Productivity & Time Management: 7 Productivity Courses In 1

Welcome to the course on goal setting for personal development! This introductory lecture outlines the topics coming up in the course and details the skills you'll gain from completing it.

In this section we take a look at the science and psychology of purpose. This lecture serves as an introduction to the idea of "purpose" and highlights the health and social benefits and cognitive advantages of knowing your purpose.

In this lecture, you will be given seven key indicators that could suggest you're are not in line with your purpose.

Download the Purpose Awareness Worksheet, which will prepare you for Section 3.

This section deep dives into self-awareness. Having discovered the importance of having a purpose in the previous section, this lecture will be an introduction to explore areas of yourself and your life to uncover and/or create your own purpose.

Download the Core Values and Purpose Discovery Worksheet.

In this lecture, you will critically evaluate your own assumptions about success. Firstly, you will list your ideas about what success is. Secondly, you will examine whether your list is influenced by culture, peers and your upbringing, before working out what is truly aligned with your purpose. Lastly, you will divide your list into internal vs external metrics.

In this lecture, you will analyse and evaluate your energy levels across various time periods. You will look at a variety of factors that can influence these energy levels. By having a realistic picture of your energy levels, you can then set realistic goals. You will be encouraged to continue this energy-level tracking as a regular habit, even after goal-setting has been completed.

Download the Energy Levels Worksheet.

This section looks at the science and psychology of goal setting. In this lecture, you will discover how goal setting creates changes in the brain and in one's behaviour, based on psychological and neuroscientific studies.

In this lecture, you will be exposed to scientific studies illustrating the ways in which goal setting has a positive effect on outcomes and success rates.

This lecture will ensure that you have the information you need to make goals that are important to fulfilling your purpose. It gives practical tips on finding inspiration for goals that are meaningful to you across different areas of your life.

Download the Identifying Goals Worksheet.

Here, you will learn how to complete a personal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) matrix, in order to have realistic data upon which you can build your goal setting. You'll then be encouraged to write a list of considerations to take into account based on your goals, and/or filter your goals through your findings to make sure you are not setting yourself up for failure.

Download the SWOT Matrix Worksheet.

The purpose of this lecture is to ensure that you learn how best to organise your goals in the most efficient way. It breaks down various aspects of this process, including creating a timeline and breaking goals into manageable steps.

In the last lecture of this section you will learn how to devise a plan and integrate it into your daily life using positive habits and actions, as well as tools and software to stay organised and motivated.

In this section we take a look at how to review, optimise and stick to your plan. This lecture provides helpful tips for you to stay motivated and avoid distractions when working towards your goals.

In this lecture, you will gain a greater understanding of how to track your goals, measure success and hold yourself accountable using various techniques.

In this lecture, you will learn the importance of evaluating failure, and how to embrace a Growth Mindset before evaluating weaknesses and failures. You will then be taken through a Failure Analysis process to help work out why the goal broke down. Finally, you will use this data to reactivate the goal under new conditions for greater success.

In this lecture, you will look at the importance of giving extra attention to areas of strength and explore why this is important. You will then be guided into thinking about how you can create new goals to capitalise on your areas of success.

This lecture covers long-term change and how it can affect the goal-setting process. You will learn how to evaluate your changing feelings about the goals you originally set and how to take action from there, in order to create new goals or to develop an environment conducive to attaining your original goals.

In this concluding lecture, you will review the key learning objectives and identify ways that the lessons from the course can be used to help individuals achieve their goals in life, and to adapt when faced with failure or changing situations and feelings.

Stress is pervasive in society with so many negative physical and psychological effects. The recent pandemic has not helped matters. The good news is, we can take many actions to understand stress, reduce it, and manage our time more effectively. Stress can cause mental health issues, financial concerns, and decline productivity. However, eustress is a positive form of stress that helps us stay motivated, work toward goals, and feel good about life. Chronic stress can cause neuroendocrine dysfunction.

Download the Stress and the Brain worksheet to start your journey to a stress-free life!

