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Ah, productivity videos, my favourite form of procrastination! Good stuff!

I do both task management and something like Pomodoro because that's the only way I can successfully manage my ADHD. So I basically declutter my to do list (and my environment) to only have what I need (pretty much minimalism in every area of my life) and I work on each task with a fun break in between. For example, I will wash the dishes then read a chapter of a novel, next I will clean the bathroom then read the next chapter. Wanting to know what happens in the next chapter is what keeps me motivated to go through my to-do list. When I am done my tasks for the day, I can read as much as I want. I usually end up getting tasks done twice as fast as I think I will and 100 times faster than I used to,... because I used to be overwhelmed and completely freeze and get nothing done till the very last minute, or not at all.

The principle reminds me of Steve Jobs's statement: "Focus is about saying no." Whenever I have remembered to apply this principle, it has helped me tremendously.

Q&A Q: Why is time management such a problem for everyone? A: People often overvalue time management and focus too much on micromanaging their schedules instead of effective task prioritization. Q: How can we improve our focus and enter a state of deep work? A: Identify distractions and modify the environment to minimize them. Prioritize important tasks and schedule time for deep work when in a good environment. Q: What is urgency trapping? A: Always focusing on urgent tasks without considering the future version of ourselves, leading to a growing to-do list and potential burnout. Q: How can we effectively prioritize tasks? A: Use the Eisenhower Matrix to determine which tasks are urgent and important, and focus on those that are important but not necessarily urgent to prevent future urgent tasks. Q: What are some simple ways to create a distraction-free environment for deep work? A: Use headphones or white noise, implement a do not disturb sign, communicate boundaries with coworkers, and modify the workplace setting. Key Points People often overvalue time management and focus too much on micromanaging their schedules instead of effective task prioritization. Identify distractions and modify the environment to minimize them. Prioritize important tasks and schedule time for deep work when in a good environment. Always focusing on urgent tasks without considering the future version of ourselves, leading to a growing to-do list and potential burnout. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to determine which tasks are urgent and important, and focus on those that are important but not necessarily urgent to prevent future urgent tasks. Use headphones or white noise, implement a do not disturb sign, communicate boundaries with coworkers, and modify the workplace setting.

Only came here to say i deleted my 3 month old skeptical and disgraceful comments because I felt bad about them. Thank you for what you do and keep going champ.

Summary: - Task management is more effective than overvalued time management - Task management involves prioritizing tasks for maximum impact - "Urgency trapping" is when people only focus on urgent tasks without considering future consequences - Deep work should be result of good environment, not just a scheduled task. You can do this by going about your day and noting down what distracts you throughout the day, and finding a way to eliminate those distractions - Identifying distractions, changing environment, and setting boundaries for deep work are more important than "doing deep work" for its own sake

I gave up on time management this year. I've simply been organising myself based on my project deadlines. Example: this week I'm work on X, the next 2 weeks I'm working on Y, then I'm working on Z. All the smaller tasks just get done as they come. So far I've managed to get all my work done with time for breaks and to watch plenty of series in between. Its been great for me.

The sinking boat example made me laugh and cringe at the same time. I live on a boat and one of the things I’ve been procrastinating about for the last 7 years is fixing its growing number of leaks. 😂 It is a priority but soooo boring I just keep a lot of buckets handy. Perhaps I will listen to this a few more times… 🤗

Thank you for explaining prioritisation so in-depth! When focus managing, I never considered my life as a whole, I just looked at my to-do list, but actually this includes "rest" and break time as well (= screen time, for me at least). And the idea of biting the bullet and just finishing one thing (instead of doing a little bit of everything) is just brilliant!

One of your best videos! Especially your last point. I’m gonna watch this one over and over.

I have ADHD, was only diagnosed less than 2 years ago at age 32 so time and urgency management has been a lifelong struggle. This makes so much more sense to my brain- managing my attention is exactly what I need to do. I've heard some say we don't have an attention deficit so much as our attention is differently regulated and that makes sense to me as well, this deepens that concept for me. Thank you for this! I love when the algorithm actually does its job decently! Subscribed.

