strategies which you can employ. The first step was identifying, are you actually a perfectionist or do you have perfectionist tendencies, which we saw in the last slide. There are four great strategies which you can employ. The first one is to set realistic goals. Basically, you can break tasks into smaller and more achievable steps? This reduces pressure and increases your productivity. Instead of trying to find one big perfect solution, you break your task into small steps which are achievable and then you go about it. A second great strategy is to actually embrace mistakes. So you should view mistakes as learning opportunities. This improves your resilience and the growth mindset. Instead of considering mistakes as setbacks, consider them as learning opportunities. The third one is to accept good enough solutions. So you have to challenge the all or nothing approach. You have to embrace good enough and focus on progress, not perfection. And finally, you should always practice self compassion. You should treat yourself with kindness and understanding. This approach reduces self criticism and increased motivation. You're trying to build a positive image of yourself, which is going to fuel your passion and you'll be able to achieve good enough results. Now I want to go over two case studies which are going to reveal that perfectionism or perfectionist tendencies are a real problem faced by a lot of people around the world, and how did they actually overcome that? The first case study is about JK Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series. She battled perfectionism while writing. She would often rewrite entire chapters several times because she wasn't happy with the results. So she once shared that she overcame perfectionism by allowing herself to write bad first drafts. So bad is in inverted commas, right? Knowing that she could refine them later. This approach helped her complete her books and become one of the most successful authors in the world. So instead of trying to get there in the first go a perfect, final solution, she started with the baseline. Okay, I'll write something which is, you know, maybe even bad, right? And then I'll try to improve. Another popular example is that of Elon Musk, the famous multi billionaire with several well known projects such as Tesla SpaceX. He also faced setbacks and learned to balance perfectionism with practical execution. And Musk's approach to overcome this perfectionism trap was to use an iterative process. So he would focus on building prototypes and then improve them over time, rather than striving for perfection from the start. So to conclude, you know, perfectionism is an issue which is faced by a lot of people around the world. It's just human nature sometimes to be a perfectionist. And, in some instances, it's perfectly fine. But, you know, generally speaking, for all the tasks in your life, you don't really have to be a perfectionist. It can cause procrastination. You can use multiple approaches. You can, maybe start with a baseline solution, then iteratively improve it. You can do self reflection. You can you know, accept mistakes and learn from them. So to conclude, in life, it's often more advantageous and more productive to aim for a good enough solution rather than the perfect solution. 7. Time Blocking: In this day and age, we have so much on our minds every day and we spend the whole day juggling between different tasks. Such an extensive and constant context switching is really bad for productivity. Interestingly, research carried out by a professor at University of California shows that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to a task after we have been interrupted. So what's the solution? A classical technique that has been around for a very long time is time blocking, and it is still effective today. So T blocking is the practice of scheduling specific tasks or group of tasks into dedicated time slots on your calendar. It's like giving each of your tasks a home in your day. Instead of juggling with different tasks throughout the day and switching context again and again, you put your mind at ease and can be more focused and productive when you focus on one task at a time. Now, time blocking has been around for a very long time, but it is still very effective today if you know how to correctly use it. Now, let's see why time blocking actually works and why is it so effective and efficient at making yourself more productive? The first point is it offers improved focus and reduces distractions. For example, instead of constantly checking e mails throughout the day, you block out 230 minute slots for e mail management. This allows you to focus deeply on other tasks without the constant interruption of incoming messages. The second is prioritization of important tasks. For example, by allocating a two hour block, first thing in the morning for your most critical project, you ensure that it gets your best energy and attention rather than getting lost in the shuffle of daily urgencies. Next is realistic assessment of daily capacity. When you try to fit all your tasks into time blocks, you may realize that you have overcommitted. This visual representation helps you see that you can't realistically fit 10 hours of work in an eight hour day, which can help you plan better and more effectively. It also reduces decision fatigue. So instead of constantly deciding what to do next, your pre planned schedule guides you. For example, when your customer calls block starts at 2:00 P.M. You simply transition to that task without debating on what to work