The document discusses various time management techniques, emphasizing the importance of prioritization and task organization. It outlines methods like Pareto analysis, ABC prioritization, and the Pomodoro technique, as well as the significance of breaking down projects into milestones and tasks. Additionally, it highlights tools for improving productivity and reducing interruptions, while humorously reflecting on the challenges of balancing work and personal life.

1. Don’t get whacked out poo brain
Ian Lurie – CEO & Founder, Portent, Inc.
Tweet with webinar attendees:
#mozinar
Technical problems or feedback:
Please email team@seomoz.org

2. THESE ARE THE LINKS
http://portent.co/poobrain

3. I AM NOT A GURU

4. OH MY GLOB!!!!!
ADVENTURE TIME.
GREATEST. SHOW. EVER.

5. MY DAY

6. Workout or
bike to work
pew

7. 200+ ‘real’ e-mails
love your blog.
I have an article
you might want
to publish...

8. Questions from
the team
?

9. Answer 20-30
tweets
ian, you misspelled
'floccinaucinhiliphification'
on your last post

10. Curate some
cool stuff
whoa.

11. 2 hours on
tools
!=, not <>,
dammit.

12. 2-3 sales calls
yessir. nosir. yessir.
right away, sir.

13. Presentation or
blog post
or SEOMOZ Q&A
or Quora
losing… grip… on
reality...

14. The kids

15. The spouse

16. The cats
feed us, furless 2-
legged oppressor.
we've had a hard day.

17. The guinea pig
nobody knows the
troubles i've seen...

18. The hamster
seeds! want seeds!
now now!

19. Work shit
Home shit
Random shit
Sleep

20. whacked
out poobrain
i no crazy. I
just getz all
the jokes.

21. Assignments
Whoopsies
Questions
Interruption cost
Small projects

22. TIME MANAGEMENT

23. WHY MOST TIME
MANAGEMENT METHODS
SUCK

24. HINT: THEY’RE NOT TIME
MANAGEMENT METHODS

25. Random shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignorRandom shit to ignor
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignorRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Random shit to ignoreRandom shit to ignore
Projects
Milestone
Task Task Task Task
Milestone
From Wikipedia.org

26. Projects
Milestone
Task Task Task Task
Milestone
From PopHangover.com

27. Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
TaskTask Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
INTERRUPTION
INTERRUPTION

28. METHODS THAT DON’T SUCK

29. PARETO ANALYSIS
80% of the tasks can be handled in 20% of your time.

30. ABC
Prioritization

31. GTD
Have a trusted system for getting stuff out of your head.

32. KANBAN
Another good task management technique with
backlog/working/done as its structure.
image from wikipedia.org

33. POMODORO
Work in sprints.

34. WARHAMMER 40K
Of course… wait. What.

36. Time management is a game...

37. ...and we’re all gamers.

38. Time management makes you
better at what you do.

39. Time management is
part of your job.

40. Time management is
part of your life.

41. THE GOALS

42. Assignments
Whoopsies
Questions
Interruption cost
Small projects
CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN

43. REDUCE INTERRUPTION COST
5:00 interruption
5:00 to get back on track

44. MINIMIZE REPEAT WORK
6 screws per
foot? I thought
you said mile?!!!

45. PRIORITIZE
1. Fly to distant planet on a guess.
2. Pet nasty-looking alien snake
creature.
3. Act surprised when it eats me.
4. Hire geologist who can’t find way
out of cave.
5. Awaken 12-foot-tall blue alien guy.
6. Act surprised when it beats me
senseless.
7. Run to the side.
dammit

46. ASK ?S ONCE

47. EMPTY YOUR HEAD

48. THE STRUCTURE

49. PROJECTS
MILESTONES
TASKS

50. PROJECTS
Major objectives, goals or jobs
requiring completion with multiple
milestones and an established
due date.

51. Deliverables that change the
status of something, specify a
recipient, and have a due date.
MILESTONES

52. “Have doctor check weird
rash before Friday.”
MILESTONES

53. “Have doctor check weird
rash before Friday.”
MILESTONES
Implicit deliverable:
Report identifying rash

54. “Have doctor check weird
rash before Friday.”
MILESTONES
Dr. is recipient.

55. MILESTONES
Status from “unknown” to
“known”
“Have doctor check weird
rash before Friday.”

56. MILESTONES
Due date
“Have doctor check weird
rash before Friday.”

57. MILESTONES
A correctly defined milestone
reduces repeat work.

58. TASKS
Let you record & prioritize
little bits of your day, so you
can empty your head.

59. Some tasks are...

60. BUT NOT ALL

61. Everything you do, all day, every day.
Tasks are...

62. OK, not everything

63. The basic unit of productive time.
Tasks are...

64. No in-focus task > 45 minutes.
TASKS

65. Not all tasks have milestones, but
all milestones have tasks.
TASKS

66. Are atomic
Are planned daily
Come into focus over time
TASKS

68. The consistent building block of
your milestone.
Atomic

69. Can’t easily be broken down into
smaller parts.
Atomic

70. “Add TED video to POCKET”
is atomic
Atomic

71. “Create presentation”
is not atomic
Atomic

72. Every day.
Daily

73. Tasks planned 7 days ahead,
maximum.
Focus over time

74. More focused
30-45 min each.
Less focused
More like milestones.

75. AN EXAMPLE

76. SEO CAMPAIGN

77. Project: SEO for Nazgul Cyclery
Milestones:
Initial site audit 7/24
Tasks:
Crawl site
Collate js blocks
Find soft redirects
Unravel canonical spaghetti
…
Write report
Deliver to client
Review w/ client
Keyword map 8/15
First round reccs 8/24