"Urgency trapping" is a great phrase for it. It's funny how so much of the entrepreneurial/productivity-centered internet scene looks down judgmentally on the disadvantaged and in particular the impoverished, even while themselves studying diagrams that nail down the exact same problems that keep poor people poor. (Speaking very broadly above, to be clear! I've never heard any judgmental rhetoric from Justin nor seen any real prevalence of it in his particular comments sections. I've just seen way too many techbros etc around the web and irl say stuff like "why don't you just buy the bigger bulk container of tin foil? then you save money over the year" and then not comprehending that the bulk thing of tin foil costs more than the listener has to spend altogether on food that week. Sigh lol) Point is, "urgency trapping" is a useful communication device! It's never before occurred to me to use the urgent/important matrix to get privileged people to understand the difficult decisions made by those less fortunate, but I'll definitely be using it now!

i'm definitely not a time management person, so every task i have that is not recurring (like washing the dishes) HAS to be in my Trello board. the idea is to have multiple columns that divide it all in topics like: - self (mostly about appointments, like "call the dentist office") - work (things i said i'd do, like presentations) - personal project (dividing a book into chapters and even commenting on each card whenever i have an idea about it) - family, friends, fools (usually tech maintenance for relatives) - group studies (readings i must finish before gathering with the philosophy folks) since i'm self-employed it works best, i think. what i've noticed is that when you read a card enough times, there's a moment that you just wanna finally "green it out of the way", specially if you label it with colored tags like "danger" or "approaching". our brains really like visual information, so it can definetely be exploited. (disclaimer: i do relapse and there are days i don't even open the tool. the point is, i always know where to come back and be efficient right away.)

this is basically how i manage what i do, it's way easier than micromanaging a bunch of schedules and doesnt feel like any effort is being put in to manage

Prioritization is weighing the positive and negative consequences of a task being left complete or incomplete. I spent a lot of time in environments where the consequences are clear, tangible, and often connected. Start with the most dire consequences, of course, but then work into the tasks that are interconnected. Doing that helps "tap in" to the bigger picture, which aids in eliminating redundancies, provides opportunities for multi-tasking, and helps "passive prioritization" when you enter flow state. You can't have flow state without confidence, and you can't have confidence without information.

Your content is life changing dr sung ✨️! Just started big picture thinking , pre study and mindmapping from your videos and it's changing everything I thought I knew about studying.. your content is really underrated 🙌

This is probably the best productivity advice I've ever heard and suddenly I feel less shitty about myself because I realise how much my work environment hinders my efforts.

Straight up facts and wisdom! Thank you

I'm going to start documenting my learning journey on every new video from Justin Sung. Two reasons why. Firstly it keeps me motivated to continue aaand secondly I have to really think about my problems and the things I have to change in order to be able to write this. I'm on my third day of learning from Justins ( and Archers) videos and right now my focus is to increase the delay between learning the content and writing notes, trying to increase the tolerance of cognitive load in my head to be able to connect what I'm learning to the bigger picture and create relations. In addition I want to learn to create good analogies to simplify what I'm learning and lastly I'm trying to actually understand how I think and connect everything in my head to be able to make my mind maps represent that thought process. I'm able to reduce the word amount in my mind maps to a minimum but it still feels a bit uncomfterable though this will get less overtime. In total a lot to do but I think if I keep at it and continue to always reflect critically and adjust accordingly it will only get better and easier from here. New topics will come very soon for me so when that comes I will Pre-study for the first time and will definitely reflect on that in a future comment. Will have to adjust my revision technique as well then so we will see how it goes. If you have toyed with the idea of actually starting the process as well than i would say do so. It may take a lot of time but I'm convinced it will be well worth it.

Sometimes really simple things help with the environment. I rearranged the furniture in my living room and now essentially have a space for work and rest. It does wonders to my work schedule.

i like the important / urgent criteria to prioritize stuff thank you

Thank you Dr. Sung for explaining, i struggle with productivity.

Again, brilliant! So brilliant!

As a person with adhd i can also confirm that deep work is kinda difficult to come by. I usually might say it comes random to me, but i also see how important a comfortable environment, emotional priming and recent quality time are.

