7 METHODS TO INCREASE

PERSONAL
PRODUCTIVITY
BY ANE CECILIE EKERN
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. PERSONAL KANBAN 4

3. ONE MINUTE TO-DO LIST 7

4. EISENHOWER DECISION MATRIX 10

5. ACTION PRIORITY MATRIX 13

6. THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE 16

7. GETTING THINGS DONE (GTD) 18

8. ZEN TO DONE (ZTD) 21

 1. INTRODUCTION

“PRODUCTIVITY IS NEVER AN ACCIDENT.

IT IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF A COMMITMENT
TO EXCELLENCE, INTELLIGENT PLANNING,
AND FOCUSED EFFORT.”
PAUL J. MEYER

OVERVIEW OF PRODUCTIVITY METHODS

There are several different systems and methods to increase productivity. In this
guide, you will get to know seven different methods and learn how to use them.

METHOD WHAT? HOW? FOR WHO?

People who have a hard time
A visual task/project Visualize your workflow and
PERSONAL KANBAN finishing tasks/projects before
management system limit work in progress
starting new ones

Organize all your to-dos in 3 People who have daunting

A to-do list system
ONE MINUTE TO-DO LIST lists; Critical Now, Opportunities to-do lists and need a smarter
based on urgency
Now and Over-The-Horizon way to organize them

A visual method for Evaluate your tasks based on People who find it hard
EISENHOWER MATRIX
prioritizing tasks urgency and importance to prioritize tasks

A visual method for Evaluate your tasks based on People who find it hard
ACTION PRIORITY MATRIX
prioritizing tasks impact and effort to prioritize tasks

Time your work; 25 minute

A time-management People who get
POMODORO TECHNIQUE uninterrupted work sessions,
method easily distracted
followed by 5 minute breaks

Manage your workflow in five People who want a system

A work-life management
GETTING THINGS DONE steps; (1) Collect, (2) Process, (3) to organize everything
system
Organize, (4) Review and (5) Do in their life

People who need a system that

A system for developing 10 habits to help you get
FROM ZEN TO DONE focuses on executing tasks,
productive habits organized and get things done
not just organizing them

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 2. PERSONAL KANBAN

“CONSIDER A SYSTEM THAT FLOWS LIKE A

STREAM AND FOCUSES YOUR ATTENTION,
BOTH ON THE TASK AT HAND AND ON
MAKING YOUR PROCESS MORE EFFECTIVE.
THAT’S WHAT PERSONAL KANBAN IS.”
JERRY MICHALSKI

WHAT?

Personal Kanban is a productivity system created by Jim Benson.

Kanban gives you a visual overview of your work, and the word itself means
“Visible card” in Japanese. The traditional Kanban method was originally
invented as a part of the famous Toyota Production System in the 1940s. It was
later adopted into software development, and today it’s used in all kinds of
industries. Personal Kanban is based on the traditional Kanban system,
but adapted to personal task management.

TO DO IN PROGRESS COMPLETED

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 HOW?
Personal Kanban is based on these two principles;

VISUALIZE YOUR WORK LIMIT WORK IN PROGRESS

Visualization helps you see the big Limiting work in progress enables

picture, enabling better decision- you to focus on the tasks at hand

making and increased effectiveness. and increase your efficiency.

To get started with your personal kanban, follow these four steps:

1. DECIDE ON A WORKFLOW

Your workflow is a visual representation of your work from start to finish. A typical

workflow is “To do”, “In progress” and “Completed”.

2. CREATE A BACKLOG

Your backlog is a collection of uncategorized tasks that are yet to be handled.

Tasks are moved from your backlog to your “To do” column when you are ready to

start working on them.

3. SET LIMITS FOR WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP)

A WIP-limit is the amount of tasks you can handle at once. Start with a number

that is realistic, and adjust as you go. If your WIP-limit is 3, you should never

have more than 3 tasks in the “in progress”-column. A WIP limit forces

you to focus on finishing the tasks at hand before you can start new ones.

