DEV Community: erin-daviss

Stop procrastinating. Time to cut the bullshit.

erin-daviss — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 09:35:01 +0000

Clears up my mind and know exactly what to do by making a to do list.
I use Ticktick and Quire. Making choices, deciding which option to go with, or deciding whether do or not something, consumes your willpower.

Our brain is designed to be as efficient with our willpower as possible, in order to conserve energy, I will break down my enormous projects into smaller tasks.

When encountered an ginormous task, the brain will immediately pop up a message telling me, "nope this task is way too big to handle, skip it".
But when I break it down and focus on small tasks at a time. The brain will normalize the situation and function efficiently, thus, increasing more willpower to do the next task.

What are some of your tips to avoid procrastinating during work?

How I get productive when I am tired like s#*t

erin-daviss — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 08:15:22 +0000

Set a timer for each tasks
Basically pomodoro the s#*t out of every thing I do. I will then know how long each kind of task takes and better prioritize my work the day after.
Take a Break
I love to take breaks between each tasks. After a small achievement I pat myself on the back and get myself a new cup of hot coffee.
Don’t struggle for two hours, and achieved on a little, when you can rest and get more done in the next hour.
Start Small
This always works for me. Whose brain can function well in the morning? Still feeling sleepy, I will start with the little things, check off the small tasks on the to do list first that doesn't need my brain working on a high functioning level.
Personal little tip
I like to absorb some sunlight before I start working. I don't know why this works for me. Normally, I stand in front of the window with the sunlight hitting my face, eyes closed, with a cup of coffee in my hand. After a few minutes, I will feel refreshed and ready to work. I know, I know, it sounds a little bit stupid, but I recommend give it a try.

3 Time Management Tips that worked for me

erin-daviss — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 10:04:16 +0000

Break down your Tasks

I like to break down all of the tasks on my to-do list into chunks that I can handle in one go. This way I am more likely to finish them and close off the tasks as soon as possible. It will gives me a sense of accomplishment and motivates me to do more.

Prioritize!!

Oh my goodness! I will admit this is the hardest part for me. We only have 24 hours each day, so choosing what to work on is so important! Before I get started, I will always say to myself, “is this task a must do?” or “is this task due soon??” (Of course, I will be careful and not burn myself out)

Start doing

Just start working. I know I know… It’s Monday morning, nobody wants to work. But no, there’s no time to procrastinate. I, like everybody else, will think oh.. there’s a right moment for me to start. No, right there and then is the right moment to start. Just start working! I always start with the small tasks, checking off the small things on my list increase my confident and get myself to do more throughout the day.

To Do List and Kanban: What Project Manager Did Wrong

erin-daviss — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 10:24:13 +0000

Be it teams, agencies, or companies, there must have been a time when they looked for project management tools or softwares, tried each one of them, and asked all sorts of questions about them, hoping to choose the best project management software to accomplish their next big, amazing projects.

Unfortunately, there is no one-for-all, perfect solution. Just the right one to help you boost your productivity.

What is the Right Project Management Software for You?

We had many users who told us they tried tens or even hundreds of apps they could find out there with no success, not until they met Quire; We also had to say goodbye to one who just cannot get past the digital barrier and eventually returned to good old-fashioned pen and paper.

So what exactly is the right project management software? What is the one approach that works for you?

For us, after years of developing Quire and talking to our users, we believe the right approach is one that bring your dreams to life via planning in “Nested to do list” and doing in “Kanban board.”

The “To Do List” Method: A Simple, Yet Flat List Without Structure

A “to do list” is a traditional, straightforward way for you to remember your ideas, notes and to-dos, and do them orderly.

It is just like in the old days, you would use pen and paper to jot down to-dos in a bulleted or numbered list. It is what most users are familiar with, what comes natural to them.

That said, you can easily end up with a long, and flat list of tasks that are equally important, thus making it difficult to show their relationships.

The “Nested To Do List”: A Hierarchical List with Context

We took “to do list” to the next level, and we call it the “nested to do list”.

For big, challenging projects, you can break down ideas into chunks, and further into small, bite-sized pieces. What you then get is a well-structured, well-planned hierarchical actionable list of tasks and subtasks.

For example, you want to make an awesom video game, possibly the next Lineage M.

When each item has been divided into smaller and smaller steps, you have a nicely laid-out plan ready for action.

“Nested To Do List” and “Kanban Board”: The Perfect Duo

Unfortunately, “nested to do list” is not perfect on its own — especially for teams collaborating on a challenging project — when it comes to “execution”. Thus we brought “Kanban board” on board to complement it.

Dating back to traditional whiteboard with post-its, Kanban is two words in Japanese: 看 (kan) and 板 (ban). It can be translated into “a board to look at.”

Kanban board is visual. It makes it easy to manage tasks, and focus on completing them in a smooth workflow. In other words, it makes up the “execution” stage lacking in “Nested to do list.”

According to Harvard Business Review, such an approach not only shows the progress of each member’s work, but also if someone is struggling and falling behind.

By combining “Nested to do list” and “Kanban board”, two of the most popular approaches to project management today, we help teams bring their ideas to reality.

Take a look at Quire. What it offers is a brand new, revolutionary Agile bridge between “Kanban board” and “To do list”. The best of both worlds.

Wait! Didn’t Others Already Have To Do List and Kanban?

Yes, a few. But we do it quite differently.

What others do is they treat “To do list” and “Kanban board” as two separate worlds (projects). Take Asana and GitHub for example.

In our opinion, “nested to do list” is good for planning a project, and “Kanban board” is for executing the same project collaboratively. It does not make sense to take a project and divide it into two; Not only is it tedious to manage tasks, but you also lose track of them.

So, What Makes Quire Different?

In Quire, “Nested to do list” and “Kanban board” have very different purposes: the former is to organize your project and see its big picture, and the latter is to focus on completing a few crucial tasks at a time from the same project.

It makes perfect sense to stay in the same world, whichever mode you are in.

For instance, in a weekly product meeting, you can easily switch to “Kanban board” to see what features are to implement this week and back to “Nested to do list” to see what major milestones are to achieve this year.

In addition, it makes sense to have multiple Kanban boards for a project, especially when a big team is working on it.

You can add different boards for different teams, such as RD and Marketing, for each team to focus on their tasks in the specified board.

You can even further dive into tasks in your own swimlane in the board!

One World, Two Views Multiplied

Such is Quire’s interpretation of “Nested to do list” and “Kanban board”. It is our philosophy of the best way to boost a team’s efficiency and help them sail their dreams.

You can focus on the most crucial tasks, standing unaffected and undisturbed by the rest, in “Kanban board”, and see the big picture of your project that these tasks are a part of in “Nested To do list”, without feeling the pressure of completing them all.