Hi Justin! I loved this video and I like how you 'update' your old videos and always share with us any new insight you have. I have a question that is kind of unrelated to this one video though. I'm trying to follow Bloom's taxonomy when learning and try to ask myself those questions whenever I encounter any new information. But for me, it seems kind of slow to ask myself 5-10 questions. I try to go in-depth with my answer, and that takes a while. Do I get faster as I practice more? Or am I doing it inefficiently? I want to get quicker at relationship prioritising. Thank you for all your videos! I hope you read this :)

Task based approach is way better than time based. We are living a life of human being but if we stuck in to do list then the quality of experiencing the life diminishes.

Thanks Dr.Sung I appreciate your videos, and hope to spread the knowledge with my coworkers as prioritizing has been a challenge at my place of work.

I'd been using pomodoro technique for quite a while trying to learn coding, but then I also realized it wasn't the best approach. Nobody cares how much time you've spent working on an app, the question is have you built it? Is it good? Can you at least show it to your family/friends/potential employer and be proud of your work? Only the end result matters, and this is what I focus on, now.

I like this one, some very fit to solved my problem now, that feel like endless to-do list cause more focusing in time rather than task

This is huge, such a massive concept. Came at just the right time, thank you so much.

This video is so helpful! Thank you

This is solid advice. Glad to have found it. Keep up the good work Justin.

I saved this video as a favorite and I watch it from time to time

Forget about forgetting Forget about something new It’s not about getting It is about you being you

By the thumbnail and the title, I was skeptical of what this video would say, but it's actually solid tips thank you

I am a College student. It was challenging for me to manage my classes because of the heavy load of school work that I have to complete each week in college. Your videos about higher order learning has helped me a lot. It has changed the way I think about studying. Before, it was hard for me to finish one chapter of an academic book in a short amount of time. After watching your videos about higher order learning and other study tips, I can easily finish a chapter. And now after watching your tips and lessons about learning, I know how I can read a book easily and efficiently. You're the best study coach. Thank you very much for working hard to help others!! May God bless you!! Keep up the good work.

The urgency trapping was a truly illuminating concept

I love your deep insights!

This is so dang important. I work with my clients teaching them a boiled down version of project management, which seems to work really well in helping them prioritize, but they always are super shocked when I tell them that time management is not going to "save" them. 😄

im in a slump. its taking me days just to do one task that i know i can get done in one day.

Fully agree with this principle😃. FOCUS in the most important isues amb you will achieve your goals. For sure!

Once a year I get a great video recommendation👌

Thanks for the video!

Why is he so underrated?!! He actually offers a solution unlike popular KZfaqrs

This was awesome! TYsm Justin 💙🙏

wow this just blew my mind

Wow - first ever Justin Sung video I've seen and hit subscribe

3:04 Negative spiral..... Good stuff! Thank you for this self improvement tip 💡⚡

Great analysis! I’ll be using this

Please in your other videos about relationships is it in one topic or two topics and do we just look for differences to relate them please Mr sung help 🙏

*Urgency Trapping>>> The main idea is to prioritize tasks that may not be urgent but can prevent or eliminate future urgent tasks. By doing so, you can reduce the number of urgent tasks you have to deal with in the future and prevent yourself from being stuck in a cycle of constantly putting out fires. For example, if you have a project due in two weeks, it may not be an urgent task right now, but working on it gradually can prevent you from having to rush and stress over it in the final days leading up to the deadline. Another example could be taking care of your health and fitness by exercising and eating well, which may not seem urgent right now, but could prevent future health problems that could become urgent tasks. So, the key takeaway is to prioritize tasks that can prevent or eliminate future urgent tasks and not just focus on the urgent ones.

Which apps can we use to make an eisenhower matrix, to do list/urgent/not urgent, and a distraction list?

Does someone have the link for the full podcast

This is applicable only to professional setting. There is nothing I can do only the high priority tasks in the house. Everything needs to be done 😭😭😭

I feel so attacked by this 😂 not only I really don't really prioritise (even while blocking the time for the task) but I also don't really pay much attention to the environment.. even tho I know that i have hard time focusing because of it. The urgency traps are also so relatable.. and thanks to them I often lose sight of what is really important and longterm.. so I get stuck at urgent matters (that come back again to my future self too).. Thank you for talking about it, and making me finally realise that I really need to change up some stuff in my work/study life or else I won't get anywhere.

Thanks Justin Sung!! Best video interview going on this topic on time management and use task management instead. I was taught in school to prior task management than time management. Changed my life completely and this is a good type of stress because I look at them as beneficial challenges in life for to learn, adapt, grow and get better than yesterday in our day to day lives.