on next. Now, having said that, what tool can you use to action time blocking? Well, you can use a bunch of tools. You can use, for example, Google calendar or even just paper and pen? There are several other online tools available as well. But it's the principle that matters more, not the tool but you use. There are a bunch of tools you can use anything. You can even use pen and paper. Now, interestingly enough, did you know that Benjamin Franklin, one of America's founding fathers, was an early adopter of T blocking? His daily schedule, which he published in his autobiography, divided his day into specific time blocks for work, meals, and even reflection. Like I said, time blocking has been there for a very long time, and a lot of people have been using it successfully throughout the history of humankind to effectively and efficiently manage their daily tasks. Now, if you want to have an effective time blocking schedule, you need to keep certain points in mind. The first point is that you need to keep a safety buffer. What we mean is that you should slightly overestimate time. An important point to keep in mind is to always slightly overestimate the time by say roughly 20%. Now, this will have two advantages. First, you will not run out of time if a task turns out to be more time consuming than expected. And secondly, you won't overcome it yourself. In the beginning, it's very important that you hit your goals and you want to ensure that there's enough safety buffer between tasks. Moreover, if you can complete a task before the finished time, it will boost your confidence that you can achieve your goals and you will be more motivated to continue following the schedule. Second, don't have an overzealous time blocking schedule and remember to include short breaks and personal time. We definitely want to be productive, but we also don't want to burn out. Don't have a very tightly packed schedule, be realistic and have some breaks or personal time. The third is always be flexible. Remember that the schedule you have created is not cast in Iron. Life happens, and sometimes you may have to tend to some urgent or unplanned events, which could throw you off your schedule from time to time. This is being realistic. You cannot expect everything to go on perfectly. So instead of resisting that and aiming to achieve perfection in the execution of your time blocking schedule, be flexible and pragmatic. At the end of the day or the week, review how well your time block worked and adjust for the next time. Remember, we live and learn. Another very interesting complimentary technique that you can integrate within your overall time blocking approach is task batching. Task batching is the practice of grouping similar tasks together and completing them in a dedicated block of time. This provides more focus and helps you become more productive as you are in the zone and focusing on very similar tasks. For example, you might block out 2 hours in your day for e mail and communication, during which you batch all your e mail responses, lack messages, and phone calls. By focusing on similar tasks in a batch, you can streamline your processes and work more efficiently. For instance, if you're already in the mindset of answering e mails, you're likely to handle them more quickly when you do them all at once. Remember, time locking is a very efficient technique which has been around for a long time, and you can also use it to boost your productivity. 8. The Pomodoro Technique: Previously discussed the concept of time blocking and how it can help you boost your focus and productivity. Tim blocking can be very helpful with organizing your overall day and week. But what about the time that you spend on a particular task? Can we improve that? So for example, let's say that you have to do some analysis and you have allocated 2 hours for this task, starting at 10:00 A.M. Until 12 noon. So here are the questions that one can ask. Should we focus on the task for the entire 2 hours, or should we break it up? And if so, how the Pomodoro technique was developed by Francisco Cirillo in late 1980s? This technique has been used by millions of people across the world to boost their focus and improve their time management. Francisco spent more than 20 years in the software industry and mentored thousands of engineers and was instrumental in helping several starts and multinational companies. Pomodoro is Italian for tomato, and it has been named after a tomato shaped kitchen timer. The basic idea of Pomodoro is that you work in focused 25 minute intervals called Pomodoros. Then at the end of that 25 minute interval, you take short five minute break. The natural question is that, how does this technique work or help with longer tasks? Well, let's say you take the same example of this task, the analysis one, which we had to complete in 2 hours. Okay? Now, the issue with working on significantly longer tasks, like, for example, 2 hours or 3 hours is that you lose focus. So if we plot our focus versus time, this is what it would look like eventually. So you start with high focus, then your focus is peak somewhere here. But after 30 minutes, you start to lose your focus, and then eventually by the end of the task, you have significantly lost your focus. So out of the 2 hours in total, you'll really be working with focus on roughly less than half the time. So how does Pomodoro technique help here? Let's see if we do the same task, but we follow the Pomodoro technique. What we'll do is that in the first aeration, we'll spend 25 minutes of focus time followed by a five minute