THE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COLLECTION

SELF-STUDY WORKBOOK

Productivity &
Time Management
“TIME = LIFE, THEREFORE, WASTE YOUR TIME AND
WASTE OF YOUR LIFE, OR MASTER YOUR TIME
AND MASTER YOUR LIFE”

It seems that there is never enough time in the day. But, since
we all get the same 24 hours, why is it that some people
achieve so much more with their time than others? The answer
lies in good time management. It’s the ability to organise, plan
and prioritise tasks to make the most of the limited time we
have.

NAME

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time Management
A Simple Skill To Prioritise Your Time

The Theory

One simple way of deciding how to prioritise your tasks is to write them down and draw
three columns next to them.

Above the first column write urgent, above the second write score.

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 The Challenge

You are now going to think of four tasks you have to complete and characterise them in
terms of importance and urgency:

Task Urgent Important Score

(Write down your tasks in this column) (An urgent task is one which requires (An important task simply means one (Multiply the urgent figure with the
your immediate attention) which completion would contribute importance figure)
to key aims)

Next to each task give a score on a scale of 1 to 3. With 3 being very urgent or important
and 1 being the not very urgent or important. Now, multiply the urgent figure with the
importance figure to give each task a score. Now place each task in order of their score
from highest to lowest and some time management advisors would argue that you now
have your priority list.

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Being Efficient Vs Being Effective
In his book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, Bestselling author Stephen
Covey asks us to look at time management in a different way to conventional time
management guides.

Instead of focusing on being efficient, he suggests we should focus on being effective.

Covey thinks that we often give too much attention to things which appear to be urgent.
For example, when somebody interrupts you at your desk with a question, the phone
rings or a little window pops up on your computer announcing the arrival of yet another
email. All of these place an immediate demand on your time, but they may not actually
require your attention straight away. They are urgent… but are they important?

Instead of a simple scoring method, Covey presents us with a two-by-two matrix showing
all the combinations of urgent and important:

Q1 Q2

Q3 Q4

The key to personal effectiveness is cutting back on the time we devote to tasks in
Quadrant 3 and spending that time on Quadrant 2 activities. So, rather than saying ‘yes’
to everything that comes along, challenge yourself to focus on the importance of what’s
being asked.

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Takeaways
The key to personal effectiveness is
cutting back on the time we devote to tasks
in Quadrant 3 and spending that time on
Quadrant 2 activities

Avoid saying ‘yes’ to everything that comes

along and challenge yourself to focus on the
importance of what is being asked

Ask yourself “is this the most important

thing I can be doing right now? Or is it
just the next thing?”

notes

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Getting Things Done
How To Actually Get Things Done

The Theory

Widely considered as the best advice out there on the subject of

“Getting Things Done”, is the book by David Allen, appropriately
called, “Getting Things Done!”

The main premise of the book is that your brain has not evolved to
be the modern day task management tool that we expect it to be.
Although many of the ideas in the book are common sense, the way
the author has presented them makes us look at them in a new way.

Basically the book is all about getting the things we have to do out of heads and in to a
system so that we can accomplish more.

The brain is quite bad at remembering all tasks and ideas as they come to you. It’s also
quite bad at recalling things at the right time and in the right place. How many times
have you woken up in the middle of the night and you’ve remembered to buy a new
light bulb, or put the bins out! Or you’re driving along and remember to cancel an
appointment. Thinking about things when you are not in a position to do anything about
them is just a waste of time and akin to worrying.

In his book, David describes a system to compensate for our brains weaknesses. He
claims that your brain works best when it isn’t cluttered up with ideas and tasks. The act
of de-cluttering your thinking allows you to be more creative and concentrate on what
the brain does best.

Which is problem solving and concentrating on the present moment. The book gives a
lot of attention to this idea which is why it is often described as being very “zen-like”.

The book describes a system which allows you to get your tasks out of your head, and
present you with the right things to do at the right time and in the right context.

GTD SYSTEM

Having a GTD system gives you control over your tasks, frees you from stress and helps
you to be more productive. The key to making it work however is having trust in the
system. If you do not truly trust your system then you won’t really let go of the tasks and
you will continue to store tasks in your head. So, let’s look at how to implement and use a
productivity system according to David Allen’s book.

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GETTING THINGS DONE SYSTEM
To start this exercise write down a project or situation that is mostly on your mind at the
moment. What bugs you, distracts you, or interests you or in some other way consumes a
large part of your conscious attention?

Got it? Good.

Now describe in a single written sentence, your intended successful outcome for this
problem or situation. In other words, what would need to happen for you to mark this
topic as complete?

Now write down the very next physical action required to move the situation forward. If
you had nothing else to do in your life but get closure on this, where would you go right
now?

Got the answer? Good.

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REFLECTIVE THOUGHT

Did you get any value out of the past two minutes of thinking? The majority of people
who perform this exercise experience a sense of control (however tiny), relaxation and
focus. You’ll likely be feeling more motivated to actually do something.

If you did feel anything positive during this exercise, think about this:

What changed? What happened to create that improved condition within your own
experience?

The situation is no further along, at least in the physical world. It’s certainly not finished
yet. What has happened is you’ve acquired a clearer definition of the outcome desired
and the next action required.

But what created that? The answer is thinking. Not a huge amount, but just enough to
solidify your commitment and the resources required to fulfil it.