4. START PULLING TASKS THROUGH YOUR WORKFLOW

Prioritize which tasks you should work on first, and pull them over to the “In

progress”-column. When you’ve finished a task, move it to the “Completed” column.

FURTHER READING:
”Personal Kanban” by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry

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CREATE YOUR PERSONAL KANBAN

IN UPWAVE

In Upwave, you can create beautiful Kanban boards customized with your favorite
colors and background images. Select the ”Simple to-do”-template and choose
which colors you’d like to use. You can also you use blank board and create it
yourself - just add 4 columns; ”Backlog”, ”To do”, ”In progress” and ”Completed”.
Drag and drop tasks between columns to visualize progress. Use colors to prioritize
your tasks. Find the perfect background in our image-gallery or upload your own.

GET STARTED

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 3. ONE MINUTE TO-DO LIST

“EVERY ONE MINUTE YOU SPEND

PLANNING WILL SAVE YOU AT LEAST
THREE MINUTES IN EXECUTION.”
CRAWFORD GREENEWALT

WHAT?

The One Minute To-Do list (1MTD) is a productivity system developed by Michael
Linenberger (2011). The system is based on organizing your to-dos in 3 lists;

1. Critical Now: Tasks that are absolutely due today

2. Opportunities Now: Tasks that are urgent, but can wait up to 10 days
3. Over-The-Horizon: Tasks that can wait 10 days or more

It’s called the One Minute To-Do list because it takes just a minute to set it up
and a minute to review it each day.

CRITICAL NOW OPPORTUNITIES NOW OVER-THE-HORIZON

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 HOW?

Start by creating 3 different lists based on urgency; “Critical now”,” Opportunities now”

and “Over-the-horizon”. Use 20 seconds on each list and braindump all tasks that come

to your mind.

CRITICAL NOW
✓✓ Write down tasks that are absolutely due today.

✓✓ These tasks would impact you negatively if you don’t do them today.

✓✓ Keep the list to 5 items or less,

✓✓ Review this list once each hour.

OPPORTUNITIES NOW

✓✓ Write down tasks that are urgent, but can wait up to 10 days.

✓✓ These are tasks you would do today if you had the opportunity.

✓✓ Keep the list to 20 items or less.

✓✓ Review this list once each day.

OVER-THE-HORIZON

✓✓ Write down all tasks that can wait 10 days or more.

✓✓ These are not urgent, but writing them down gives a mental relief.

✓✓ Review this list once a week.

FURTHER READING:
”The One Minute To-Do list” by Michael Linenberger

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CREATE YOUR ONE MINUTE TO-DO

LIST IN UPWAVE

Make your one minute to-do list digital with Upwave. Select the ”One Minute To-Do List”-
template. You can change the colors on your cards and add your own background if you
like. Start adding tasks to the different columns and set due dates on them. Remember
to assign the tasks to yourself! You can also add one column called ”Completed”, where
you put your tasks when they’re finished.

GET STARTED

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4. EISENHOWER DECISION MATRIX

“I HAVE TWO KINDS OF PROBLEMS,

THE URGENT AND THE IMPORTANT.
THE URGENT ARE NOT IMPORTANT, AND
THE IMPORTANT ARE NEVER URGENT.”
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

WHAT?

The Eisenhower Decision matrix is a system for prioritizing your

tasks based on urgency and importance. It originates from the quote
above attributed to the former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The principle is pretty simple. You evaluate your task in terms of urgency and
importance, and then place them in different quadrants of the Eisenhower
Matrix, which gives you a visual overview of how to prioritize your tasks.

URGENT NOT URGENT

IMPORTANT

DO IT NOW DECIDE
NOT IMPORTANT

DELEGATE DELETE

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 HOW?

Start by setting up the matrix. Evaluate your task in terms of urgency and

importance, and then place them in different quadrants of the Eisenhower Matrix.

URGENT IMPORTANT

A task defined as urgent A task defined as important

requires immediate action or attention. often relates to long-term goals.

Examples: Projects with deadlines, Examples: Planning, research, design,

crises, pressing problems, or testing, capability improvements,

interruptions (calls, meetings, emails) relationship building and strategy.

