Multi Tasking Tips

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Multi-tasking Tips (from a girl) A Guide to Workplace Productivity Lisa Phillips

Transcript of Multi Tasking Tips

Multi-tasking Tips (from a girl)

A Guide to Workplace Productivity

Lisa Phillips

Previous life as a Developer

Worked in London as a Graphic Designer

Spent last 5 years in various stages of Management

Why Do I Qualify?

Each role requires a very different level of focus.

Constant distractions and disruptions

The Web Industry

Multitasking and Procrastination are bad mix.

Figure out WHY you’re procrastinating.

Procrastination

With all the disruptions, and volume of work – without proper workflow and time management, people can quickly get overwhelmed with their workload.

This produces poor work, can cause feelings of anxiousness, job dissatisfaction and can compound the issues until it feels as it is all too much to handle.

Multitasking

There are a lot of Multitasking Practices and Time Management Methodologies out there.

Not all approaches work for everyone.

Pick what works for you, & Mix it up a little.

Lisa’s Pick & Mix™

Priorities

Lists

KNOW what you’re doing

Plan

Revise!

Lisa’s Pick & Mix™

Effective Inbox Workflow

Lisa’s Pick & Mix™

The Essentials

Lists - a hand written checklist

Post-It Notes strategically placed

Lisa’s Pick & Mix™

You should always leave work in the evening knowing what you will be doing in the office tomorrow morning.

Planning and Revising

Immediate

This Morning

This Afternoon

Tomorrow

This Week

Next Week

Lisa’s Pick & Mix™

Downsides of Multi-Tasking

Multitasking Issues

Work Efficiency The are other techniques to ensure that you get work

done efficiently:

Only check your emails at certain times of the day.

Turn off your distractions (including your mobile).

No responding to email that you are CC’d in on.

Only work between 8.30 – 5.30, NO other work outside of these hours – this helps you to focus.

Quarantine yourself

Headphones

Time Management Time Management is a booming business

Getting Things Done

The Pomodoro Technique

Inbox Zero

Remember The Milk

Getting Things Done Essentially: Know what you need to do

If an item requires action:

Do it

Delegate it

Defer it

If an item does not require action:

File it for reference

Throw it away

Incubate it

Can be overly complex

www.davidco.com

The Pomodoro Technique

The basic unit of work in the Pomodoro Technique™ can be split in five simple steps:

Choose a task to be accomplished

Set the Pomodoro timer to 25 minutes

Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper

Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)

Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

www.pomodorotechnique.com

Inbox Zero It’s about how to reclaim your email, your

attention, and your life.

“Clearly, the problem of email overload is taking a toll on all our time, productivity, and sanity, mainly because most of us lack a cohesive system for processing our messages and converting them into appropriate actions as quickly as possible.” - Merlin Mann - 43Folders

www.inboxzero.com

Remember The Milk Focuses on Task Management

Reminds you of your tasks via:

Email

Mobile Phone Applications (iPhone, Android, Blackberry)

Google (Gmail, iGoogle Gadgets, Gears)

NetVibes module

Third Party Apps and Services

Dashboard Widgets

Quicksilver Plugin

And many more…

Websites and Apps Google: Time Management

Google: Multitasking

iPhone App store has an entire category dedicated to: Productivity

In Summary Figure out what works for you

Try different methodologies

Know what you’re going to do and when

If you’re not sure of what to do next – Ask

Revise your task lists often

Don’t overdo the multitasking

Don’t be put off – I do know guys who are great at multitasking.

Thanks Google Search and the Internet – for the research

help

Flickr, iStockPhotos, Google Image Search – for lending me images

People I have spoken with - friends, colleagues… and girls – for their input

Past workplaces – that gave me so much work I HAD to learn the Art of Multitasking

Web Meetup – for its awesomeness