Real Productivity: Learn Time Management Basics!

1. Learn Time Management by Organizing Your Life and Increase Productivity: Hi. Welcome to the course Productivity hacks, Time management to get more done in your daily life and in your work as well. This is Brian home and let's go over. The potential problems that this can solve are trying to do too much on a daily basis, and you get drained every day doing so many things. And this is where we have endless to do less where and we try our best. We put our best effort in trying to do as much as we can. But the task just keep on piling up at the end of the day and our e mails and paperwork eating a big chunk off your time. So this classes for employees with side ha. So So you're trying to juggle bolt and you want your side hustle to be successful, and then you're also trying to balance your time between work and family? Or are you a freelancer with just a boatload of things to do? And this class is perfect for you. So what you would get from taking this class issue will have more time to do what you love because you're now focusing on things that really matter to you. Then you have that greater sense of accomplishment because she know that what you're focusing on is what really matters. And at the end of the day, you would have more energy because you're working in a more organized and concise matter to see you inside, of course. And we have a lot of things to cover will be covering about managing your email, contact, switching and how we can manage that. And then the calendar off, bundling things together and then how to keep everybody in the loop. How do you inform them about what you want to happen, and then the art off taking breaks. 2. Handling Emails: Let's talk about email. We cannot live it out them. It's just unti rural part off our day to day work, and we receive so much emails in the day that we eat or need to respond quickly. Or we can just put it back like wait for another time to handle this. But there are times where, and it just keeps on distracting us from doing our day to day work. So one really great tip that I use is having fixed times because I'm really guilty of this . Whenever there's an email, there's an itch that I really want to open the email, have a look at a try to resolve it as quick as I can, but it's not the most efficient way of doing things, and this track says, from doing the current test that we're working on and then jumping to that email and then jumping from one task to another, and that's not really helpful. So what I really suggest. It's having fixed times in the day when it comes to reading and answering emails, a rule of thumb that you could use its two times to about four times in the day, so you can have regular time slots or intervals that you've scheduled in a day, then that's the time that you only open your emails. Okay, the second point is handling off notifications because now let's say you've already started working on a fixed time in working with your email. But if you have, let's say if you're using Microsoft Outlook, for example, there's a really small pop up notification that shows up right on the corner. Whenever there's an email that's gonna be coming in with a problem that that one is. Even though your intent is not reading that email, it's like, Oh, no, I'm not touching you. I'll just wait for the next fixed time or the time interval to come back to that email. Even that small notification is ready. A distraction, because even if you're conscious about it that I won't no, I won't touch this. There's still that nagging feeling where you there's the pitch that you want to open, that I want to see what I'm missing out on something, what's inside it. So even that small one can really be a distraction, a spell to you. So when it comes to notifications, but you can do is close the email client altogether, right so that even the notification themselves or disabled identification because you're going to be checking back your email at this specific time. So which means even if you miss out on that notification, that's perfectly fine. It's the same thing, a swell on your phone. So if you're full of is, for example, on your desk, it's the same thing. If there's a message comes in, or if there's a notification to swell from one of your naps, it will pop up a notification. It will just simply light up. So if you really want to focus at specific times of the day, just flip over your phone so that even the notifications themselves or even just the light coming out off it more distractive. Okay, next one is the unsubscribe mentality. So here's a really cool tip us whenever you receive an email, especially those ones that you don't really need A I'm guilty of this. I have emails coming from like food vouchers or foot problems, for example, dining from restaurants or even hotels. Cheragh. Those things. Whenever you get a specific email, ask yourself, Should I be un subscribing for this. Okay, because it is usually a this marketing emails, all of them are usually coming on a day to day basis. They just keep on sending you email every day. And and from my perspective, what happened with me? Yes, I just live in it. I mean, if I just received that email, I just delete them or move it to somewhere else. And I don't even butter sometimes opening it. So it's just a waste of time every day, even though it's just a couple of emails. I mean, it's just takes a couple of seconds to delete them, for example. But from a day to day basis, it Paus up seconds turn two minutes, and then it turns two hours, and it's just wasted time. So, whatever you get emails such a status, consider un subscribing from them the last point. ISS a clean inbox policy. I know whenever we have unready males, sometimes it just takes a lot off mental effort or push to push yourself into cleaning up your inbox. So another rule of thumb that I greatly suggest ISS. You're in buffs. Everything should be clean, so it's either you organize it to somewhere else, right? Move it away from your inbox. Read all the messages on a day to day basis stripe for a clean inbox. Because if you leave some messages in their powers up each day, and it also