PRDV005: Time and Stress Management

In this video, Samantha discusses her top-10 time management tips. She emphasizes that everyone has the same amount of time in each day (24 hours), and you can do as much as everyone else by sticking to her tips. She focuses on organization, including optimizing routine, and organizing both physical and mental items.

In this video, academic coaches from Western Washington University’s Tutoring Center offer information, focused on students who are currently in college, for time management. They give information for how to set up a calendar and how to manage time studying. Especially important, they offer information on what studying is and the importance of studying.

Read Chapters 1 through 5, on pages 4-17, to learn about successful time management. McGuiness’ guidance is relevant to any industry or field of endeavor. The concepts in these chapters will help you become more effective in completing work- and business-related tasks so that you still have time to devote to other priority activities. McGuinness also discusses goal setting as a powerful tool that you can use for motivation and to help you keep track of accomplishments. The author also offers tips to avoid feeling overwhelmed by to-do lists.

Read Chapters 6 and 7, on pages 21-27, to learn how to use to-do lists effectively and how to review commitments to determine importance. McGuiness suggests other tools to keep track of daily activities. Complete the questions at the end of each chapter to help assess your current planning abilities.

This section is interactive. Please find a to-do list system. We have listed a few options here, but there are dozens of other to-do lists systems that you can use, including paper-and-pencil!

This assessment will help you track your activities in an interactive format for an average day. You will log a variety of time-spent-on-tasks. The purpose of this assessment is to provide a holistic assessment of your ability to track tasks, including things like sleeping and eating!

In this video, Cliffe gives an extensive overview of how our brains work regarding task management. At 47 minutes, this is a long video, but please watch it all and do the exercises that Cliffe provides. Remember to keep a log of how much time you spend on each subunit, as you will be asked to use this information at the end of Unit 2.

This video offers a simple framework to organize priorities and figure out the urgency of tasks. Try to create an ABCD task framework. Spend some time and organize your tasks according to the ABCD task framework.

In this video, Nick offers another way to organize and prioritize your tasks. He gives a simple framework to categorize tasks. Try this method to decide if the 3 Ps method sits well with you.

In this short video, Evil Genius Leadership Consultants offer a framework for prioritizing tasks. Thinking consciously about priorities is an important exercise.

In this video, Peter Gerlach defines stress. He gives a broad overview of what stress is and how we can name stress in our life. After watching, write down the stressors in your life. Please continue to maintain a record of how long you are spending in each sub-section of this Unit.

In this video, Ameer Rosic offers a framework for finding and reacting/responding to stress. The video gives practical tips on reframing stressors and responses to them. After you watch this video, try to find a few stressors in your life and write down how you normally respond to them.

The Pomodoro technique is one of the best ways to find your attention span. In this video, the speaker explains the Pomodoro technique for time management and attention span. While she uses 25 minutes as an exmple, I encourage you to find what works best for you through trial and error. Some of us have longer attention spans than others. Try to break up your hour into work and break. For some, this will mean a 43-minute uninterrupted session followed by a 17-minute break. Spend the next week finding your Pomodoro number.

In this video, Katie Taylor describes the Pomodoro technique in detail. She explains the technique, using the 25-minute method with a 5-minute break. She describes that after four Pomodoros, you get a 15-minute break. Experiment with the Pomodoro technique and the timing of breaks to see what works best for you.

Many jobs and situations need multitasking, such as driving, riding a bike, or reading music while playing an instrument. This video describes why multitasking in more general terms is bad for our brain, and how we can be more productive by focusing instead of trying to multitask. Using the Pomodoro technique from above, try to focus instead of multitasking, and see how much you do.

In this video, Ralph provides a framework for commitment instead of multitasking and the difference between working "in parallel" and multitasking. Using the word multitasking is a misnomer, and we should focus on working "in parallel" as our paradigm for speaking about task management. Ralph’s focus is on engineering, but you can use his ideas outside of engineering.

After you have finished watching, spend at least 30 minutes writing about the difference between multitasking and parallel working. Give examples of times when you were multitasking when you should have been working in parallel and the toll doing so took on your work.

This activity has two parts. For the first part, you will need your record of how much time you spent on the resources and activities assigned within Unit 2. If you did not keep such a record, go back now and estimate the time commitment you made to Unit 2.

In this video, you will learn how to implement stress management strategies in the workplace. This video focuses on building resilience and emotional agility. The speaker offers three main strategies, and the online seminar is interactive. Be sure to have a pen and paper ready to do the exercises.

In this short video, Earl offers up the top workplace distractions and how to avoid them. What are your top distractions? In your notes, please write down a list of your top 10 distractions and ideas you have gotten from this course about how you can avoid them. Share your list and your solutions in the discussion forum.

Sometimes, we cannot overcome stress on our own. Please explore the different avenues that exist for people to find help when their stress is more than they can handle on their own. If you believe that you do not need this, still do the exercise because there is a good chance someone you know is struggling and might need resources. List any additional resources you find in the discussion forum.