Time Management

Other

Lifehacks

"There is too much to do" is a terrible excuse for doing nothing.

https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2017-01-04

"If everything is important, then nothing is important. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority,"

Garr Reynolds(Note that the original quote was giving advice on what to include in presentations, but the sentiment is universal)

"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities"

Stephen Covey

Miller's Law

The average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory.

Hick's Law

The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices

Parkinson's Law

Work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion

Yerkes–Dodson Law

A relationship between arousal and behavioral task performance exists, such that there is an optimal level of arousal for an optimal performance. Over- or under-arousal reduces task performance.

Zeigarnik Effect

People remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeigarnik_effect(Note that several later studies failed to find any significant differences in recall between "finished" and "unfinished" tasks)

KPI / OKR

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.

Peter Drucker

Context Switching

"From a human workforce perspective, context switching is the process of stopping work in one project and picking it back up after performing a different task on a different project. Just like computing systems, human team members often incur overhead when context switching between multiple projects."

https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/blog/addressing-the-detrimental-effects-of-context-switching-with-devops/

Image: Janis Ozolins

"Performance on tests of working memory improves throughout childhood. Its capacity is a major driving force of cognitive development. Performance on assessment tests increase steadily throughout infancy, childhood and the teenage years. Performance then reaches a peak in young adulthood. On the flip side, working memory is one of the cognitive abilities most sensitive to aging, and performance on these tests declines in old age."

https://theconversation.com/working-memory-how-you-keep-things-in-mind-over-the-short-term-75960

"Software in the typical workplace promotes context switching and causes a drag on our creativity. 43% of people report spending too much time switching between different online tools and applications. On average, people report spending 36 minutes every day switching back and forth between applications. And they report taking 9 and a half minutes on average to get back into a good workflow once they’ve switched between apps."

https://assets.qatalog.com/language.work/qatalog-2021-workgeist-report.pdf

"Context switching causes a lack of cognitive function. Human brains are not wired for a working day of glancing between your inbox, various different documents, slide decks, and more. No wonder that 45% say this makes them less productive and 43% say it is very tiring to switch between tools and communications channels all the time."

https://assets.qatalog.com/language.work/qatalog-2021-workgeist-report.pdf

A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.

Herbert A. Simon

FOCUS
Follow One Course Until Successful

Focus Killers

https://blog.trello.com/why-you-cant-focus-on-anything-plus-how-to-fix-it

Lack of sleep (aim for 7 to 9 hours)
News
Multitasking

When neurons continuously fire without enough rest, they became damaged and destroyed. Mice lost a whopping 25% of their locus ceruleus neurons (LCns) in their brains—essential for brain alertness—after just three days of four-to-five hours of sleep.https://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/12/4418.full

"Viewing negative news means that you’re likely to see your own personal worries as more threatening and severe, and when you do start worrying about them, you’re more likely to find your worry difficult to control and more distressing than it would normally be."Psychologist Dr. Graham Davey

Focus Helpers

See also: "Attention Management", later on this page.

Go for a walk
Remove distractions
Swallow the frog
Eat a well-balanced diet
Take breaks
Get started (Zeigarnik Effect)
Use a "Daily Focus List"
Use a "Parking Lot"
Avoid your "overwhelm triggers"
Go with your "flow"
Seek "positive distractions"
Don't obsess over "perfect"

See also: "Perfectionism". later on this page.

Use an "Accountability Partner"
Plan. Set aside time to do it.
Get clarity
Set deadlines (i.e. a "forcing function")

Positive Distractions

e.g. Excercise (go for a walk), meditation. But, set a timer.

Accountability Partner

Someone who will regularly help prioritise goals and measure progress. It could be your manager, or a colleague, or a friend.

https://www.gq.com/story/why-walking-is-the-key-to-being-more-productive

Some exposure to daylight enhances your attention and work performance.https://iicbe.org/upload/4635AE0416104.pdf

Daily Focus List

3 major priorities, 3 minor priorities. So that priorities are not lost in a longer "To-Do List"

Parking Lot

Note down thoughts that would otherwise sidetrack you so that you can pick them up at a more appropriate time. Rumination is the enamy of focus.

