Show of hands: who finds themselves constantly trying to catch up on homework and studying?
Me too.
Some days I get bursts of inspiration and write half a dozen articles ahead of schedule while other days I'm drawing a blank and scramble to write something at the last minute.
Luckily, the internet holds a nifty tool to help get our brains and schedules on track. Three tools, actually. I searched through dozens of free online time management tools, techniques, videos, and classes and chose the three best ones. I'll give you a brief description of each so you can choose which one is most suited to you!
1. Ed Gandia’s 50-Minute Focus Technique
I love Ed Gandia. He's a highly successful B2B freelance editor. I've learned so much from him as I build my own freelance editing business and I can confirm him 50-minute Focus Technique is pure gold. Follow the link to read his article! Essentially, you shut off all distractions, set a timer for 50 minutes, and hard-core focus on work. When the timer goes off, set it for 20 minutes and take a mental break. Walk around, do some yoga or meditating, complete a quick house chore, etc. Do something away from your desk. Rinse and repeat!
2. Tedx Talk: Chris Bailey’s “A More Human Approach to Productivity”
I also love Tedx Talks. Love them. You will never fail to learn something new from a Tedx Talk. In Chris Bailey's TedxLiverpool video, he explains a new way of think about productivity. He describes a productivity experiment he conducted and what he found. Is productivity really about how busy you are? Or how fast you can get something done? I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to watch Chris's video to find out! (Relax, it's less than 20 minutes)
3. Skillshare.com "Real Productivity"
Skillshare.com offers A LOT of video classes. The most popular one I found is "Real Productivity: Create Your Ideal Week" by Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Skillshare's founder! The class includes six mini-videos totaling 23 minutes. Quick and easy! Michael's class includes an optional class project where students may share their current productivity methods (or methods they just learned because that's why we're taking the class, right?). The videos detail Michael's "Plan, Do, Review" strategy with exercises, an "Ideal Week" demo calendar, and four productivity app suggestions.
There is a catch… (Always, right?) You can sign up for a one-month free trial. So it's only one month of free stuff but if you utilize the production methods and thoroughly study the videos, you should get a fulfilling month of classes!
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