has that stressing effect you because if you see like there's 100 100 or even talismans often read emails, it just drags on every day. 3. How To Control Context Switching: next, it's let's talk about contact switching so you can see here in the diagram. There's just a lot of days that you need to do, and sometimes you just keep on jumping from one task to another. And once you go back to the previous task that you were working on, you would be asking herself What next? What am I trying to do? And you just tried to think about it and you spend time getting back into the flow, and it's really hard to do so OK, so when we say context switching, it's more off working on multiple unrelated tasks. So it's jumping from one to another and without fishing anything. I'm guilty of this. There are times when I'm writing on a specific email, and then somebody comes behind the back and then asked me about a different thing or a different project altogether. And I leave that email halfway, not even done. I jump onto the next task to work on it, because if they tell me that it's urgent, and then and come back to the email and then scratching my head, there's just that wasted time off moving from one to another and getting yourself back into the groove of thanks. So there's that danger off multitasking because usually what we used to think off, there's a that mitt where in multitasking is pretty cool skill to have, because multitasking, which would mean that you're able to work on multiple tests at a given time, which gives you that impression that you're being efficient because you're able to juggle minute things in this specific amount of time, which is a lot faster, which is a frequent misconception that it's amore effective way of handling things. So we have here some details about multitasking, so we spend an average off about a minute and 15 seconds on a test before being interrupted . So it's just a really short amount of time, and it takes an average of 25 minutes to assume a task after being interrupted. So if you think about it, how many times do you get interrupted in a day and the number of minutes it just adds up? And there here's another fun fact. Swell. Heavy multitasking can temporarily lower your I Q by up to 15 points. Okay, so which means it's not something that our brain is used to doing. The next question is, if you're really multitasking, why do you multi pass? It's really good way to have a step back and think about your core reasons on Why do you even try to multi task, right? Is it because you're bored because you're bored on your current task? Which is why you're jumping from one task to another to something more interesting for you ? Or is it also giving you the sense off accomplishment? Because if you're able to juggle many things that it keeps you alive in a way that okay, I have a feel that I'm doing. A lot of things are accomplishing a lot of things that this given point in time, but we need to stop multitasking. We need to stop contact switching, so one way that we could do that it whenever we have to do lists, one thing that you could do is sorted by eater priority. Having the most urgent wants on top or sorting them and grouping by category together. Because if you're doing this that say you're working on a specific category at this like fight test, for example, then it's a lot easier because all of them are related to each other, and your brain would be able to jump from this test to the next. Another thing. ISS. Thinking about your most productive time of the day. Because if you're a morning person, for example, that's the time that you're able to accomplish a lot of tasks, then what you can do is block out that time and use for high value or difficult test. So the one that has the biggest priority, or the one that has that could bring the most value to your job, right? Focus on that during your most productive time. If it's in the evening that's scheduled that time as well blocked that time for important things or the one that's most difficult for you. Yes, that's the one that you're going to be the most effective pot. So the next question right now is in my really contact switching, because the question ISS Sometimes we do know the concept of context switching, but the question is, are we reading doing this? We need to be conscious about it. It's similar to personal finance marine. For example, if you don't know what you're spending, then what you need to do is to list all of your expenses in a given day, and that's a in whatever expand him. It bought some coffee, haven't bought groceries, oval stinks and once you less off them. And that's the time you can perform your analysis like, Oh, I'm spending too much on food or and spending too much eating out and those sticks, and that's the only time you can be conscious about it. It's the same thing for context. Switching. What you need to do is to list all of your activities in turkey mated intervals for 1 to 2 weeks. And once you've listed them out, then that's the time you can analyze. If are you doing things logically together or are just jumping from one task to another? Okay, so it's more of a conscious effort for you to be able to list out everything like what you see over here so you could see here commuting to work and then working on a project and lifting out all of the's small test even a small task in tournament intervals over here, because it's going to be crucial for you, and you would see here is your brain jumping from one to another. Like, for example. Over here, it gets you working on Project number one, and all of a sudden you jump to Project number two and it back to Project number one. And it's not going to be helpful for you in the long run, because most probably even even just for this one, you can perform your analysis and think that hold on during this time frame during this 30 minutes was I focused on Project number one or are my thoughts still on Project number two in a set of salt? I didn't make the best use of my time from 11 to 11. 