1. URGENT AND IMPORTANT: DO IT NOW

If a task is both urgent and important, do it right away.

2. NOT URGENT, BUT IMPORTANT: DECIDE

If a task is important, but not urgent, set a due date and do it later.

3. URGENT, BUT NOT IMPORTANT: DELEGATE

If a task is urgent, but not important, delegate it to someone else.

4. NOT URGENT AND NOT IMPORTANT: DELETE

If a task is neither important nor urgent, it should not be prioritized.

By using the Eisenhower Matrix you get a better picture of how to prioritize
your tasks. Start by doing what’s important, ranked by urgency. If you
have capacity do to some of the non-important tasks, do them after you
finished all important tasks – or delegate/drop them depending on urgency.

FURTHER READING:
”Productivity for dummies” by Ciara Conlon

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CREATE YOUR EISENHOWER

MATRIX IN UPWAVE

Upwave supports both columns, rows and colorcoding of cards, which makes it a perfect
tool to create your Eisenhower Matrix. To get started, simply select the Eisenhower
template inside Upwave. Choose which colors you want to use for the 4 different
categories; Do, Decide, Delegate, Delete. We have used red (Do), green (Decide),
yellow (Delegate) and blue (Delete) in our template, but there are no rules – use the
colors you prefer! When you’re all set up, start adding your tasks in each quadrant.

GET STARTED

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 5. ACTION PRIORITY MATRIX

“PEOPLE WHO CAN FOCUS, GET THINGS DONE.

PEOPLE WHO CAN PRIORITIZE, GET
THE RIGHT THINGS DONE.”
JOHN MAEDA

WHAT?

The Action Priority Matrix is similar to the Eisenhower matrix, but the
focus is on impact and effort instead of importance and urgency. It
helps you see which tasks and projects that are worth your time.

LOW EFFORT HIGH EFFORT

HIGH IMPACT

QUICK WINS MAJOR PROJECTS

LOW IMPACT

THANKLESS
FILL-INS
TASKS

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 HOW?
Start by setting up the matrix. Evaluate your task in terms of effort and

impact, and then place them in different quadrants of the Action Priority

Matrix, which gives you a visual overview of how to prioritize your tasks.

EFFORT IMPACT
Effort represents the time or resources Impact represents the benefits you

required to complete a task or project. get from completing a task or project.

1. HIGH IMPACT, LOW EFFORT: QUICK WINS

Quick wins give you a high return for a low effort. These are the kind of tasks and

projects you want more of.

2. HIGH IMPACT, HIGH EFFORT: MAJOR PROJECTS

Major projects requires a lot of effort, but also has high impact. They should be

prioritized, but make sure you don’t focus all your time on these, because you could

miss out on potential quick wins.

3. LOW IMPACT, LOW EFFORT: FILL-INS

Fill ins don’t require a lot of effort, but they won’t give a high return either. These are

the kind of tasks and projects you can choose to work on when you have extra time

available, e.g. if you don’t have any quick wins or major projects on your to-do list.

4. LOW IMPACT, HIGH EFFORT: THANKLESS TASKS

Thankless tasks (or hard slogs) has the worst combination of impact vs effort, where

you put in a lot of work for a low return. These types of tasks should therefore be

avoided.

FURTHER READING:
”Productivity for Dummies” by Ciara Conlon

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CREATE YOUR ACTION PRIORITY

MATRIX IN UPWAVE

Upwave supports both columns, rows and colorcoding of cards, which makes it a
perfect tool to create your Action Priority Matrix. To get started, simply select the “Action
Priority Matrix” template inside Upwave, and update the columns, rows and colors to
match the Action Priority Matrix. Choose which colors you want to use for the 4 different
categories; Quick wins, Major projects, Fill ins, and Thankless Tasks. We have used pink
(Quick wins), purple (Major projects), orange (Fill ins) and blue (Thankless tasks) in our
template. When you’re all set up, start adding your tasks in each quadrant.

GET STARTED

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6. THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE

“UNTIL WE CAN MANAGE TIME,

WE CAN MANAGE NOTHING ELSE.”
PETER F. DRUCKER

WHAT?

