A talk I gave on personal productivity and knowledge work. The talk begins with an overview of what knowledge work is and the barriers we face in getting to the work that is really important to us. This is followed by a very brief overview of David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology and what I've learned from Merlin Mann's many online platforms, including 43folders.com, his great talks available on Youtube, and the Back to Work podcast on the 5by5 network. It ends with some practical "hot tips" that people can easily implement in their work environment today. The "hot tips" part is in quotes because getting to stress-free productivity is REALLY hard to do.

1. PERSONAL
PRODUCTIVITY AND
KNOWLEDGE WORK:
HARD TRUTHS AND
“HOT TIPS”
November 29, 2012
Scott Bragg

2. Why does this
matter to
me?

3. Personal
Productivity
=
when you take how
productive you are
personally.

4. Congratulations!
YOU
ARE A KNOWLEDGE
WORKER

5. “In knowledge work, the
task is not given, it has to
be determined.”
-Peter Drucker

6. THE BAD NEWS
This is how we live
today:
New demands +
insufficient
resources = STRESS!

7. THE BAD NEWS
…can lead to DESPAIR

8. THE BAD NEWS (cont’d)
THE INTERNET
IS OUT TO GET
YOU!

9. THE BAD NEWS (cont’d)
15 hours, 33 minutes
The average time a person
spends on Facebook every
month.
Source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/

10. THE BAD NEWS (cont’d)
Social media isn’t
free. It’s just a
different kind of
expensive.

11. THE BAD NEWS (cont’d)
Email is out
to get you
too.

12. THE BAD NEWS (cont’d)
Facebook:
CONTROL: High
EXPECTATIONS: Low
Email:
CONTROL: Low
EXPECTATIONS: High

13. MULTI-TASKING
=

14. “MULTI-TASKING”
=
Background tasking
or
Switch-tasking

15. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sybrenstuvel/2468506922/

16. LET ME INTRODUCE YOU…
Photo: www.davidco.com/about-us/about- Photo: http://merlinm.com/about/
david-allen /
David Allen Merlin Mann
• Getting Things Done • Inbox Zero (just
(call it “GTD” to show Google it)
you’re in the know) • 43Folders.com
• Back to Work

17. “It’s possible for a person
to have an overwhelming
number of things to do and
still function productively
with a clear head and a
positive sense of relaxed
control”
-David Allen
The very first sentence of “Getting Things Done”

18. GTD in one sentence
A system for transforming
the amorphous blob of
“stuff” you deal with every
day into clear, meaningful
action steps toward
completing valuable,
meaningful projects.

19. “Minds are for
having ideas, not
holding them.”
-David Allen

20. TIME
and
ATTENTION
• Scarce resources
• Inelastic (in economic sense)
• Irreplaceable
• We don’t know how to properly
value them

21. “The goal isn’t
effective time
management.
It’s effective attention
management.”
-Merlin Mann

22. So, where’s
the best place
to start?

23. How about email?

24. “Are you really checking
your email, or is your email
“checking” (and wrecking)
you?”
-Scott Bragg
Just now

25. This is what most Inboxes look like:

26. This is what your Inbox could look like:

27. Inbox Zero
The Goal:
To process your
inbox to zero every
time you check your
email.

28. Inbox Zero: The 4 Ds
1. Do it!
2. Delete it! (or “Archive”)
3. Delegate it! (then Delete it)
4. Defer it (Whoa there!)
(These 4 Ds are slightly altered from D. Allen and M. Mann’s original, by me.)

29. Deferring It (the basics)
• Decide on a permanent place to collect
deferred tasks or “things.”
• Verb every task you collect.
• Make it a habit to evaluate your collection of
deferred tasks regularly.
• Two different lists: “To Do” and “To Do
Someday”

30. CONGRATULATIONS!
You made it to the
“Hot Tips” part of
our programme!

31. Party

32. 1 Turn off the
pop-up
notification in
Outlook.

33. 2 Make habits
out of
completing
recurring tasks.

34. 3 Your Trash
folder and
Recycling Bin
are great short-
term storage.

35. 4 Turn on “Out of
Office” when
working on an
important
project.

36. 5 Check email
only once an
hour.

37. 6 Use your
calendar to
mark off large
chunks of time
for projects.

38. 7 F11 is your best
friend.

39. Want more?
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Inbox Zero talk by Merlin Mann for Google (link)
Back to Work podcast with Merlin Mann at 5by5.tv/b2w
Linchpin by Seth Godin
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Flying Without a Net by Tom DeLong
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

40. Thank You!