I was so honored to have this presentation selected as Best in Track and Best of Conference at the 2014 HighEdWeb Association Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon. Please check out my blog post with for full details at bit.ly/HumanAtWork Where does our time go? Somewhere in the middle of our overlapping project deadlines, meetings, and daily emails, we are all just trying to do good work, but it's hard to keep up. We do our best to stay organized with productivity apps and calendars and "lifehacks" but in the end we are humans and easily distracted by funny videos of cats — how can we be expected to actually get stuff done each day? It all comes down to habits. The way we check our email, where and when we have lunch, how we take notes in meetings — understanding and changing our work habits is the key to unlocking our productivity, and finding a better work-life balance. I struggled with managing my own workload for years until I started analyzing my personal productivity habits and researching ways I could improve. I found that small changes in the way that I use email, schedule my time, and manage my tasks, not only made me more productive but also led to improved communication and productivity for my team. I'll show you how some simple changes in the structure of my days and a new approach my work have helped me start replacing bad habits with good ones, and get better at my job. And I'll teach you how to evaluate your own habits, make focused productivity part of every day, and become a healthier, happier, and way-less-stressed human with way more time for enjoying all those cat videos you crave.

1. HUMAN
AT WORK
Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying
and Get Better at My Job
2014 HighEdWeb Annual Conference
October 19-22 — Portland, OR
#HEWEB14 #MPD9

2. I
IV U
Hello
O

3. @DaveCameron

4. A Case Study
of Myself

5. Challenges I’ve struggled with
since I started in Higher Ed
Goals for changing my habits and
improving my productivity
Tools and tactics
I have been exploring
to achieve those goals
Lessons learned along the way

6. This is not
a talk about
"Work Hacks"

7. How to be an
imperfect
human who
gets stuff done

8. "In the
Before time…
in the Long,
Long Ago…"

9. September 1992

10. http://bit.ly/11pqobu

13. September 1992

14. June 2010

15. This is most of my job

16. And sometimes also this:
+

17. I understood how
websites work.
I didn’t know how
mar-com offices work.

18. Stuff I wasn’t
prepared for
• Shifting responsibilities
• Staffing turnovers
• Changes in strategic priorities
• Planning for what is consistent
• Preparing for the unexpected

19. I couldn’t see the road
AND
I was drowning

20. Books

21. Utilities

22. Task Managers

23. Then I remembered…

24. Goals
Before
Tools

25. What specific
goals will help
me get better
at my job?

28. Cognitive
Overload

29. http://bit.ly/1Cj5iXF

30. "Our
problem isn’t
information
overload;
it’s potential
meaning
overload."
- David Allen
bit.ly/GTDmpu219

31. How I learned to
stop worrying about
all the things and
get better at my job.

32. Goals
Tools
Habits

33. Goal: wake up in the morning
Tool: an alarm clock
Habit: set the alarm for 6:00 am

34. Goals
Tools
Habits

35. Five Goals
for Being a
Productive
Human

36. Goal #1:
BE
HONEST

37. Honest with
YOURSELF

38. Subjectively Honest
Objectively Honest

39. Subjective Honesty
• what you know in your gut to be true
• the stuff we lie to ourselves about
• internalized priorities
• accuracy when interpreting our performance

40. Objective Honesty
• measuring and capturing data
• developing reports from that data
• analyzing progress over time
• maintaining a record

41. desktime.com

42. rescuetime.com

43. Honest With
OTHERS

44. (within reason)
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3b11ewIM31r0jeh0o5_250.gif

45. Honest with others
• don’t exaggerate your abilities or bandwidth
• admit when you don't understand something
• admit to your mistakes
• give the feedback you would want to hear

46. Goal #2:
BE
UNAFRAID

47. Mistakes are
how we learn.

48. "I have no
idea what
I’m doing,
but I know
I’m doing it
really, really
well."
- Andy
Dwyer

