personal time management

Personal Time ManagementMichael Papasevastos

TIME MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT• Increase productivity• Maximize your ROTI• Improve your organization• Increase your happiness• Increase others happiness

KNOW THYSELF

• What drives me?• How do I spend my time?• What would I like to change?• What is important to me?• What time of the day am I at

my best?• What do I want to be

remembered for?• What will I regret not having

done?

Effort

Outcomes

Situation

PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS(In no particular order)

TIP: DETERMINE DESIRED OUTCOMES• What three things do I want to

accomplish this [TIME PERIOD]?• “Rule of Three” from J.D. Meier’s

“Getting Results the Agile Way”• Outcomes for work• Outcomes for everything else that

is important to you• Outcomes are results or

achievements, not tasks• Keep a daily, weekly and long-term

plan• Shaping time to your vision

TIP: DETERMINE DESIRED OUTCOMES

TIP: USE LISTS

• Write down only the things that matter

• Add outcomes to the top of your list

• Use outcomes to drive actions/tasks

• “What’s the next actionable step?”• Make your lists accessible• Avoid long lists• Check and prune regularly• Value is in helping you prioritize

TIP: USE LISTS

TIP: SCOPE TASKS

• Use level-of-effort estimates• Not too small, not too big• Purpose is for time allocation• TARDIS the effort for unknown

tasks• Know when to stop and when to

extend• Decide up-front

TIP: SCHEDULE STUFF

• Use your calendar!• Not just for meetings• Lets others know• Book time with yourself• Do hardest tasks when most alert• Give yourself time to get to

meetings• Use ticklers to de-clutter your list• Use color categories to enable at-

a-glance info

TIP: SCHEDULE STUFF

TIP: DON’T PROCRASTINATE

• Don’t wait• Work your list when it makes

sense• Do it, even if you get it wrong the

first time• If you never get to it, get rid of it• Prune, prune, prune

TIP: PRIORITIZE ACCORDINGLY

• Relevancy• Timeliness• Dependencies• Leveragability• Clarity• Reliance

TIP: MANAGE EMAIL

• Prune your inbox• 2 – 5 minutes “compute

time”/email• Short (not curt) emails • Relevant info on top• Check at set times• Is face-to-face better?• IM?

TIP: ELIMINATE INTERRUPTIONS

• Assess your environment• What are the ways you personally

get interrupted?• Buy yourself a good pair of

headphones• Turn off Outlook• Set your online status• Remain flexible and opportunistic

TIP: TRACK AND ADJUST

• Where did your time go?• Keep a log• Reflection and adjustment• J.D. Meier’s “Monday vision, daily

outcomes, Friday reflection”

• Do you need to adjust your tasks?• Do you need to adjust your

approach?

TIP: KNOW WHEN TO STEP AWAY

• Blocks of time + mental rest stops• Rested mind = productive mind• Multitask less mentally taxing

items• Mind continues to work• Shower insight• Use your vacation

TIP: EFFICIENT LEARNING

• Trickle knowledge• No such thing as wasted time• Consider ROI of Knowledge• Digital media• Keep notes tidy• Lunch and Learn!• Teach to learn

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.”

Alice Morse EarleOr

Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!