30 right? You could see over here right now that Oh, maybe I need to start moving some of this things together or I have a habit off context switching, right. So do this activity and write it down for a week or two. And that's the time you can have a sit back and have an objective few off your context, switching activities and how to avoid them. 4. Calendar - Art of Bundling Together: Now let's talk about calendar management. So it's more of the art off bundling thing together. So the first point is blocking time. So one thing to make wise use of your calendar if do not be afraid to block time in your calendar. So, for example, we discussed the concept of finding your most productive time in the day block that time. So I cannot stress that point enough because you want to use that time to focus your TA office and most important tests here. Okay, So blocked that time. Do not be afraid off other people to try to fit themselves into that time because what we want to show to others is this my most important time. Okay, so if you want to really book a specific time for me, then you have to work around it. So something that will be discussing in a another video later on how we can communicate to other team members or to other people that what are the practices that we're doing at the moment, right? To make the best use of our time, you want also to block time to have a specific camp. So that's a interstates For example, we have two hours off block times well as catch up time for yourself every week. So this is the time Where in, if you're lagging behind on some of your tests, then you have this specific time to work on dose. Okay, so that's another block tip for you. And also lunch. Break as much as possible if you could give yourself a lunch break because it's also a time for you to unwind and also were charged to be able to perform better in the rest of the day . Next point. ISS meetings. Yes, meetings. It's a necessary evil, but it's really essential. You've already had experience where there's more than 50% of your day. It's book with meetings, right? So you want to devote base for meeting or of partials of the day for it outside off the block. Time above. Right. So we discuss about the bluff time, Then what? You can do its work, your meetings around after the block time because that's not your most productive time, right? So which means you don't need the entire focus and meetings. It's the best way to place at the utter time snaps, but before you even accept meeting, you need to think about a couple of points like that's the meeting. Half tear goals, right? If they're a clear agenda on what you want or what the organizer wants to accomplish during the meeting the next point ISS, will you be able to contribute? Is there a purpose for you to be joining that meeting? Because if you think that you won't be able to contribute that much or there's not gonna be much value being there, then don't accept that meeting and let that organizer no. And the next point is, can you just request for meeting minutes for this specific meeting? Because if you think that, okay, I won't be contributing that much. But whatever you're going to be discussing, there would be off interest to me. Then you could just tell the organizer debt Hey, just give me a summary or meeting minutes after that one, and you would save time a spell now. So that's for accepting a meeting the next point ISS before sending a meeting invite. So your question right now, because it's more two ways right. You also have the responsibility to make sure that okay, you're making use off everybody else's time, you're making good use of their time as well. So before sending that meeting in fight, ask yourself. Will everybody be involved? Are there necessary to be in that meeting? And then the next question is, Is there a clear meeting agenda or is there clear set of goals that you want to accomplish ? Right? So if you still don't have that clear agenda, then don't send that meeting invite. Prepare for that agenda, left first before sending it out in the last point on meetings during a meeting. If we feel that meeting, it's not a line to you, which means that, okay, you accepted that meeting. You feel that you could provide value or vice versa. But during the first few portions off your first few minutes of the meeting, you feel that there's something off about this meeting. I don't think I can country with that much respectfully leave during that meeting, because it will be better for both you and organizer swell or because it will make the best use of your time. Now let's talk about bricks. So when it comes to taking breaks once every 19 minutes, is a good time to refresh. So when we say breaks, it could be anything from having a drink of water or having a quick snack going to the restroom or even using that time to check your email. Okay, so the last point is having upward sluts in your Canada. This happened to me so many times where? And I have 30 minute black spots into Canada, and sometimes it's pretty awkward. Like, what should I do during this time? And when you have this upward slut where and you're not sure what to do, what you can do this this word to do? Lis comes really handy because you can think off the adjacent spots like adjacent time slots, Right. You could think off similar category tests and smaller tests and fit that inside the upwards lots because it will give you a more cohesive right way of thinking like Okay, when I jumped from one hour before and then working on this 30 minute time start, it's still in the same train off dot because you were working on a same project, for example, or the same category. Okay, so here we have a sample off the talent or organization that we have no more bundling things together. Figured. See over here that we okay, we have committing toe work. Catch up with manager, and we have the task organized as project number one for everything. Right? So it's more of a cohesive and or more logical way of jumping from one task to another and that we have here. All right, we have here the project number two and then what they placed in here. Smell is having a quick water break right after every 90 minute interval. So it's more off bonding them to get her. And then we have to interview off a app can over here so that it won't interrupt you mid way. And you