The Pomodoro technique is a time management system created by Francesco

Cirillo. It’s based on the concept of using a kitchen timer to manage your work
sessions. A Pomodoro is a 25 minute, uninterrupted work session. When you
finish a pomodoro, take a short break before you start a new one.

HOW?

1. Pick a task to work on

2. Use a timer and set it to 25 minutes

3. Work on the task at hand for 25 minutes

4. When you finish one pomodoro, take a 3-5 minute break

5. Set the timer for 25 minutes and start a new work session

6. After completing 4 pomodoros, take a 15-30 minute break

FURTHER READING:
“The Pomodoro Technique” by Francesco Cirillo

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TRACK AND ESTIMATE YOUR

POMODOROS IN UPWAVE

In Upwave, you can both track time and set estimates on your tasks making it a
perfect tool for implementing the pomodoro technique. Recording your pomodoros
in Upwave will help you see how you spend your time and where there is room
for improvement. Start by creating a board and enabling time tracking from the
board settings. Next, start adding your task and set estimates for how long you
think the tasks will take. Log all pomodoros that belongs to the task, with a short
description on what you did during each pomodoro. When you finish your task
you will have a visual report of how much time (or how many pomodoros) the task
actually required, which helps you set better estimates and manage your time better.

GET STARTED

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7. GETTING THINGS DONE (GTD)

“MUCH OF THE STRESS THAT PEOPLE FEEL DOESN’T

COME FROM HAVING TOO MUCH TO DO. IT COMES
FROM NOT FINISHING WHAT THEY’VE STARTED.”
DAVID ALLEN

WHAT?
“Getting Things Done (GTD)” is a work-life management system created
by the leading productivity expert and author David Allen. According to
Allen, there are five stages we go through when we deal with our work;

“We (1) collect things that command our attention; (2) process what they mean
and what to do about them; and (3) organize the results, which we (4) review as
options for what we choose to (5) do”.

(1) COLLECT ALL YOUR UNFINISHED ITEMS: Adaptation of the diagram from
TASKS, PROJECTS, COMMITMENTS David Allen’s book “Getting things done”

”INBOX”

(2) PROCESS
IS IT ACTIONABLE?

NO YES

MULTIPLE STEPS?
WHAT’S THE NEXT ACTION?

DOES IT TAKE LESS THAN 2 MINUTES?

(3) ORGANIZE YES NO

DELETE REFERENCE SOMEDAY DO IT NOW DEFER IT DELEGATE IT PROJECT

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 HOW?

As mentioned above, the GTD method consists of five stages for managing your

workflow. Let’s go through the steps in detail.

1. COLLECT

To clear your mind, you need to gather all your task, projects and commitments

and store them somewhere outside of your head - in a physical or digital ”inbox”.

2. PROCESS

The next step is to process all your items in the “inbox”. Go through the items

and clarify what they are and decide what needs to be done about them.

3. ORGANIZE

Organize all your tasks, projects and commitments into non-actionable or actionable

items. If no action is needed at moment, decide if it’s something you might look at later,

store as a reference or get rid off. If an action is needed and takes less than 2 minutes,

do it right away. If an action is needed, but takes longer than 2 minutes, you either

delegate it or defer it. If it’s a multi step project, put it in a “Current Projects”-list. Put

items you delegate in a “Waiting for”-list and items you defer in a “Next actions”-list.

4. REVIEW

Review all your tasks and projects weekly, so that you see the big picture and what

you should be prioritizing. Add new items to your “Inbox” and update your lists.

5. DO

Now that you have collected, processed, organized and reviewed

all your commitments, it’s time to decide what to start working on.

FURTHER READING:
”Getting Things Done” by David Allen

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CREATE YOUR GTD-SYSTEM

IN UPWAVE

Start by selecting the “Getting Things Done”-template. This boards consists of 6

columns: ”Inbox”, ”Someday/Maybe”, ”Next actions”, ”Current projects”, ”Waiting for”
and ”Completed”. Add all tasks, projects and commitments in the ”Inbox”-column. For
all items, decide if you should do it now (if it takes less than 2 minutes), defer it (move
to ”Next actions”-column), delegate it (move to ”Waiting for”-column”, store as project
(move to ”Current projects”-column), do it in the future (move to ”Someday/Maybe”-
column), save it as a reference or delete it. Use colors to reflect the action required, and
then move the items along to the appropriate column.