Cognitive bias is when we filter information to support an idea we already believe. While they may seem like they are always negative, they can help us see patterns, form connections, and find easier methods of doing things. However, they are not rational, they are assumptions. Cognitive traps or distortions are problematic, exaggerated forms of cognitive bias that have a negative impact. They trap us from seeing the big picture. Cognitive traps are situations where we assume only negative outcomes, we assume someone is thinking negatively of us, we consider emotions to be evidence of truth, and we view everything as black and white.

Download the Cognitive Biases worksheet.

Heuristics help explain human inconsistencies concerning judgment and decision making. They are mental shortcuts that enable quick judgments about the likelihood of unknown events. Biases can be identified in multiple ways. They can be group-specific, they can impact decision making, alter judgments, impact memory, and reflect motivation. Many biases are self-serving or self-directed. Age affects cognitive bias. Younger adults tend to have more cognitive flexibility.

Download the Biases and Heuristics worksheet.

Cognitive shortcuts are automatic cognitive patterns that people use for efficient decision-making. However, they can also be misused, resulting in biased decision-making. In this lecture, we will discuss how these shortcuts can be helpful, but also how they can be harmful. We will also go over information bias. We will also talk about how stress plays into this and give you coping mechanisms for combating stress. Remember to be mindful of your cognitive distortions.

Download the Stress and Habits worksheet.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Fogg Behavioural Model, factors in motivation, and factors that are sabotaging your efforts. This will help you to become more aware of how to hack your own mind for more efficiency. There is a lot to go over in this lecture, so if you need to go back and repeat it, feel free to do so.

Download the Designing Change Part 1 worksheet and search for The Behaviour Wizard online, which BJ Fogg and his team built to assist you in exploring the many forms of behaviour modification.

In this lecture, we will study methods to improve your abilities, identify your own biases, and use simplicity as a tool for organisational behaviour. Knowing how to actively develop talent is a skill in itself, and learning how to learn is an invaluable meta-skill that you can apply to anything.

Download the Designing Change Part 2 worksheet, which is the perfect way to get started.

Here, we will visit the Fogg Behaviour Model and learn about the prompts in more detail. We will also look at some real-life examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of implementing these prompts. Change is about programming yourself to do what you want.

Download the Prompting Change worksheet, which will help you design prompts for the changes you want to make.

Throughout the previous lectures, we discussed how stress affects the human brain in ways such as impacting overall health and changing how the brain forms memories. We looked at how cognitive biases and traps can distort thinking in ways that cause stress. We also looked at how you can save time and mental fatigue from decision-making by using heuristics, how to overcome bad habits, how to apply minimalism, how to use Fogg's behavioural model. We hope you enjoyed learning about all the tools and techniques you can use to tackle the above problems so you can enjoy a future of wellbeing, in both mind and body.

Cara defines burnout, takes us through some key statistics and identifies the warning signs to look out for. She shares her own experience of burnout and why she is passionate about helping others avoid a similar experience.

Cara explains what chronic stress does to our bodies and how we can manage overwhelm (using the overwhelm emergency checklist).

Cara introduces the 3-step strategy to prevent burnout; mind care, body care, soul care. She shares a story about John to demonstrate why we need to look after mind, body and soul - and not just one of them at a time.

Cara explains you can positively reframe your stress with 3 simple strategies. Download the 'Overwhelm Emergency Checklist'.

Cara discusses how laughter can help prevent burnout and offers insights for how to have a giggle during tense moments.

Cara demonstrates how to sit with uncomfortable feelings.

Learn why you need to nourish your mind with sleep. Cara shares 5 tips on how best to do this.

Cara talks about the importance of movement, nourishing the body with food, how to breathe correctly and offers an exercise to 'let go'.

Cara demonstrates a short exercise to help you release stress and trauma from the body and mind.

Cara discusses how we can often be our own worst enemy and how the 'inner critic' causes stress. Download the 'ABC Technique' supporting document to practice turning down your inner critic.

Download the 'PERMA Model', 'Gratitude - The 3 G's' and 'Joy Planner' supporting documents. Cara explains how to use the PERMA model to rediscover purpose and meaning in your life. She also explains the power of the '3 G's' and 'Joy Planner' for attaining gratitude and joy.

Cara explains why practising acts of kindness can support your mental health.

Cara sets a weekly task for you to experience the benefits of helping others with kindness.

Cara recaps how to avoid burnout using mind, body and soul care, and shares additional tools for prevention.

