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“How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST” ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Looking to unleash your true potential? Look no further! This handout will help you get the best results possible, manage your time like a boss, and become a productivity beast this semester! ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Productivity isn’t just about checking boxes off your to-do list; it’s about making sure you’re getting the right things done, in the right timeframe, in a successful and effective way. Reflect on how your time is being spent - with 168 hours/week, how much of that is actually put to good use? As seen below, a planned week can help you completely transform your productivity. A person who uses the UNPLANNED route may find themselves asking where the time went, while a person who PLANS can increase their productive study time and still have plenty of free time to spare. Let’s find out how this can be done! This package contains the following items that will help you become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST this semester, start to end (& beyond): How to establish effective goals? How to boost your efficiency? Tools you can use to manage your time Final Tips & Tricks It’s best to start fresh at the beginning of the semester, but it is also important to remember that it’s never too late – by using some of the techniques outlined below, you will be able to excel beyond your own academic and personal expectations. Good Luck!

“How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST”...ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Final Tips & Tricks 1. Limit distractions • You can use apps like the ones below to help limit you from distractions

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Page 1: “How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST”...ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Final Tips & Tricks 1. Limit distractions • You can use apps like the ones below to help limit you from distractions

“How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST” ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Lookingtounleashyourtruepotential?Looknofurther!Thishandoutwillhelpyougetthebestresultspossible,manageyourtimelikeaboss,andbecomeaproductivitybeastthissemester!

ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS

Productivityisn’tjustaboutcheckingboxesoffyourto-dolist;it’saboutmakingsureyou’regettingtherightthingsdone,intherighttimeframe,inasuccessfulandeffectiveway.

Reflect on how your time is being spent - with 168 hours/week, how much of that is actually put to good use?

Asseenbelow,aplannedweekcanhelpyoucompletelytransformyourproductivity.

ApersonwhousestheUNPLANNEDroutemayfindthemselvesaskingwherethetimewent,whileapersonwhoPLANScanincreasetheirproductivestudytimeandstillhaveplentyoffreetimetospare.

Let’s find out how this can be done!

ThispackagecontainsthefollowingitemsthatwillhelpyoubecomeaPRODUCTIVITYBEASTthissemester,starttoend(&beyond):

❶ How to establish effective goals? ❷How to boost your efficiency? ❸Tools you can use to manage your time ❹Final Tips & Tricks It’sbesttostartfreshatthebeginningofthesemester,butitisalsoimportanttorememberthatit’snevertoolate–byusingsomeofthetechniquesoutlinedbelow,youwillbeableto

excelbeyondyourownacademicandpersonalexpectations.GoodLuck!

Page 2: “How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST”...ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Final Tips & Tricks 1. Limit distractions • You can use apps like the ones below to help limit you from distractions

ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS

❶ How to establish effective goals? • Acommonmistakethatstudentsmakeiscreatinggoalsthataredauntingatfirstsight.

The🗝istobreakdownlargetasksintobitesizedpieces.• Let’scomparethedailytasklistsofStudent1and2.

o Student 1didn’tstudyanythingtodaybecausehistasksincluded“Readthetextbook”;hedidn’tknowwheretostart,sohegotsidetrackedbysocialmediaandfunnycatvideos(4hourslater,herealizedthathehadaccomplishednothing).

o Student 2outlinedsmall,bite-sizedtasksforthedaylike,“Readchapter4”,andevenmanagedtotakeabreakandsleep7.5hours.

• Onceyouareabletobuildahabitofestablishinggoals,you’llbeabletomore

effectivelyprioritizetasksandsettimemanagementguidelines.• Itiscriticaltowriteyourgoalsdownonadailybasis.

Student 1 Student 1’s

Daily Task List Student 2 Student 2’s

Daily Task List

• Readthetextbook• Doproblemsets

• Readchapter4today• Reviewchapter3fromlastweek

• Takea40-minstudybreakandeat

• Completeproblemset5• Re-attemptproblemsthatIgotwrongfromthepast2weeks

• GototheGym• Get7.5hoursofsleep

• Makesureyoutakethetimetostepback,reflect,andunderstandthatevenseeminglytedioustasksarepartofalargerprojectwithapurpose(professionalorpersonal).

• Honingyourprocessalongthewaywillhelpyouworkmoreefficientlythanyoufirstexpected,whichmeansmoregoalsareaccomplished!

Engineering Peer Helper Tip! YoucanuseGoogleKeeptoeasilycreatedailytasks

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ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS

❷How to boost your efficiency? Thereareproventechniquesthatcanhelpguideyourwaytoincreasedproductivity.

80/20 Rule Rule of Five The Eisenhower Matrix

Workingonthistaskrightnow

Workingonthistaskrightnow

Workingonthistasknext

Workingonthistasknext

Notactuallyplanningtowork

onthistask

20%percentofyourtasksareprobablygoingtohave80%oftheimpact.By

prioritizingthetasksthathavethemostimpactfirst,youwillbeabletoredeemthehighest

benefitforallyourwork.