For me, time blocking is just about reminding me to take breaks. And being able to try stuff for ten minutes without feeling like it spirals into a time waste. I work in software dev and we might have a high prio task to work on but set aside 10 mins for a small low prio task that otherwise might not be done at all

Now that's a backdrop you don't see often in KZfaq.

Very well said👏🏽

Thank you...Time vs Task Management..

Useful information!

Fantastic video👍🌻. I just subscribed.

this a lot make sense!!

Love this

Really great points. Side note: Best way to avoid distractions and get "deep work" done; work from home. Single greatest productivity increase I've ever experienced in my life. Thanks, Covid.

Hey Can anyone enrolled in the course explain me this? What is “Plug the Hole” - High-Efficiency Cramming System? And burst studying?

After years of trying to figure out how to get consistent time management behaviour down, task management worked for me. I didn’t even know what it was called until I saw this video, I figured it out by accident

Is the mic not even being used? Sounds like camera mic audio not that podmic. Just curious audio caught me off guard.

I mean really you need both no? Time management and task management combined. If you have your priorities correct but don't set a goal about that particular task or specific timeslots then you're still nit very efficient

Thanks, much needed

Where has this video been all my life?

....yes task prioritization....it means the task switching and realizing when it's good enough done, not perfect because all things are tradeoffs. This is what I've learned in life

My biggest issue is finishing projects. I get through daily and weekly tasks, but my deep work projects don’t get blocked by meetings, unexpected tasks, and the inability to focus on them everyday. I get projects completed, but they take too long to get done.

Great video! I understand the concept but just the thought to deleting tasks are scary. What if the tasks I deleted are actually necessary? 😅

Big help thx

was looking for a video like this thanks justin

Helpful. Thank you

"once you hit the tripple digits your life is over" I laughed so hard at this, very charismatic sence of humour hehe, nicely done :)

Time Management is False Task Management (V) Kerjakan hal yang penting meskipun tidak mendesak Hal Penting Hal META (Most Efective Tactic Avaible) Use Distraction Sheet : 1. Apa yang membuat kamu terdistraksi 2. Remove thos distraction from Environment 3. Communicate to the people around - maintain space 4. Deep Work will naturally

My personal time management is this: 9 hours of quality sleep + 4 hours of productive work + 2 hours of productive study + 9 hours of personal life (walking, exercising, reading literature etc.)

If you’ve blocked tasks into your day that’s probably good enough To encourage deep work - write notes for things I’m getting distracted by. Modify your environment or set boundaries to create this space

Really nice video informative

I suck so bad at prioritising... and planning in general... I constantly overestimate what I can do and then feel bad about not hitting target... At the same time, my pride stops me from lowering personal goals I need to communicate to my peers and superiors

Please make a video on how to approach questions I've a hard time solving questions

Way to set the meta.

great video!!

Thanks

Justin, do you have a book?

My old boss clearly doesn't understand the meaning of deep work. He'd come barging into the office with some ridiculous, non-urgent task that he INSISTED be done there and then. Not once did he accept "I'm just in the middle of something and don't want to lose my track of thought, I'll get straight onto it once I've finished". If this happened once or twice a day, it wouldn't be too bad. But it was constant. Regularly pulled me out of my flow, to the point I somewhat gave up, catered to his nonsense while at work, and then finished off "my" work at home where I felt I could focus. 😅 Ironically, since leaving and being self employed, I'm finding time/task management much harder. Surprising how much we depend on having a 9-5 routine. For some reason, I don't have the same fear of not getting things done now, which means less motivation. 😅

Thank you

Nice ❤

I'd like to point out that, while managing time/tasks is surely important, things don't get done by themselves because of that. The actual work has still to be done and, speaking for myself, i must be more humble even to the simplest of tasks. There is no "aah... it's nothing... just a few minutes...". This is a trap of considering things as "done" that are clearly not. Just thinking/managing on when and how i will get what things done is just one side of the coin.

Cheers.

Please adjust the subtitles to center the scree 🙃

Is that alcohol in the back?

Basically fix the well not the sink

Dropping fax

Maybe cover the mathematical are of scheduling one day? (see the book Algorithms to Live By, by Brian Christian)

So, the microphones weren't working or what?