GET STARTED

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 8. ZEN TO DONE (ZTD)

“KEEP IT SIMPLE, AND FOCUS ON WHAT YOU

HAVE TO DO RIGHT NOW, NOT ON PLAYING
WITH YOUR SYSTEM OR YOUR TOOLS.”
LEO BABAUTA

WHAT?

Zen to Done (ZTD) is a productivity system developed by Leo Babauta

(2008). It’s an adaptation of “Getting Things Done”-system by David
Allen. Where as GTD is more about creating a system for organizing your
tasks, ZTD focuses on developing habits to actually get things done.

1. COLLECT Write down tasks, projects, commitments and ideas as they come up.

2. PROCESS Process all tasks, projects and other items you have collected and find out what to do about them.

3. PLAN Make a habit of listing the most important tasks (MITs) you want to accomplish every week.

4. DO The most important habit is to actually get things done. Choose a task, and focus on it until it’s done.

5. SIMPLE TRUSTED SYSTEM Keep your system simple. Create a list-based system that is easy to understand and maintain.

6. ORGANIZE Place items where they belong right away, e.g. in the right lists or folders - either digital or physical.

7. REVIEW Do a weekly review of your system and your goals.

8. SIMPLIFY Simplify your lists by removing everything that’s not essential.

9. ROUTINE Create good routines and keep them.

10. FIND YOUR PASSION When you’re passionate about your work, you will not procrastinate.

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 HOW?
Zen to done consists of 10 habits to help your get organized and get things done.

Start by focusing on the first four habits; collect, process, plan and do (called the

minimal ZTD). Then you can start adding more habits when you’ve adopted these.

1. COLLECT

Like the GTD-system, the first step is to form a habit of gathering all your task, projects

and commitments and storing them in physical or digital ”inboxes”. The fewer, the better.

2. PROCESS

The next step is to process all the items in your “inbox(es)”. Go through the list from top

to bottom and decide if you’re going to do it immediately, delegate it to someone else,

delete it, file or schedule it in your to-do list. The goal is to have zero items in your ”inbox”.

3. PLAN

Create a plan for what needs to be done by when. Start by deciding which items in your

to-do list are the Most Important Tasks (MIT) for the week and for the day. These are

the tasks you want to finish first. When you finish the MITs for the day, continue with the

MITs for the week. Daily MITs should be limited to 3, to make sure you get them done.

4. DO

The key to the ZTD system is the habit of doing. Start by choosing which MIT you

want to start with and how long you’re going to work on it. Eliminate all distractions

and get in the zone. Work until the task is done or until your timer rings. If you have

a hard time executing, start with a small piece of the task - the important thing is to

get started. Find fun ways to reward yourself when you get things done - e.g. when

you’ve worked for 25 minutes, allow yourself 5 minutes checking Social Media.

FURTHER READING:
”Zen to Done” by Leo Babauta

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CREATE YOUR ZTD-SYSTEM

IN UPWAVE

Start by selecting the “Zen To Done”-template. This boards consists of 6 columns;

”Inbox”, ”To do”, ”Weekly”, ”Today”, ”Waiting for” and ”Completed”. Start adding items
in the ”Inbox”-column. Starting at the top, decide what to do with them - either do it
immediately (if it takes less than 2 minutes), delete it, file it, schedule it (change color
and move to ”To-do”- column) or delegate it (change color and move to ”Waiting for”-
column). From your ”To-do”-column, select the MITs for the week, change color to ”MIT
this week” and move them to do ”Weekly”-column. Choose 1-3 MITs that you need to
finish today, change color to ”MIT today” and move them from the ”Weekly”-column
to the ”Today”-column. When you finish an item, move it to the ”Completed”-column.

GET STARTED

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