break, and we repeat the same pattern, focus time and then short break, focus time and then short break. Now, the interesting thing about Pomodoro technique is that it says that once you have consumed four consecutive pomodoros, next time, you need to take a longer break to reset your clock and reset your focus. Now, if we compare the focus versus time for the Pomodoro technique, it would be something similar to this. You start with the high focus your focus peaks, but at the end of 25 minutes, you start losing your focus, but then you take a break, and then you start fresh, you have a good focus for a long period of time, let's say around 25 minutes, and then you take a short break again. Compared to the previous traditional approach of continuously working on a task for 2 hours, you can significantly increase your focus by using the Pomodoro technique. Let's see, why does the Pomodoro technique actually works and what are the benefit it actually brings. The first point is that it enhances focus. The 25 minute works sprint encourages deep focus on a single task. Knowing there's a time limit helps resist distractions and delays gratification. For example, a writer might complete a draft of an article in just a few focused pomodoros, instead of taking all day with frequent interruptions. The next benefit is that it prevents burnout. Regular breaks prevent mental exhaustion and maintain high cognitive function. This technique naturally incorporates rest, thus reducing the risk of burnout. For example, a software developer might find that they can code for longer overall when using pomodoros compared to working straight through, without breaks. The third advantage is that it offers improved time awareness and task estimation. Tracking pomadoros helps in understanding how long tasks actually take. This leads to better planning and more accurate project estimations over time. For example, after using the technique for a week, a manager might realize that certain reports take three pomadoros instead of the two that they initially estimate. And finally, it also enhances a sense of accomplishment. Completing each pomodoro provides a small win, which boosts motivation. The physical act of marking completed pomodos gives us a visual sense of progress. For example, a student studying for exams might feel more motivated, seeing that they've completed eight pomodoros of study, rather than just noting that they've studied for 3 hours. 9. Productivity App Habitify: Great app that you can install for managing your habit is bitify. You can go to bitify. Then you can sign in. You can allow notifications allow. You can change the settings such as the theme. For example, you can make it light or dark. Let's go with the dark. An interesting featuring is that it allows for both creating good habits as well as breaking bad habits. It's a useful feature because a lot of these habit forming apps, they basically just focus on the good habits. Let's create a good habit. Let's say I want to read books. Let's say I want to read two books. Per week, and we can leave it to repeat daily. You can specify the time. Do you want to just do it in the morning, afternoon or evening or all three times. For example, let's leave it for the afternoon, and you can start it, and then you can also specify the time of the reminders when you want to be reminded. Similarly, you can also break a bad habit. The nice thing is that you can also search for existing bad habits that other people are using. For example, it could be limiting overeating or limiting your screen time, and then you can specify the goal minutes per day and start it. Another interesting feature is that you can segment your habits into areas. For example, it could be related to your productivity, could be related to your personal growth, Then if you go to manage habits, for example, you can move read books to productivity or personal growth, and then screen time maybe to productivity. Another interesting thing is that if you go to your habits and you click on any habit, then you can see all the details. For example, you can see how many times you succeeded, how many times you failed, how many times you basically spent on that habit. It also allows you to share your progress with your friends, family in order for you to stay motivated. Once you've completed a habit, for example, you've formed a habit or broken a negative habit. You can mark it as succeeded. Another nice thing about this app is that it allows you to also track the streaks, which is basically how many successful consecutive days would you able to continue building this habit or breaking this habit. So all in all, a very useful app that you can use on a day to day basis in order to create good habits as well as break bad habits. This is a cross platform app, which is available for both android and iPhones. You can also use it on your desktops and laptops via the browser. A 10. Final Thoughts: Gratulations on completing the course. I hope that you have learned valuable lessons that will help you boost your productivity and make your time management more efficient. Due credit to you for putting in the hard work to understand the different concepts that we learn in this journey. Remember, productivity is an ongoing journey, not a destination. So please continue refining your systems, trying new strategies, and staying flexible as your needs and goals evolve. Remember, productivity is not about doing more. It's about focusing on what matters most. Every small step you take towards your goal brings you closer to life that you envision. Thank you.