10 Steps to Ultimate Productivity Course to be launched soon!

Back in 2008 when Nozbe was gaining traction I decided to prepare a 10 step productivity course which I delivered as a speech to a great group of Aula Polska in Warsaw. My friend, Maciek “Mediafun” recorded it (thank you!) and I recorded a series of screencasts and mixed it together for people to learn productivity principles and comprehend how to use Nozbe to help them get things done. This course has been viewed more than 100K times on YouTube to this date.

Preparing to launch The all-new course version 2012

Fast forward to today, I’m close to 6 years of running Nozbe with amazing success (thanks to my fantastic customers!), I’ve published 13 issues of the Productive! Magazine and close to 50 episodes of my Productive! Show and I’m more passionate about productivity than ever. And I’ve learned seriously a lot in these last years… and I decided it was time to update the course and release it again in a new format, with some great information and a lot more tips and tricks. The course will be released in November in a written format, as well as with an audio and video version. Each video of each step will be of ~ 6 minutes delivered in a pecha-kucha style by yours truly.

To give you a sneak peek, here’s a short introduction to the course:

10 Steps to Ultimate Productivity - Introduction:

Welcome to my “10 Steps to Ultimate Productivity” course. Over the course of next 10 lessons I’ll try to teach you everything I’ve learned so far that helps me stay productive, get a lot done and have a happy life.

My name is Michael Sliwinski, I’m the founder of Nozbe.com - one of the leading productivity applications on the Internet. Every day, thousands upon thousands of busy professionals and teams are getting things done using Nozbe’s web application as well as our native apps for the Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android.

I’m also the editor of the Productive! Magazine - a completely free PDF and iPad magazine where I get a chance to interview some real overachievers and where many people wiser than me post fantastic articles. Be sure to check it out and read past issues. You’ll be inspired.

I’m also running a video show where I try out new productivity techniques and record them so you can see what’s new, what’s helping me now and, equally important, what’s not working for me at all. Each show is short and to the point.

As you can see, I’m passionate about personal and business productivity. I’ve been involved with this over the last decade and have been running Nozbe for around 6 years now. That’s why I decided to build this course - to help you get inspired, get organized, get productive and get going!

Having said that, this course is not only about Nozbe - it’s about developing your very own productivity system. I will be giving examples from Nozbe (as this is the tool I use and my productivity principles are deeply integrated there) but you can still participate and use other productivity apps as well.

Again, if you decide to use Nozbe, that’s great, if you use a different tool, good for you - the most important thing is that you use something and get your productivity system in place. I might mention some other apps and systems throughout the course.

The course is laid out to 10 simple steps. Each step is not only written for you to read at your convenience but also recorded on video and audio and lasts a little over 6 minutes - so it’s really short and to the point.

Step 1 in the course is about “Clearing your mind” and putting everything into your trusted system. We’ll talk about Inboxes (and we all have a few of these!), and how to use them to make sure your mind is focused and nothing gets forgotten.

Step 2 is about organizing your tasks into projects. About dividing the big tasks into small, actionable steps to ensure you always get them done. You’ll become a project management ninja after this lesson.

Step 3 is about defining your “next actions” - your priority tasks that need to be done next to keep your projects moving forward. You’ll learn that sometimes it takes getting just one small task done to move the avalanche of a project forward and begin accomplishing your goals.

Step 4 is about being productive anywhere. Using your smartphone, tablet or even pen and paper (I know, it sounds old-school) just to move things forward. Today’s era of technology enables us to get tasks done anywhere and have more free time later!

Step 5 is about collaborating. We live in a connected world and your colleagues as well as your close friends can help you get a lot more done. You’ll learn how to share projects, delegate tasks and communicate through them effectively.

Step 6 is about working in contexts - it’s a second, and very helpful layer of productivity where you divide tasks not only into projects, but into places these can be done in, tools these can be done with, and so on. Example: pull out all the phone calls you have to make and get them done!

Step 7 is about managing your reference material and documents. Store your notes and digitize as much content as you can to make sure to have it at hand when you’re getting your tasks done. Lots of tricks and apps can help you with that.

Step 8 is about reviewing your recently set up productivity system. At least once a week you need to have a meeting with yourself and review your tasks, projects, lists and goals. Learn to start your next week fresh!

Step 9 is about Email and how to handle it. How to process it to zero (instead of checking it regularly), how to handle others’ expectations when it comes to email, how to make sure you don’t drown in the flood of email messages coming in.

Step 10 is where I help you how to start with everything you’ve learned so far. Where I add several tips and tricks that work for me and point you toward additional materials for inspiration and action.

Here they are - 10 steps to building powerful productivity habits that will help you achieve your goals, get more done, enjoy more free time with your family and friends and have a great life!

If you’re ready, I encourage you to go to step one right away. You can get back to each lesson whenever you like. My goal is to inspire you and help you achieve your potential by sharing everything that’s worked for me over the years. Let’s get it all done!