78. HEY, FRANK, GOT A
SECOND…
OH GOD NO!!!!
BUT… INTERRUPTIONS

79. HAVE A ROUTINE

80. THE SWEEP

81. INPUTS

82. Can you do it in 3 minutes or less?
Do it now.
Should someone else handle it?
Delegate.
Will it take longer? Make a task/
project/milestone.

83. SUNDAY/MONDAY
LIST & PRIORITIZE
Sweep
Projects
Milestones/project
Tasks/milestone
Tasks w/ no project/milestone

84. EVERY MORNING
SWEEP
Take the next 3-4 tasks/milestones. If
necessary, break them up and bring them into
focus. That’s your to-do list.

85. DURING THE DAY
45 minutes on your next to-do.
5-10 minutes doing another sweep, etc.

86. DURING THE DAY
Ask a question? Record the answer.
Answer a question? Record the question.
Have an idea? Record it.

87. INVEST 15 MINUTES
TO SAVE 30
FIND BETTER WAYS TO DO STUFF.

88. EXAMPLES

89. FIND/PRINT/LEARN GMAIL SHORTCUTS
5:00, ONCE
TIME SAVED PER DAY
15:00

90. FIND/INTALL/LEARN TEXTEXPANDER
1 HOUR
TIME SAVED PER DAY
30:00, OR 3.5 HOURS/WEEK

91. CONGRATS! YOU CAN
WATCH 2 MORE EPISODES!

92. MEASUREMENT & IMPROVEMENT

93. MEASURING

94. TOGGL.COM

95. RescueTime
RESCUE TIME

96. POMODORO

97. OLD-FASHIONED

98. OLD-FASHIONED

99. THIS IS NOT BILLABLE
HOURS TRACKING!!
IT’S MEASUREMENT.

100. MEASURE AS YOU
WORK, NOT AFTER.
(EMPTY YOUR HEAD)

101. TOOLS THAT REDUCE
REPEAT WORK

102. USE THE MOUSE LESS
REDUCE REPEAT WORK

103. learn your keyboard shortcuts

104. Texter for Windows

105. ,ga = http://www.google.com/analytics

106. ,p = <p></p>

107. ;jewwatch
Our first step is getting links removed from sites that had no intention of helping Jew Watch rank. I've
built a list of the 'unintentional boosters'. I need folks to contact these sites.Your assignment, should
you choose to accept it, is:Please do the following:- Find out who to contact to remove the link from the
above page(s).- Contact them and ask politely if they'd remove the link. You can use this message, or
write your own:=====Dear ,I have a favor to ask. We're trying to make sure that jewwatch.com can no
longer rank in the top 10 on Google for the word 'jew'. You wrote an article about the site, which
included a link to Jew Watch. I know you didn't intend to help this site, but your link, even if it's
nofollowed, is boosting JewWatch.com's authority.If you could remove the link (you don't have to
change the article!) it would help us a great deal.Thanks,====="

108. lorem3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et
dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip
ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore
eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia
deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."
"
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium,
totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta
sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia
consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui
dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi
tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam,
quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi
consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae
consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"
"
At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum
deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident,
similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum
quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio
cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda
est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum
necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque
earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur
aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat."

109. CONSOLIDATE INPUTS
REDUCE REPEAT WORK
EMPTY YOUR BRAIN

117. LEARN TO USE EXCEL &
WORD THE RIGHT WAY
REDUCE REPEAT WORK

120. tables

121. vlookup

122. pivot tables

123. TOOLS FOR TASKS, LISTS
AND STUFF
ASK QUESTIONS ONCE
EMPTY YOUR HEAD

124. Workflowy
Task management

125. TeuxDeux
Task management

126. Evernote
Personal knowledge base
Task manager
Everything

127. Evernote

128. Todo.txt

129. Todo.txt
Uses pure text files.
Totally future-proof.
Never crashes.

130. emacs & org mode

131. emacs & org mode
super l33t nerd cred

132. 1Password

133. Dropbox
Use it to stay in sync
todo.txt
dropbox
laptop
phone
pc
1Password

134. WHAT’S IN IT
FOR ME?

135. HANDLE INTERRUPTIONS

136. LESS TIME ON THIS

137. FEWER OF THESE

138. From Wikipedia.org

139. THESE ARE THE LINKS
http://portent.co/poobrain

140. Q+A Time!
@seomoz + @portentint
www.seomoz.org
help@seomoz.org
http://seomoz.org/webinars