Overwhelm Triggers

We often distract ourselves with something non-productive when feeling overwhelmed. If you can identify your triggers, you can put steps in place to avoid them.
See also: "Cognitive Overload". later on this page.

Keep your desk and workspace bare

Treat every object as an imposition upon your attention, because it is. A workspace is not a place for storing things. It is a place for accomplishing things.
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7hFeMWC6Y5eaSixbD/100-tips-for-a-better-life

Swallow the frog

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”Mark Twain
i.e. do your least favourite/most daunting task FIRST and the rest of the day will feel easier.Also sometimes attributed to Bill Gateshttps://todoist.com/productivity-methods/eat-the-frog

Zeigarnik Effect

Clarity

What do you want to achieve?What is expected of you?What do you need to do?
"It's not enough to do your best, you must know what to do and then do your best."W. Edwards Deming

Attention Management

https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/attention-management-for-teams

Stay connected to the "why".
Prioritize ruthlessly, decline compassionately.
Foster a focus-friendly team culture.
Be accoutability buddies for each other.

KPI / OKR

See also: Prioritisatisation (below). Specifically the Eisenhower Matrix.

Set your chat status to “do not disturb” when you need uninterrupted time to focus.
Put your phone away or silence it while working.
Close all unnecessary browser tabs and applications on your computer when you need to concentrate.
Take breaks throughout the day where you’re not looking at a screen at all.
Check the news, social media, personal email, etc. in between tasks – not in the middle of them.
If a new item for your to-do list pops into your head during focused work, jot it down on a piece of paper (don’t change what’s on your screen!) and come back to it later.

Ivy Lee Method

At the end of today, write down the 6 most important tasks for tomorrow and rank the tasks in order of priority.
Tomorrow, start with the first task on the list and don't stop until it's done. Work on one task at a time.
Take breaks between tasks. Review and change priorities if necessary.

Any tasks not completed today should be included in your 6 tasks for tomorrow (or another day as priorities dictate).Consider breaking jobs into smaller tasks if it proves impossible to complete 6 tasks in a day.Make sure you define 'done'. e.g. If you need to record your time spent on each task, do it as part of the task, don't waste time trying to remember what you did later in the week.

Pomodoro Technique

Pick a task
Set a 25 minute timer
Work on the task until the time is up
Take a 5 minute break
Every 4 pomodoros, take a longer 15-30 minute break

Break down complex tasks
Batch small similar tasks
Things that come up during the pomodoro can be noted down but not actioned... i.e. no disruptions
Track disruptions and reflect on how to avoid
If you finish early... overlearn (1)
Studies suggest over 50% of distractions are self-inflicted (2)
No more than 16 pomodoros in an 8 hour workday
Experiment with the length of your pomodoros (for flow)
Some research suggests 52 minutes work with 17 minutes break (4)
Ultradium rythm research suggests 90 mins work with 20-30 min break (5)
Get away from screens during breaks

Windows 11 Clock features Pomodoro functionality....

The Seinfeld Method

"Don't Break the Chain Method" (3). Examples...

Try to achieve a number of consecutive pomodoros without distraction.
Try to complete a goal every day.

Cognitive Overload

Dealing with Cognitive Overload...

Messaging Optimization.. plan time for email
Tab Management

https://mashable.com/article/too-many-tabs-open

Plan your day with extreme detail
Pomodoro technique
Group similar tasks together to minimise context switching (Batching).
Schedule the hardest tasks for when you know you will be at your best.
Do easy tasks after a hard task to give yourself a mental break.