Accordingtothisrule,twoofyourfivetasksshouldbeonesyouareworkingonrightnow,twomoreshouldbethetasksyouwillbeworkingonnext,

andonetaskshouldbesomethingthatyouexpecttoworkon,buthaven’tactually

plannedforyet.

Theideaisthatallofyourtaskscanbesortedintofourquadrants,withaxesof“Important”and“Urgent”.Thesefourquadrantsaregiven

numbervaluesof1through4basedontheirpriority.Tasksthatareboth“Important”and“Urgent”receiveaprioritylevelof1,andshouldbe

yourfocus.Ontheotherendofthespectrum,tasksthataredeemedboth“NotImportant”and“NotUrgent”shouldbeputtothe

wayside.

Page 4: “How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST”...ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Final Tips & Tricks 1. Limit distractions • You can use apps like the ones below to help limit you from distractions

ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS

❸Tools you can use to manage your time: PeerHelperApproved(👍)Webadvisor Class Schedule 1. Printout12copiesofyourclassschedule(ideally

withextraspacearoundtheborder)2. Atthestartofthesemester,spendafewhours

addinginanyimportantdeadlinesandremindersforyourself(ex.Beginoutlineforreport–duein2weeks),makesuretorefertoallyourcourseoutlines(Tip:colourcodingbyclassalsohelps).

3. Youcaneasilybookmeetingsthroughouttheweekandorganizedailytaskswithoutthefearofdoublebookingyourself.

➡Thisway,youwillalwaysknowwhattoworkon.

Physical Planner SimilartotheWebadvisormethod,youcanuseaphysicalplanner(Tip:YoucangetonefreefromtheENGSOCoffice).Besidestheextratimeittakestoaddyourclasses,thismethodworksinthesamewayasabove

Electronic Planner Youcanalsouseanelectronicplanner(ex.OutlookCalendar).Ifyouarelookingtosavetime,thisisdefinitelythebestway;youcanrepeatyourclassschedulefortheentiresemester,addinstantnotificationsandviewyourplanneronvariousplatforms.

Monthly Erasable Planner Lastly,youmaychoosetouseamonthlyplanner.Thisallowsyoutoviewthesemestermorebroadlyandcanbereallyhelpful,especiallywhenusedalongsideaweeklyplanner.TheUniversityofGuelphBookstoreisagreatplacetogetalargeerasablemonthlyplanner.

Page 5: “How to become a PRODUCTIVITY BEAST”...ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS Final Tips & Tricks 1. Limit distractions • You can use apps like the ones below to help limit you from distractions

ENGINEERING PEER HELPERS

❹Final Tips & Tricks

1. Limit distractions

• Youcanuseappsliketheonesbelowtohelplimityoufromdistractions.Thiswillhelpyoubuild

ahabitofstayingfocusedonproductivetasks…andyes,thisincludeslimitingNetflix&ChillJ.

2. Take regular breaks:

• Itsoundscounterintuitive,buttakingscheduledbreakscanhelpimproveyourfocus.Research

hasshownthattakingshortbreaksincreasedyourproductivity.3. Set self-imposed deadlines:

• Whileweusuallythinkofstressasabadthing,amanageablelevelofself-imposedstresscan

actuallybehelpfulintermsofgivingusfocusandhelpingusmeetourgoals.Trygivingyourselfa

deadline,andthensticktoit.Youmaybesurprisedtodiscoverjusthowfocusedandproductive

youcanbe!4. Follow the “two-minute rule”:

• EntrepreneurSteveOlenskirecommendsimplementingthe"two-minuterule"tomakethemost

ofsmallwindowsoftimethatyouhaveatwork.Theideaisthis:Ifyouseeataskoractionthat

youknowcanbedoneintwominutesorless,doitimmediately-completingthetaskrightaway

actuallytakeslesstimethanhavingtogetbacktoitlater.5. Is multi-tasking the right way?:

• Whilewetendtothinkoftheabilitytomultitaskasanimportantskillforincreasingefficiency,

theoppositemayinfactbetrue.Psychologistshavefoundattemptingtodoseveraltasksatonce

canresultinlosttimeanddecreasedproductivity.Instead,makeahabitofcommittingtoa

singletaskbeforemovingontoyournextproject.6. Give up on the illusion of perfection:

• It'scommonforstudentstogethunguponattemptingtoperfectatask--therealityisnothingis

everperfect.Ratherthanwastingtimechasingafterthisillusion,bangoutyourtasktothebest

ofyourabilityandmoveon.It'sbettertocompletethetaskandmoveitoffyourplate;ifneed

be,youcanalwayscomebackandadjustorimproveitlateriftimeallows.

Forest

Self Control

Block Site