Lesson notes, exercises, downloads, and recommended reading are below the video. On mobile, the video will rescale when you play it.


Special Time: and How to Use it to Work Effectively

If you want to work effectively and be as productive as possible, you need to use the Special Time you have available to its fullest.

So, in this video, let’s look at what Special Time is, and the five types of special time you can use.

Watching this video is worth 2 Management Courses CPD Points*.
(See below for more details)

This video is part of course module number 1.6.1
Program 1: Managing Yourself
Course 6: Personal Productivity
Section 1: Effective Working

Relevant videos in the same section as this video include:
==============================================
– The Power of Habits: Productivity through Effective Working
https://youtu.be/kXmz_E8yUGw
– Organization: How to Enhance Your Productivity by Being Organized
https://youtu.be/2eUYH0z2yiQ
– Use your Energy Cycles for More Effective Working and Greater Productivity
https://youtu.be/q_s0FkWISLo
– Wellbeing: What to do to Increase Your Productivity
https://youtu.be/dkJEtKSR_Yw
– The Flow State… and How Flow Can Help You Work Effectively
… https://youtu.be/8uBamPRhc4E

LESSON NOTES
=============
There are times in your week that are particularly well-suited to specific attetion: ‘Special Time’. There are 5 types of special time.

Golden Hour
A special time when we are absolutely at our peak of energy and creativity, when work just flows easily.

Prime Time
Prime times are the slots in the day when your energy will be high, which you set aside for important or difficult work/activities.

Creative Time
Times when you are at peak creativity. Maybe: daydreaming on the bus, sitting at a café, or in the shower. Let your thoughts wander and listen to your insights.

The Next Bend
Set aside time in your working week to take yourself off quietly to think about what’s coming around the next bend. What are you missing when your head is buried in time-critical priorities?

Focus Time
The gaps between activities – like the fifteen minutes before a meeting you’ve arrived early for – are moments of freedom. You have nothing you must do, so you can choose one thing and focus on it totally. These can be very productive moments or, equally, very relaxing.

RECOMMENDED EXERCISE
======================
1. Think about when your own Golden Hour is. Change your routine to make best use of it. (2 MC CPD Points)
2. When are you at your most energetic? Use this knowledge to schedule your most demanding activities. You may also want to take a look at our video ‘Use your Energy Cycles for More Effective Working and Greater Productivity’ – https://youtu.be/q_s0FkWISLo (2 MC CPD Points)
3. Consider when you are at your most creative. If you need to stimulate ideas, you’ll be able to make use of this knowledge. (1 MC CPD Point)
4. Do you set aside time to think about what’s coming around the next bend? If not, find time in your diary over the next few weeks and schedule the next four sessions. Better still schedule a recurring event. You can always change the timing to suit circumstances. (2 MC CPD Points)
5. Next time you have a chance to fill a gap in your diary with a single focused activity that uses your time well… take it. Repeat. (1 MC CPD Point for each of the first 4 uses of this principle – 1×4 MC CPD Points )

DOWNLOADS
===========
Free Resources
– CPD Tools – https://gum.co/MC-CPD
Paid resources
– Management Courses Onboarding Kit – https://gum.co/MC-ObK ($3)

RECOMMENDED READING
=====================
I’ll be as modest as I can. I’m something of an expert on effective working, personal productivity, & time management, with 4 best-selling books by 3 international publishers:
– The Time Management Pocketbook
https://geni.us/gHa4
– How to Manage Your Time
https://geni.us/Cpvp
– Powerhouse: Turbo Boost Your Effectiveness and Start Making a Serious Impact
https://geni.us/H7GDizc
– The Yes/No Book: How to do less… and achieve more
https://geni.us/yhF90n

And here are my picks from the thousands of other books on personal productivity, effective working, & time management:
– The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
https://geni.us/Zulp
– The Power of Habit: Why we Do what we Do, and How to Change
https://geni.us/vNtXd4
– Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
https://geni.us/JxTY
– Eat that Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating
https://geni.us/48Y1LlC

Management Courses Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Points
===========================================================
You can record your Management Courses CPD points on our free, downloadable CPD record log.
Download it here: https://gum.co/MC-CPD

Each video has two levels of MC CPD points. For this video:
– If you simply watched the video, record 2 MC CPD points
– If you also carried out all of the recommended exercises, score a total of 13 MC CPD points
___

Note:
Links to our book recommendations are affiliated through Amazon

#Productivity #EffectiveWorking #SpecialTime

source

How to Manage Your Time Efficiently: Management Primer
Strategic Time Management: What and How
How to Use the Kanban Method for Time Management
How Does the Chain Method of Time Management Work?
How Does the Autofocus Time Management Method Work?
How Does the Getting Things Done Time Management Method Work?
What is the Pomodoro Technique? Working in Sprints
Eating Frogs: A Solution to Procrastination
How to Handle Interruptions and Distractions
How to Say NO: Noble Objection – the Ultimate in Time Management
How to Handle Overload: When Time Management is Not Enough
How to Clear a Backlog – The 4 Rs Method
Prioritization with the Pareto Principle – the 80-20 Rule
Prioritization: Understand Urgent and Important
To Do List and 7 Other Time Management Lists You Should Use Instead
Time Management with The OATS Principle
Goal Setting: The Start of Your Time Management
Activity Log: Logging Your Time and Activities
Email Wrangling: How to Manage Your Email for Greater Productivity
Monkey Management: How to Deal with a Monkey on Your Back
The Flow State… and How Flow Can Help You Work Effectively
Overcome Overwhelm: Dealing with the Feeling of Being Overwhelmed
Conquer Procrastination: How to Avoid Putting Things Off
Three Types of Procrastination… and Why 2 are Good
Failure of Multitasking: The Multitasking Myth
Milestones and Deadlines for Self-Motivation and Greater Productivity
Wellbeing: What to do to Increase Your Productivity
Use your Energy Cycles for More Effective Working and Greater Productivity
Planning, Preparation, and Follow-up: Effective Working for Better Productivity
Organization: How to Enhance Your Productivity by Being Organized
The Power of Habits: Productivity through Effective Working

Mike Clayton

About Mike Clayton 

Dr Mike Clayton is a (former) Project Manager and now a management educator. Having trained thousands of people at live workshops, seminars, and conferences, he now delivers training mainly via video. He has 14 books with international publishers and runs two successful YouTube channels. He is also the founder of OnlinePMCourses.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Never miss a good story!

 Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest trends!