FURTHER READING/STUDY

For further insights into the techniques David Allen provides you should check out his
book:

Getting Things Done – David Allen

Or visit David’s website:
http://www.gettingthingsdone.com

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Takeaways

Having a GTD system gives you control over

your tasks, frees you from stress and helps
you to be more productive

To implement the system you need an inbox,

a calendar and a ‘projects list’, a ‘someday
list’ and a ‘waiting list’

Collect everything in your inbox and process

the items one by one using the GTD rules

The key to making it work however is having

trust in the system. If you do not truly trust
your system then you won’t really let go
of the tasks and you will continue to store
tasks in your head

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Procrastination
Learn How To Avoid The Dreaded Problem We Call Procrastination

The Theory

What exactly is Procrastination?

Put simply, procrastination is the act of putting off doing things that you should
be focussing on right now, usually in favour of doing something more comfortable.
Procrastinating can have a devastating effect on your productivity and can stop you from
hitting your goals and progressing in your career.
The good news is there are steps you can go through to avoid procrastination.

Step 1. Recognise that you’re procrastinating

We all procrastinate, and if you’re honest with yourself, you will probably know when
you’re procrastinating. Here are some of the indicators to look out for to help you know
when you’re procrastinating. Filling your time with low priority tasks; Sitting down to
start a high priority task and immediately deciding to do a trivial task like make a cup
of coffee; Leaving an item on your to-do list for a long period of time; Saying yes to
unimportant tasks so you can fill your time with these instead of tackling the important
ones; or waiting for the “perfect time” before you get started.

Step 2. Work out why you’re procrastinating

The reasons why you are procrastinating will vary depending on you and the task, but it’s
important to try and identify the cause so that you know how best to approach it.

Step 3. Break your procrastination habits

So you’ve identified the cause of your procrastination, now what? It’s important to
know that procrastination is a habit. Which means you won’t just break it overnight. It
will take repeated practice and awareness to develop new habits to replace your old
procrastination habits.

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 The Challenge
Eat a frog first thing every day

There’s an old saying that says if the first thing you do each morning when you wake up
is eat a live frog, nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day! I don’t know about you
but that sounds like a pretty safe assumption!

Your ‘frog’ should be your most difficult task on

your to-do list. The task which you’re most likely to
procrastinate on. Because if you eat that first, it will
give you energy and momentum for the rest of the
day.

Write down your current ‘to-do’ list below:

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Now it’s time to circle your FROG and do that task first.

If you don’t, if you let him sit there on a plate while you do a
hundred unimportant things, you are wasting valuable time
and energy and will trick yourself into thinking you are being
productive.

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Takeaways
Recognise that you’re procrastinating

Work out why you’re procrastinating

Try one of these

anti-procrastination techniques
• Create rewards
• Ask a friend to check up on you
• Create a penalty

Eat your frog

(your most important task)
every morning

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notes

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Focus
Learn How To Focus On One Task At A Time

The Theory

When you try to do too much at once, you can end up doing
nothing well. Figure out what matters most in the moment
and give it your undivided attention.

The theory is based on how our brain has evolved and how it
performs better when it is focussed on one thing at a time. So,
let’s look at some simple techniques you can use to improve
your concentration and so that you can focus on the one thing
you are supposed to be doing.

Once you’ve picked your most important task, set yourself a time limit. This can
#1 be anything from 10 minutes to 1 hour. When you only have a limited time to do
something, you are forced to focus on what’s important.

Close down everything on your computer which isn’t absolutely necessary for the
#2 task at hand. This includes email programs, notifications, social media sites and
any other tabs open which you don’t absolutely need for the task at hand.

Use background noise to your advantage. Studies have shown that listening to
#3 non-distracting sounds such as instrumental music, sounds of the ocean or even
coffee shop ambiance can drown out other noises and really help you to focus and
regain your concentration.

Following basic nutrition advice will also help you to increase your focus. Simple
#4 things such as drinking plenty of water, starting your day with a healthy breakfast
and getting plenty of exercise in your daily routine are all great starting points.

With all this focusing you’re going to be doing, you need to make sure that you’re
#5 taking short breaks after each task. Our minds really struggle to focus intensely on
tasks for 8 hours a day. Take 5 minutes or go for a walk in between tasks to allow
your mind to rest before focussing again.

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 The Challenge

Fortify Your Work-Life Balance

Sacrificing your personal life for your job makes you a far less effective worker. It increases
mistakes (which take time to correct), blocks the synthesis of new ideas, and leads to
inefficiency and poor decision-making. While most of us believe that being available
24/7 is required to compete in today’s global economy, a study published by the Harvard
Business Review found that making time off predictable, and required, boosted job
performance (not to mention satisfaction).

So, identify one or two activities that instantly recharge you—whether it’s dancing
or meditation—and build them in to your evening or weekend routine. Yes, even if
you think you don’t have time. Taking even a few hours a week for yourself has the
remarkable effect of stretching time, by boosting your energy, fuelling your creativity and
perspective, and increasing your patience.

Activity 1

Activity 2

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Takeaways

Avoid multitasking – figure out what matters

the most in the moment and give it your
undivided attention

Set yourself a time limit – when you only

have a limited time to do something, you are
forced to focus on what is important

Close down everything on your

computer which isn’t absolutely
necessary for the task in hand

Use background noise to your advantage

Drink plenty of water, start your day

with a health breakfast and get plenty
of exercise in your daily routine

Take 5 minutes or go for a walk

in between tasks
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action plan
KEY SKILLS (WHAT ARE THE KEY SKILLS YOU HAVE LEARNT DURING THIS COURSE?)

WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY IN THE WORKPLACE?

WHAT OBSTACLES MIGHT GET IN THE WAY OF YOU ACHIEVING THIS?

WHAT, OR WHO MAY HELP YOU OVERCOME THESE BARRIERS?

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 suggested Reading
If you would like more detailed explanations or additional advice on the topic of Time
Management you should consult the following literature:

Getting things Done

David Allen

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Eat That Frog

Brian Tracy

This workbook was produced by:

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