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?P R E S E N T E D B Y

AT R A DV I S O RY L L C

COURSE AGENDA:

I. Speaker IntroductionII. Multitasking As We Know ItIII. Participant ActivityIV. Single Tread ApproachV. To-Do ListsVI. Time BlockingVII. Participant ActivityVIII. Technology – Helpful AppsIX. What To Start Doing TomorrowX. Questions, Comments or Complaints

MULTITASKING AS WE KNOW IT

Merriam-Webster Definition of Multitasking:

1. The concurrent performance of several jobs by a computer.

2. The performance of multiple tasks at one time ~ the job requires a person who is good at multi-tasking

Common Examples

• Attending meeting in person while reading emails on phone (multitask/concurrent)

• Begin drafting memo, receive and read email, go back to drafting memo, receive and read wife/husband text, go back to drafting memo (task switching)

MULTITASKING AS WE KNOW IT

Impacts:

1. Researchers from University of Glasgow, University of Leeds, and University of Hertfordshire found that effectiveness drops by 69% for women and 77% for men when we multitask or task switch

2. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, found that when tasks get fragmented and task switching occurs, it tasks workers up to 25 minutes to return to the original task

3. Researcher from the University of Utah found that 97.5% of people fail multitasking tests.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/health/2015/04/08/your-brain-on-multitasking-gupta-orig.cnn

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/09/18/spc-vital-signs-genius-and-creativity-c.cnn

PARTICIPANT ACTIVITY

Are you being productive ... or are you just Taskswitching? The following exercise will help you quickly understand the negative impact on efficiency caused by Taskswitching.

• “Taskswitching is a THIEF”

• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

• 2 rounds: time will be called out every 5 seconds

• Note approximate time it takes to complete each round.

• Multitasking Video

SINGLE TREAD APPROACH

Single Tread:

1. Schedule similar meetings closer together (Time Block)

2. Organize similar categories of tasks/projects together (To-do List)

3. Break big tasks/projects into small chunks (To-do List)

4. Schedule tasks (Time Block)

5. Set deadlines for everything (Time Block)

Benefits:

1. Increased focus

2. Increased efficiency

3. Better quality

4. Reduced stress

TO-DO LISTROADMAP TO MY DAY

• When to create To-Do List? – Writing List in The Morning – Might be Too Late

– End-of- day allows you to close day

– Be consistent

• Including Too Many Tasks– 5 - 10 tasks are ideal

– 3 to 6 good hours of work daily

• Where does everything else go?– Must be done today (To-Do list)

– Should be done soon (To-Do or Master list)

– Would be nice to do (Master list or Bucket list)

TO-DO LISTROADMAP TO MY DAY

• Be specific– Instead of “fieldwork” write “select sample of users for application access testing”– Avoid speedbump words: “plan,” “implement,” or “develop”

• Prioritizing – If it’s not a priority, it shouldn’t be on your list– Define goal for the day– Tackle biggest or more complex tasks early

• Create fresh list daily– What you think you’ll do tomorrow will change by the end of today

• Task scheduling– Block out time (Pomodoro technique – 25 minute increments)

TIME BLOCKING

• Why schedule tasks?– 40% of to-do items never get done

– Adds structure (Work will simply expand to fill the time available)

– Reduces stress (We remember the things we didn’t complete vs what’s done)

• Time Blocking– Organizing your day in a series of time slots/blocks

– Task: allocate time vs Time slots: assigning a job

• Time blocking steps– Define your work CATEGORIES

– Assign TASKS (to-do list) to work CATEGORIES

– Define your work HOURS

– Allocate CATEGORIES to HOURS

TIME BLOCKINGEXAMPLE

TIME BLOCKINGTHINGS TO CONSIDER

• Pay attention to cycles– Think about your personal energy - Tackle more

complex tasks during peak energy times

– Switch tasks at the right time (Recharge batteries -complex to simple tasks)

– Office activities and traffic

– Create repeatable schedules (Dedicate certain times or days to specific tasks that)

• Allocate enough time– We typically underestimate how long tasks take

– Track typical task for future scheduling

– Schedule one to three 30 minute blocks for overruns

• Distractions– Turn off push notifications, phone

– Social media, texts, instant messenger

– Email (use filters/folders, check twice daily, schedule email time)

– Don’t get suckered into long emails/texts/IMs (pick up the phone)

• Keep it flexible– Use schedule as a guide for work

– Follow plan for time that remains

Demo: https://youtu.be/_FTNQVu1L4A

PARTICIPANT ACTIVITY

• Take 10 minutes to Time Block your Thursday

– Identify 3 – 5 work categories

– Assign 1 – 2 tasks to each category

– Define your work hours

– Allocate your categories to work hours (Thursday)

• Use handout and ATR To-do list Notepad

TECHNOLOGY –HELPFUL APPS

• ATR To-Do List Notepad – low tech to-do list• Clear – simple to-do list app• Evernote – collaborative to-do list app• Wunderlist – collaborative to-do app• Outlook/Google Calendar – Calendar scheduler• Timely - time-tracking app that tracks how long projects take and helps you organize your

workweek more efficiently• RescueTime – time-tracking app that records how and where you spend your time online• Wrike – Project/Work management app with limited workflow functions• Clara - artificially intelligent email app that schedules and coordinates your meetings

WHAT TO START DOING TOMORROW• Plan each day like:

– You would plan your wedding day

– You are going on vacation the next day

– Your key deadline is coming up tomorrow or the next day

• Apply Single Tread Approach using a defined approach

• Commit and execute your plan of the day

• Reflect and plan at the end of each day

• Go do something fun with all your extra time

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS