Upload
others
View
2
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
“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!
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
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.
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.
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