49. CONFIDENCE

50. Don’t be intimidated
by those rock stars.
http://abcn.ws/1FoHJRA

51. Let Go of
Irrational Fears
• Change and the unfamiliar
• New Tools
• Gossip and rumor
• Ebola

52. Don’t be overwhelmed
by complexity

53. U/Aatto 4-WHEN LOST
IN ThE WOODS
A CLEAR HEAD WILL FIND ITSF. If everyone remwbered this,
there would be fewer reports of persons lost in the mountain and
forests, according to United States Forest Service rangers.
Merely being out of sight of others in a strange forest gives
ny a man the creeps- a natural feeling but a dangerous ore. Never
yield to it. In the mountains the grip of panic is too often the
grip of death.
"Firilirig oneself then lost is the test of a man," says a
vete ran of the Forest Service who s seen n, n and even child-ren
save themselves by sheer pluck and preserte of mind. Loss of
ntal control is more serious than lack of food, water, clothing
or possible proximity of wild animals. The man 'io keeps his head
has t best ch arx e to ce through in safety.
The following helpful rules are worth rmbering:-
Stop, sit down and try to figure out ithere you are.
Use your head, not your legs.
If caught by night, fog, or a storm, stop at otice
and make camp in a sheltered spot. Build a fire
in a safe place. Gather plenty of dry el.
Don't wander about. Travel only down hill.
If injured, choose a clear spot ona prcontory and
.ke a signal smoke.
Don't yell, don't run, n't worry, and above all,
don't quit.
If caught out toward nightfall, the traveler is urged to tind
a shelter quickly- a ledge, a Large houlder or a fa1li tree- clear
a sp*ce of ground arii build a fire. If without a bla.nk., he may
build his fire in a deep hole, cover six incks of hot coaLs with
six Inches of earth and sleep on this. Failing fire, cme shoild
use leaves and branches to shelter himself as best he can. A boy
(over)

54. Goal #3:
BE
MINDFUL

55. via http://xkcd.com/1411/

56. Focus
Your Time
and Attention

57. TOOLS
http://bit.ly/1sWarEd

58. Use your tools,
don’t let them
use you.

59. Use good habits
to keep your tools
sharp and ready

60. OUR PRIMARY TOOLS:
Email
Tasks
Calendars
Meetings

61. APPLE USER BIAS
(Not Yet)

62. EMAIL

63. The average
office worker
spends 28%
of their day
reading,
writing, or
responding
to email.
- McKinsey & Company, 2012
http://bit.ly/1zdGtjB

64. My Email Use in September 2014
RescueTime reported email = 22% DeskTime reported email = 23%

65. EMAIL IS
AWESOME FOR:
• Communicating information and ideas
to individuals or groups
• Documenting and archiving information
• Sending assets and files
• Viral sharing

66. EMAIL IS NOT:
• A telephone
• Instant messenger
• A project management system
• The boss of you

67. Turn off those inbox
notification icons.
Fetch email, don’t push.
(if something is truly urgent, there are better
options than email for letting me know)

68. #MakingFetchHappen
Thank you @nagmay!

69. Create an
email habit.

70. This is mine:
1. Decide if this needs to be acted on now
or later.
2. If it takes less than 2 min. then do it
now.
3. Get what I need for other work, send
what I need to send.
4. Be quick but thorough. Pay attention to
details.
5. Quit mail app until ready for it again.

71. Use
Rules to
Filter
and
Focus

73. Use keyboard shortcuts
System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts
-> App Shortcuts

74. http://www.cheatsheetapp.com/CheatSheet/

75. Be thoughtful

78. TASKS

79. “The most difficult
thing you can do,
and the most
helpful thing, is to
pick one thing.”
–Merlin Mann
bit.ly/b2wpdcst

80. Task Habits
• Capture and get them out of your head
• Organize them with project
milestones and deadlines
• Review and update regularly
• Seriously, review and update your
tasks weekly if you can

81. Task Managers

82. Social Media is a
task for me.

83. Social Media
• Too distracting if it’s always there
• Block time when I need to use it as
part of my job.
• Use for personal Twitter
content @DaveCameron
bufferapp.com

84. CALENDARS

85. Calendar Habits
• Schedule focused work periods
• Schedule break periods
• Review and update regularly
• Communicate

87. No-Meeting
Mondays

88. "Fix-It"
Fridays

89. MEETINGS

90. Meeting Habits
• Be in the meeting, not on your phone
• Capture decisions and next actions
• Report and share
• Use Email & Tasks & Calendar to be
sure you follow through

91. Two
Notepads
• Large notebook just for
capturing meeting
notes and doodles.
• Small yellow pad for
random other stuff
triggered by meetings.