In this introductory lecture, Cara introduces herself, shares her experience and explains how the coronavirus pandemic has changed in the way we work. She offers an overview of the tips and tools she will be taking you through on this course.

Cara takes us through the challenges and solutions for remote working, with some statistics. By telling a story, she explains what can happen if we are not set up properly for remote work.

Cara shares tips on setting up your office correctly and how to prepare a schedule. She shares a funny story, highlighting the reasons why we need to get dressed for work.

Exercise: Learn all the right things for setting yourself up for success.

Cara explains why we need to set boundaries when working remotely, we don't do it enough and an example of how to say "no".

Download the 'Tech Boundary Challenge' supporting document. Learn simple tools, tips and strategies to set tech boundaries. In this exercise, Cara helps you set your first tech boundary.

Download the 'Joy Planner' supporting document. Cara shares why it is important to plan in plenty of time for things that bring you 'joy'.

Cara looks at the definition of screen fatigue and shares some useful tips and an exercise for how to reduce it.

Cara explains ultradian rhythms and why we need breaks every 90 mins (and how to do that).

Download the 'Daily Productivity Planner' supporting document. Cara shares why we need to find time for our 'deep work' slot.

Learn about Virtual Relating and how to deepen your video calls. Cara will talk you through 'self attunement' and how to get 'into your body', so you can relate more deeply to others over the screen.

Cara's tips on how to make a 'conscious attunement' to other people.

Cara explains how to create 'group coherence'.

Download the '60 Second Stress Reliever Tips' supporting document. Cara recaps her tools and tips for productivity.

Biohacking is the practice of optimising and influencing the body. Neurohacking is a form of biohacking that specifically focuses on brain function. It has been around since the 1980s and had a resurgence in the 2000s with new research. Neurohacking techniques will help you develop the skills that employers are looking for. Neurohacking is a body of knowledge that uses how the brain works to stimulate the right parts of the brain. Even if you don't feel like neurohacking is for you, you can benefit from these exercises. Neurohacking can be done in as little as fifteen minutes a day.

Depression, anxiety, stress, suicide, and burnout are among the top-listed mental health challenges people are currently facing. Whether or not you suffer from mental health issues, and to whatever degree, it's important to understand the causes behind it so that you can become knowledgeable about how to look after your mental health and prevent it from declining in the future. Our modern lifestyle has integrated technology in such a way that our lives are busier than ever and we do not have an "off" switch. Our brains are focused on too many things at once, but not 100% focused on anything. While this may sound discouraging, don't worry too much. You're already taking a huge step forward just by learning about the different challenges we face in our daily lives.

Download the Mental Health Challenges worksheet.

Now we will be looking at some other factors that impact mental health status: sleep, exercise, negative thought bias, and information overload. A lack of quality sleep will play a significant role in our mood and overall functioning. We need a sufficient amount of REM sleep and deep sleep. Without these, we are left with emotional reactivity, poor moods, and the risk of mental health disorders. Exercise has positive effects on both our physical well-being and our mental status. Constant pessimism contributes to the development of mood and anxiety disorders. Lastly, while having up-to-date information at our fingertips can be beneficial, it can also keep our brains in overdrive. Most of these challenges can be mitigated through simple lifestyle adaptations.

Download the Healthy Habits Worksheet.

Now that we have covered the basics, it's time to talk about the key concepts of neurohacking. Neurohacking is based on the idea of neuroplasticity. There is a constant interconnection between your brain and the environment around you. This relates to both executive function and hormones. The two big hormones to consider in this situation are serotonin, dopamine, and cortisol. Hormones affect executive function.

Download the Key Neurohacking Concepts Part 1 worksheet.

Now we can address some other mind-body connections to start performing at our optimum level. There is a connection between gut function and brain function. First through the vagus nerve, but also through hormones and neurotransmitters. Another critical connection that can be impacted by stress and negative emotions is the one between your heart and your brain. Erratic heart patterns send the message to your brain that your body is under stress. Stress is a significant factor in disrupting normal sleep cycles. Which affects brain function, however, you can affect your sleep cycle. By now, you should feel comfortable with the concept of neurohacking and how it can apply to your life.

Download the Key Neurohacking Concepts Part 2 worksheet.