Productivity & Self-management Some techniques, and when to use them

Dev.Talk August 2015

Thomas Mentzel & Marcel Körtgen

Motivation

Agenda

• Pomodoro Technique

• Personal Kanban

• Extending to Teams

Pomodoro Technique

• http://pomodorotechnique.com/

• http://tomato-timer.com/

• Clean Coder → http://bit.ly/1PnDUiI

Pomodoro Technique

• is 25 mins of focussed work

• followed by 5 mins of recap and review

• requires to eliminate all distractions (inform,

negotiate, and call back)

Five basic steps

1.Decide on the task to be done

2.Set the pomodoro timer to n minutes (traditionally 25)

3.Work on the task until the timer rings

4.Take a short break (3–5 minutes)

• Review your task recently done

• Plan your task for the next pomodore

• Get a cup of coffee or do something else

5.After four pomodori, take a longer break (15–30 minutes)

Pomodoro Technique

• schedule your day with pomodori

• split your task into 25 mins pomodori

• is NOT 16 pomodori a day

• but it can schedule your housework as well

Distraction free working

• Turn off email, social media, mobile phone, etc

•Keep your desk clean and distraction free

•Make yourself comfortable

•In case you listen to music, choose wise

•→ http://mtcb.pwop.com/

•In case of a phone call, a question from a colleague or

any other disruption, try to postpone this to your break.

→ http://bit.ly/1MF3SRk (7 Ways To Beat Distraction)

Summary

• Frequent breaks keep your mind fresh and focused

• Help you crank through projects faster by forcing you

to adhere to strict timing

• Increases productivity and reduces context switching

• ...find more pros and cons on your own!

→ give Pomodoro a try

Try to finish eight pomodori a day -that’s hard!

Personal Kanban

Only two hard rules

1. Visualize your work

2. Limit your Work-In-Progress (WIP)

Implications

1.Beware of „shadow work“

2.Allow for frequent prioritization

3.Pull, not Push (follows from rule 2)

4.Reflect on tasks to optimize flow

• You have two hands

• You can only juggle so many things at a time

• The more you add, the more likely it is that you will drop something.

• A freeway can operate from 0 to 100 percent capacity

• But when a freeway’s capacity gets over about 65%, it starts to slow down

• When it reaches 100% capacity – it stops.

Research shows that multitasking:

• degrades short-term memory

• creates stress → invokes primitive brain parts

• increases error rate → adds cost (fixes needed)

• some brain parts are sequential processors

• adds load to prefrontal cortex → degrades cognitive ability

Why it works

• Comprehension

• Kinesthetic Feedback • Learning

• Pattern Recognition

• Existential Overhead

• Narratives & Maps

Extending to Teams

Extending to Teams

• Kanban • Optimize Flow/Throughput → Efficiency (Kaizen)

• Scrum • Envisioning / Backlog Grooming

• Sprint Planning, Retrospective

• Release Planning

• Optimizes Direction → Effectivity (Kaikaku)

• Scaling up • Scrum of Scrums (SoS)

• SAFe

• Three Horizons

Summary

• Individual • Pomodoro

• Pairing works extremely well, though

• Personal Kanban • Easy to extend to Teams, Family, …

• Teams: More layers of feedback loops • Daily Standup

• Sprint

• Release

• Three horizons

Some References

• Pomodoro & Kanban (KanbanFlow)

• Produktivität mit System (t3n Themen special)

• Rory Vaden: How to multiply your time (TEDx)

• Why & How To Limit Your WIP (@ourfounder)

• Multitasking Gets You There Later (InfoQ)

• Jim Benson: Personal Kanban 101 (SlideShare)

• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

Thank You

Time for Questions!