92. Use
Checklists

93. Goal #4:
BE
ACTIVE
http://bit.ly/1yGTq4o

95. Our Bodies,
Our Routines

96. How do our daily
routines affect us?
Disrupt them
and you’ll feel it.

97. Goals
Tools
Habits

98. Goals
Tools
Habits Routines

99. Goal: wake up in the morning
Tool: an alarm clock
Habits:
• set the alarm for 6:00 am
• hit snooze when it wakes me
• finally turn off alarm
• head to the shower…

100. My Routine
Used to Be

101. http://bit.ly/1Cj5iXF

102. My Routine
Today

103. Start with a
card trick
(seriously)

104. An
Ideal
Day

105. An
Ideal
Day

106. "Everything
In Its Place"

107. “Un-complicate
yourself.”
– Marcus Aurelius

108. Give Yourself
The Gift of
Fewer Decisions

110. Habit Minder Apps
Learning New Skills
by Building New Habits

112. WORKSPACE

114. My office in February

115. My office in October

116. Whiteboard!

117. Sit or Stand

118. THESE
are my
HEADPHONES
!
There Are
Many Like
Them,
But THESE
Are Mine.

119. Music & Sound
Collaborative Playlists
Human at Work: Focus
bit.ly/heweb14_HAWfocus
!!
Human at Work: Boost
bit.ly/heweb14_HAWboost

120. Goal #5:
BE
NICE

121. Be Nice to Your
Fellow Humans

122. Be a Proud Member
of Your Team
• Support your co-workers
• Give a heads-up when you can
• Take ownership of your role
• Don’t cheat
• Be at least a little bit social

123. Communicate
This is where "Push" can be
better than "Fetch"

124. @AustinKleon

126. Take a
Real Vacation

127. Get some sleep

128. (unless you’re at HighEdWeb)

129. “No matter how you
feel, get up, dress
up and show up.”
–Regina Brett

130. (But please don’t
come to the
office if you’re
actually sick.)

131. Treat others
the way
you want to
be treated.

132. Goals
Tools
Habits

133. HONEST
UNAFRAID
MINDFUL
ACTIVE
NICE

134. HONEST
UNAFRAID
MINDFUL
ACTIVE
NICE

135. H ONEST
U NAFRAID
M INDFUL
A CTIVE
N ICE

136. H
UMAN

137. H U M A N

138. HUMAN

139. 1OO%
HUMAN

140. "There’s only one thing that I
know how to do well
And I've often been told that
you only can do
What you know how to do well
And that's be you,
Be what you're like,
Be like yourself…"
–They Might Be Giants
"Whistling in the Dark"

141. 1OO%
HUMAN

142. 1OO%
HUMAN

143. OM
UIVI

144. OMU
IVI

145. O
IMVI
U

146. O
IV
U
M I
Hooray!

147. RESOURCES

148. Don’t miss this the slides from another presentation that
bookended this one very nicely at HighEdWeb 2014:
@JesseLavery
slideshare.net/jesselavery/

149. @KarlynMB
Karlyn gave another amazing presentation from
our conference track that you must check out:
zenworkplace.com/playingpolitics
karlynruns.org

150. Apps
rescuetime.com desktime.com
1secondeveryday.com

151. Podcasts
@HigherEdLive
"2014 Work Hacks" (05/22/14) - bit.ly/hel2014
"Work Hacks and Getting Stuff Done"
(01/24/13) -bit.ly/hel2013
Episode #185 - bit.ly/b2wpdcst
with Merlin Mann & Dan Benjamin
discussion of email
Episode #219 - bit.ly/GTDmpu219
with David Allen, author of
"Getting Things Done"

152. Books

153. bit.ly/HumanAtWork
@DaveCameron
Sketch Rockwell by Artill Fonts
http://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/sketch_rockwell.htm