Planning

Planning fallacy - underestimating time due to optimism bias

Bias

"Pushing for a lower dev estimate is like negotiating better weather with a meteorologist"

https://smartguess.is/blog/your-estimate-is-less-than-that/
How much can you spend on this story?Discuss what part of the story takes the most time.Discuss where are the biggest unknownsDiscuss alternative ways to address #2 and #3
In addition, discuss ways to:
slice up the story and deliver it in multiple partsvalidate each part early, preferably using prototypes

Reducing Volume of Work

"When we are feeling overwhelmed, we are better served by attacking the root causes: the sheer volume of tasks, decisions, and distractions." (6)

Reduce the Volume of Tasks - think in terms of priorities not time.
Replace Decisions with Principles
Use Structure, Not Will Power, to Minimize Distractions.

https://hbr.org/2021/06/time-management-wont-save-you

Rest

Productivity

Things to stop doing to become more productive.

Abridged from: https://www.businessinsider.com/bad-habits-you-should-break-to-be-more-productive-2016-1

Impulsive web browsing
Multitasking (see Context Switching earlier on this page)
Actively checking email (schedule email checking)
Moral licensing
Putting off your most important work until later in the day (Swallow the frog)
Taking too many meetings
Sitting all day
Hitting the snooze button
Failing to prioritize
Over-planning (allow for the unexpected)
Under-planning
Using your phone in bed

Social Loafing

Social loafing describes the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group. (7)

Ways to boost your productivity...

Abridged from: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/simple-ways-to-be-productive-at-work

Manage your energy, not just your time
Build a better to-do list
Tune out distractions
Focus on one thing at a time
Batch your tasks
Prioritize healthy habits
Take a break (or a few)
Refine your workspace
Change your scenery
Let go of perfectionism

Ultradian Rhythmns

"Every hour and a half to two hours, we experience a significant “ultradian dip,” when our energy drops and sleep becomes possible. When we work through these dips—relying on caffeine, adrenaline, and stress hormones to keep us alert—instead of letting our bodies and brains rest, we become stressed and jittery, and our performance falters." (8)

Biological Prime Time

"Your biological prime time refers to a period of time when you feel your most focused and energized. For example, maybe you have the easiest time zoning in on your tasks between 8am and noon. That’s your biological prime time. You might also hear it referred to as your golden hours." (9)

Productivity Sounds

https://blog.trello.com/science-backed-productivity-playlistshttps://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/most-professionals-like-listening-to-music-at-work-and-are-more-productive-when-they-do-survey-shows-300713292.html

Mozart Effect

(Good for Memory)

Mozart (Spotify)

Classical (Spotify)

White/Pink Noise

(Good for Focus, Memory, and Sleep)

White Noise (Spotify)

Pink Noise (Spotify)

Coffee Shop Effect (10)

(Stochastic Resonance) (11)

Ambient Music

(Good for Focus)

Deep Focus (Spotify)

Lofi Beats (Spotify)

Chill Lofi Study Beats (Spotify)

Upbeat Tracks

(Good for Excercise)

180BPM Instrumental (Spotify)

Damo Running 180BPM (Spotify)

190BPM for Runners (Spotify)

Nature Sounds

(Good to Relax)

Nature Sounds (Spotify)

Prioritisation

Eisenhower Matrix

Perfectionism

The Pareto Principle

"The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
Perfect is the enemy of good"Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible and so, as increasing effort results in diminishing returns, further activity becomes increasingly inefficient."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good
Gold Plating"In time management, gold plating is the phenomenon of working on a project or task past the point of diminishing returns."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_plating_(project_management)
Nirvana FallacyCan "refer to the tendency to assume there is a perfect solution to a particular problem"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy

"Perfectionism is a mask we all wear when we're afraid of failure"

Ashley Stahl

"Only those who have patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily."

"Gentleman" Jim Corbett20th century American boxer, pioneer of technique over brute force in the ring

“Getting the little things right is what sets professionals apart from amateurs.”

Garr Reynolds

“It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it”

John Wooden

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."

Aristotle

If you don't have the time to do it right...
what makes you think you have the time to do it twice?