Test Hanbook 2020

Incubation Program Handbook, C​ harity Entrepreneurship 2020 Page 201      M​ eetings  are  often  not  the  setting  to  create  the  building  blocks  for  your  charity  startup.  Or  when  was  the  last  time  you  created  an  M&E  strategy  or  fundraising  plan  in  a  meeting?  As  Paul  Graham  points  out  in  M​ aker’s  Schedule, Manager’s Schedule  frequent meetings can interrupt quiet work on the  outputs you need to deliver.  Nobody would dispute that meetings are essential for some coordination or  even some creative problem-solving tasks. But in many work settings, they  still take place too frequently and in an unstructured manner.  Here are some basic guidelines for getting the most out of your meetings:  ● Apart from weekly team meetings and o​ ne-on-ones​ generally don’t  schedule regular meetings where there is no obvious need for  in-person coordination. Team meetings and one-on-ones have an  important social component so it matters less if there are no important  topics for discussion. 

Incubation Program Handbook, C​ harity Entrepreneurship 2020 Page 202  ● At least, prepare an agenda before the meeting and document  decision-points after the meeting. These decision points can be turned  into tasks in your task management app.  ● At best, someone prepares options for decision before the meeting and  shares them with all participants. An extreme form of this is practiced  at Amazon where employees write m​ ulti-page memos​ ahead of  meetings.  ● In terms of meeting scheduling, a best practice is to schedule for 25  and 50 minutes. This allows you to switch location and refresh after  each meeting.  8. DON’T FORGET THE OTHER (MORE) IMPORTANT  STUFF    This  article  covers task management and productivity in a relatively narrow  sense.  The  focus  is  on  the  immediate  work  setting  and  delivering  results.  While  the tools presented here are impactful, more holistic strategies might  even  be  more  important.  The  good  news  is,  you  are  already  fully  aware  of 

Incubation Program Handbook, C​ harity Entrepreneurship 2020 Page 203  them.  You  might  just  need  to  commit to implementing them more (see this  summary of​ ​Atomic Habits​).  ● Sleep well  ● Eat well and plant-based  ● Spend time with friends and family  ● Exercise or at least move (as a workaholic consider Steve Job’s famous  walking meetings)  ● Outsource chores (e.g. see this t​ imesaving assessment​ by Joey Savoie)  ● Take weekends off and schedule vacations during which you  completely disconnect  ● Practice mindfulness/meditation (indeed, it would not be an article  about productivity without at least one reference to meditation)  As  you  implement  most  or  some  of  the  practices  introduced  in  this  article,  you have every right to add the title Pareto Productivity Pro to your business  card  and  LinkedIn  profile.  You  might  not  yet  be  an  ordained  monk  in  the  order of productivity but you are slowly getting there.  SUMMARY  81. Focus on high-impact tasks only: Prioritize tasks that give you 80% of  the return with 20% of the input. First, make sure each activity is  directly linked to at least one of your charity’s core success factors (e.g.  fundraising). Second, classify tasks according to their importance and  urgency. Third, consider effort as an additional criterion to identify  low hanging fruits.  82.Check whether someone else can do it and don’t reinvent the wheel:  Others might be better suited or have more capacity to carry out tasks.  This includes co-founders, employees or freelancers/contractors. The 

Incubation Program Handbook, C​ harity Entrepreneurship 2020 Page 204  latter can be hired on platforms like Upwork.com and do well at basic  IT- and quality review tasks.  83.Use a task management tool: With a task management app such as  Asana or Todoist you can easily implement a basic form of Getting  Things Done where you are on top of all your high-priority activities.  This ties in well with Inbox Zero, which avoids abusing your email  inbox as a task management hub.  84. Box your time: Timeboxing puts your top tasks as reserved slots  right into your calendar. This forces you to implement individual tasks  with an 80/20 mentality to remain within the given timeframe. Other  advantages are increased transparency in the team (everyone sees  what you are working on) and a sense of autonomy (you are the one to  reserve the slot for each task).  85.Review your progress: Each day - and more extensively each week -  check your progress on task management by going through a simple  checklist. The basic idea is to compare the time you spent on a task  with its priority and reassess importance, assignee, and deadline if  necessary.   86. Work in deep mode: Focus on one task at a time and avoid any  distractions, e.g. by turning off instant messaging notifications. Plan  for at least 1-2 hours of reflection per week during which you ponder a  business challenge in brainstorming mode.  87.Reduce or structure meetings: Key work usually does not take place in  meetings, so keep them limited and - if necessary - structured with a  clear agenda (or even preparatory memos) and a decision-making  framework as output (who is doing what by when?).  88. Don’t forget the other (more) important stuff: The most important  productivity hacks are closely tied to personal wellbeing. Yes, you  know the drill: sleep well, eat well, exercise, ... 

Incubation Program Handbook, C​ harity Entrepreneurship 2020 Page 205  READING LIST  Internal Resources  ● Six ways your charity startup might fail - and how to prevent that  External Resources  ● How Timeboxing Works and Why It Will Make You More Productive  (HBR)  ● The Importance of Time Capping​ (Joey Savoie)  ● Minimalist time-management system​ (Daniel Kestenholz)  ● How to prioritize your time​ (Y Combinator)  ● Increase your productivity using an effective-altruist approach​ (Tanja  Rüegg)  ● Inbox Zero​ (Merlin Mann)  ● Timesaving Activities​ (Joey Savoie)  ● Productivity 101 for Beginners​ (Peter Hurford)  ● How I Am Productive​ (Peter Hurford)  ● 100 Most Useful Productivity Tips​ (Filtered)  ● Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule​ (Paul Graham)  ● How to Use Gmail More Productively​ (Andreas Klinger)  ● The Great CEO Within​ (Matt Mochary)  ● The Complete Guide to Deep Work​ (Doist)  ● Atomic Habits: Summary​ (Nate Eliasson)  ● The Best To-Do List Apps for 2020​ (PC Magazine)  ● First Principles: The Building Blocks of True Knowledge​ (FS)