Productivity & Self-management

A short dev.talk discussing approaches to productivity & time/self-management like Pomodoro & Personal Kanban and how to scale up

Transcript

1. Productivity & Self-management Some techniques, and when to use them Dev.Talk August 2015 Thomas Mentzel & Marcel Körtgen
2. Motivation
3. Agenda • Pomodoro Technique • Personal Kanban • Extending to Teams
4. Pomodoro Technique • http://pomodorotechnique.com/ • http://tomato-timer.com/ • Clean Coder → http://bit.ly/1PnDUiI
5. Pomodoro Technique •is 25 mins of focussed work •followed by 5 mins of recap and review •requires to eliminate all distractions (inform, negotiate, and call back)
6. Five basic steps 1.Decide on the task to be done 2.Set the pomodoro timer to n minutes (traditionally 25) 3.Work on the task until the timer rings 4.Take a short break (3–5 minutes) • Review your task recently done • Plan your task for the next pomodore • Get a cup of coffee or do something else 5.After four pomodori, take a longer break (15–30 minutes)
7. Pomodoro Technique •schedule your day with pomodori •split your task into 25 mins pomodori •is NOT 16 pomodori a day •but it can schedule your housework as well
8. Distraction free working • Turn off email, social media, mobile phone, etc •Keep your desk clean and distraction free •Make yourself comfortable •In case you listen to music, choose wise •→ http://mtcb.pwop.com/ •In case of a phone call, a question from a colleague or any other disruption, try to postpone this to your break. → http://bit.ly/1MF3SRk (7 Ways To Beat Distraction)
9. Summary •Frequent breaks keep your mind fresh and focused •Help you crank through projects faster by forcing you to adhere to strict timing •Increases productivity and reduces context switching •...find more pros and cons on your own! → give Pomodoro a try
10. Personal Kanban
13. Only two hard rules 1. Visualize your work 2. Limit your Work-In-Progress (WIP) Implications 1.Beware of „shadow work“ 2.Allow for frequent prioritization 3.Pull, not Push (follows from rule 2) 4.Reflect on tasks to optimize flow
14. • You have two hands • You can only juggle so many things at a time • The more you add, the more likely it is that you will drop something.
15. • A freeway can operate from 0 to 100 percent capacity • But when a freeway’s capacity gets over about 65%, it starts to slow down • When it reaches 100% capacity – it stops.
16. Research shows that multitasking: • degrades short-term memory • creates stress → invokes primitive brain parts • increases error rate → adds cost (fixes needed) • some brain parts are sequential processors • adds load to prefrontal cortex → degrades cognitive ability
17. Why it works • Comprehension • Kinesthetic Feedback • Learning • Pattern Recognition • Existential Overhead • Narratives & Maps
18. Extending to Teams
19. Extending to Teams • Kanban • Optimize Flow/Throughput → Efficiency (Kaizen) • Scrum • Envisioning / Backlog Grooming • Sprint Planning, Retrospective • Release Planning • Optimizes Direction → Effectivity (Kaikaku) • Scaling up • Scrum of Scrums (SoS) • SAFe • Three Horizons
21. Summary • Individual • Pomodoro • Pairing works extremely well, though • Personal Kanban • Easy to extend to Teams, Family, … • Teams: More layers of feedback loops • Daily Standup • Sprint • Release • Three horizons
22. Some References • Pomodoro & Kanban (KanbanFlow) • Produktivität mit System (t3n Themen special) • Rory Vaden: How to multiply your time (TEDx) • Why & How To Limit Your WIP (@ourfounder) • Multitasking Gets You There Later (InfoQ) • Jim Benson: Personal Kanban 101 (SlideShare) • Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
23. Thank You Time for Questions!