Get More Done In Less Time

Why you struggle

You struggle because you have not been trained.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I enjoy this?
• Is it meaningful?
• Would I do this if time and money were no object?
• What if I only had three years left?

The ultimate superpower

Your new superpower: knowing what to do next.

How can you gain more clarity in your projects? Do you know what steps to take next?

Minimum viable productivity

Doing the right thing is more important than doing anything efficiently.

Effective > Efficient

Minimum Viable Productivity
Choosing the effective thing rather than the efficient thing.

Find your why, and do more of that.

Multitasking fact and fiction

True multitasking is a myth.

Connect your projects and responsibilities to a context.

Focus your projects into blocks where you focus you intensity at only one things at a time.

Keep it out of your head

Write things down. If things have multiple tasks associated with it, write it down into individual tasks.

Write it down, and get it out of your head. Keep things out of your head.

Plan three things a day

Working hard on the wrong things is a bad habit. Focus on just three big things each day. Define success differently.

Identify your three things every morning, or the night before.

Use sprint timers

Sprint Timer
Also called the Pomodoro method, is when you set a period of time to work. You set a time and don’t do anything else until the time is up. Then you take a five-minute break. When you return, you complete another timed session.

Example: 25 minutes with a 5 minute break

Tips:

1. Don’t do anything else while the timer is running.
2. Take the scheduled breaks, even if you don’t feel like it.

Schedule your priorities

Schedule your priorities on your calendar.

Managing energy, not time

Manage your energy for optimal performance.

• Notice patterns of when you have energy.
• Plan your work tasks around that.

Divide your activities into categories. Which ones require your full engagement? Which ones require low engagement?

Carrots and sticks

Try to do work that feels like a reward in itself. Positive reinforcement is more effective and healthier.

Tracking 168 hours

You can influence how you spend your time.

Introducing the Time Tracking Spreadsheet
For at least one week, record how you spend every 30 minutes.

• Record 15 or 30 minute increments.
• Start sooner rather than later.
• Be as honest as possible.

Analyzing results

• You’re spending time on something unexpected.
• Others task take precedence over creative work.
• If the task isn’t necessary, reclaim that time.

After analyzing the date ask yourself:

• What can you cut?
• What can you schedule?
• What habits are working for you?
• Where can you cut yourself slack?

Get better at saying no

The inability to say “no” contributes significantly to feeling overwhelmed. You may also feel guilt and shame.

• Imagine the activity is taking place tomorrow.
• Start declining more invitations.

How to Say No

• “I want to make sure I do a good job with my existing commitments, and right now my plate is full.”
• “I’m a little overcommitted right now, and I don’t think I would do a good job with this thing you’re asking me.”

Give up petty control

Trying to control or micromanage is not only unproductive, it’s also going to make you unhappy.

Let go of things that don’t matter.

Super Productivity
Doing more of what’s important and letting go of smaller tasks.

Does this matter? How does this affect me?

Hard truths

Something you like to do is holding you back from doing something even better.

Choosing a small set of goals will make you more invested in achieving them.

Practice self-compassion

Learn to practice self-compassion. Forgive yourself when you’ve fallen short. What’s your motivation for self-improvement?

Four Step Process

1. Acknowledge the feeling.
2. Universalize it.
3. Recognize it’s temporary nature.
4. Be kind to yourself.

Dreading a task

To-Dread List
Everything you don’t want to do, but have to do.

Before putting it on the To-Dread list, ensure it really needs to happen. Take a chunk of time to actively tackle those items. Work on your To-Dread list in batches.

Set hard but not impossible goals

Focus on accomplishments you can imagine yourself completing.

Don’t shy away from things because they seem hard.

Prune your calendar

Prune your calendar when you feel overwhelmed. Identify two tasks on your calendar that you can remove or opt-out with any consequence.

Discover your productive hours

Our peak hours of productivity are not the same. Take a quiz to determine your Morningness and Eveningness results.

Declare email bankruptcy

Try declaring email bankruptcy. Sample message provided to declare to email bankruptcy to the organization.