Presentation by Daniele Miorandi, Chief Executive Officer at U-Hopper (Italy), at the FogGuru Boot Camp training in September 2018.

1. Time management 101
Daniele Miorandi
daniele.miorandi@u-hopper.com

2. Objectives of today
● How to get the most out of your time (in the
office)
○ No theory
○ Just hacks
■ “It just works”
○ Some tools to help

3. The company perspective

4. Improve productivity

6. The employee perspective

8. Avoid frustration

9. Avoid stress

10. … as much as possible ;)

11. Time management: the basics

12. #1: Know what you should do
#2: Know what to do
#3: Just do it

13. #1: Know what you should do

14. Know what you should do: the backlog
● Keep a list (better: set) of things to do (even in the long term)
● Update it as new things pop up
● Keep it simple (and messy)
The key point is NOT TO FORGET things you should do (sooner or later)

15. Rules
1. Keep a list of all things you should do

16. #2: Know what to do

17. Know what to do: the todos
● PLANNING: Pick up from the backlog what you will be doing over a
reasonably short time period
○ Day/Week
○ My take: next 2-3 days
● How to pick up?
○ Deadlines
○ Priorities
○ Feasibility

18. Know what to do: the todos (cont’d)
● How to pick up?
○ Deadlines
■ In the backlog always indicates deadlines for tasks when known (even if far in the future)
○ Priorities
■ It is hard to prioritize tasks properly
■ Key question is not “What I’d like to do most”
■ “What is more likely to make a difference for the business of the company?”
■ Talk with colleagues if uncertain (we don’t micro-manage but we can try helping)
○ Feasibility
■ If you know you have a busy week ahead do not move to the todos tasks that will take
too long. Keep more time in the following week in case. Camel does not fit through the
eye of a needle.

19. Rules
1. Keep a list of all things you should do
2. Keep a list of the things you have to do this week: prioritize
3. Keep a list of the things you have to do today: prioritize

20. The tools: kanban
● 看板 = billboard
● Originally introduced by Toyota for managing manufacturing process (‘lean
manufacturing’)
● We use the term to denote a way of visualizing work and workflows
● Kanban can be physical (post-it) or digital (e.g., trello)

21. The tools: trello
● Use a tool for keeping track of backlogs and todos
● Trello is good enough for that
● Keep a board with all your stuff
○ Why not filtering existing boards? We already use Trello in the company…
○ See next!
● Lists: Backlog, Todos, Doing, Verification/Testing, Done

22. Example: my Trello board

24. #3: Just do it

25. Execution:
where most things go wrong

26. What you need
● Discipline
● Endurance
● Focus

28. What you need: details
● Discipline
○ Get shit done
● Endurance
● Focus

30. What you need: details
● Discipline
○ Get shit done
● Endurance
○ Do not give up
● Focus

32. What you need: details
● Discipline
○ Get shit done
● Endurance
○ Do not give up
● Focus
○ One thing at a time

33. Tools: Calendar
● Use your calendar to schedule time for things in your todo list
○ Side effect: keep your priorities
● Follow your calendar
○ It’s your Sgt. Hartman!

34. Tools: Calendar (cont’d)
● Avoid schedule bulimia
● Helps making sure your plan is
feasible
○ In case of new priorities popping up
helps you understand where they
may fit
○ (No, 3 meetings at the same time
are not feasible…)

35. Tools: Trello
● Your ‘doing’ list should not contain more than 1 (3?) cards
● Bottom line #1: do not leave stuff unfinished
● Bottom line #2: avoid too much context switching

36. Notification is evil
● Switch off any sort of desktop notifications you may have
● Keep focus, avoid unnecessary distractions when working

37. Manage distractions
● Distractions are unavoidable. Don’t fight them, manage them!
● Plan when you will take time to do your own stuff
○ Darts
○ Email
○ Skype
○ Facebook
○ Coffee/Tea
○ Whatsapp
○ Slack
○ You name it..
● Answering to my email/skype/slack in real time is NOT a good sign

39. Manage distractions (cont’d)
● Plan time for breaks!
● My take:
○ Every 1 hr 10’ break to check
email/skype/slack/horoscope/whatever
■ I SAID 10 MINUTES!
○ At the end of the day 30’ to sort out whatever you did
not manage to do during the 10’ breaks

42. Bonus #1: Goal setting
● (Disclaimer: applies only to some activities)
● Set goals for your week
○ E.g., this week I want to get 50 new Twitter followers
○ E.g., this week I want to get a new contract signed
○ E.g., this week I want to write 35kLOC (of, this is bullshit, I know..)
● Goals typically do not match 1-to-1 to tasks
● They can be useful for keeping focus
○ What is really important?
● ...and to ACHIEVE things
○ Make sure things get closed, not just “do stuff”
● Not always applicable

43. Bonus #2: Routines
● (Disclaimer: depends on personal taste)
● May be useful if you work on different projects/products/types of activities to
plan a weekly routine
○ E.g., Monday & Tuesday only RetailerIN dev; Wednesday & Thursday Tapoi dev; Friday
testing and release

44. Rules
1. Keep a list of all things you should do
2. Keep a list of the things you have to do this week: prioritize
3. Keep a list of the things you have to do today: prioritize
4. Use the calendar to plan when to do certain things
5. If your calendar tells you to do something, you do it
6. Do not start new things unless you have finished what you are doing
7. (Variation of #6) Do not start new things unless the CEO tells you to do so
8. All notifications be switched off
9. You plan for your breaks
10. When you play, you play. But when you work, you work

46. This training material is part of the FogGuru project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon
2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 765452. The
information and views set out in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on
their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.