would have to spend that time of context switching again before being able to get back into the groove. Thinks 5. Keeping Everybody in the Loop: Okay, so the next topic is keeping everybody in the loop. This is a very important point, a swell, because we're not working alone whenever we work in an office or even the home or with our families. It's not just us. It always involves a team like team members or even our family members, and you want to be able to set the expectations of everybody so that they can also adjust to our way off doing things. So, for example, is the setting up expectations off your block times. So whenever they see that block time, they would be thinking twice first before booking a time with you, right? If it's really urgent, if it's really important, then they would consider using that block time with you. But if not, then they'll just work around it. And you could also use off visible signs to show everybody else that no, don't disturb me during this time. So one way ISS could be if, for example, using communicator or any messaging tool, you could set that to do not disturb during that time so that everybody would know or using big headphones or right so you have that visible sign signaling everybody else that I'm focused. Greatest time. Or you could also use post its or physical science just pays on the top off your monitor or something like that having signing there that this is my do not disturb time, right? And then another thing is communicating your email reply times because we discuss about the topic of email. Right? And we have specific times in the day that the only check email right? Sometimes there's that behavior in office or in the workplace that whenever ever sent an email, we usually expect that you need to reply ASAP as soon as possible. But the problem is, if it's, it's not the best way of doing things. So if we have specific time since in the day, make sure to communicate with your manager, make sure to communicate with your team that I'm only reading emails during their specific times of the day. And it's something that you could get feedback, a swell from everybody. If they agree with that approach, every they can understand what you're trying to accomplish, and once everybody agrees, or once everybody's used to it on what you're doing, then there's the expectation that they won't be because, for example, if they sent during an upward time like somewhere in the middle of your email reply time, then they have that understanding that No, I miss that specific time. So I'll just wait for the next interval. Where and you'll be reading that email and replying to death. Right? So which means they'll be able to adjust to you. And it's more of a mutual arrangement, a spell for everybody, right? And actually, there's that and a day syndrome right usually happens a lot we're in. For example, whenever you're about to leave, people send stuff to you to ask something from you, because there is that if it's close to end of Business Day, for example, and that's the time with people start to remember. Oh, I need this from X y Z and and they start demanding you about all this stuff, and it is just to be honest, it's underlying right. But if you now communicate this and keep everybody in the loop with the expectations or even reply times, then they'll be adjusting to you because they know right that they only have a limited window to talk to you, and it also forces them to be Kansai ice when it comes to communicating with you. To have all the questions are ready to think it true already. And then not just asking just couple of set of questions, but you answer back. Then they'll follow up with more questions. So it forces them to think Truitt ready to make the best use of your time and is going to make the best use of their time a swell. 6. Take Breaks is Critical: Okay, Our last point is taking a break, and you might be thinking sometimes that I've been in that minded a swell, that taking a break. It's counterintuitive when it comes to time management, because I'm wasting time. I need to accomplish as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. But here's the day we heard how machines. And if we try to accomplish its much possible and not taking rest or not having a short break, we will break down. At some point, we will burn out, right? So there are times during the day right there specific days. It happened to me, a swell where in the Savior's Evening is your most productive time art afternoon, for example. And during this time, you're nothing that state, and you would be wondering. Is there something wrong with me? That's perfectly fine. We would have off days. It's a normal occurrence, and whatever it is happened to spell, just take a break. Have arrests, right? You could go for a chat with others or even take the rest of the day off. It's counterintuitive at first, but are you having this investment off your break so that the next time or after you take your break, you would be more productive, right? Read it and working through it. So there's just couple of principles. It's more of the common practices, but it's more for a reminder that this can also be applied to your personal life. So having enough exercise, having enough sleep right 78 hours a day, drinking plenty of water, having hobbies, a spell, having some time to unwind and workings on something else because it takes your mind off things so that you will be fully recharged right when you come back to work on your tests. 7. Thank you and Congratulations!: Thank you and congratulations on completing this course. So I hope that this has helped you in learning I'm management basics though you're also able to leave a review on this course. So to be able to do that, just click on reviews over here, and you should be able to click on the leaf Review button. So please, please leave an honest review as I would love to hear your feedback. You can also check out my profile for more Microsoft related courses by clicking on my name, this link over here. And once you have clicked on the link, you will see my profile and you can continue your learning journey by going through my top microsoft courses.