A course by Carl Pullein

Thank you for joining my Time Sector course. I know

you are going to learn a great deal from this course and
it will transform the way you manage you tasks, your
goals and your projects.

Most people have become wedded to the idea that

tasks must be organised by projects and contexts
(people, place and things), yet now we are almost a
quarter of the way in to the 21st century our work, goals
and lives in general move too fast to be trying decide if
something is a project, a single action item or a
someday/maybe item.

Instead, I have found a faster more effective way to

manage work on a day to day basis, and this course will
teach this new approach so you too can take full
advantage of organising your work by the time you
have available.

IF YOU WANT TO SPEND LESS TIME INSIDE YOUR TO-DO LIST AND MORE
TIME DOING THE WORK THAT MATTERS; TIME SECTORS ARE FOR YOU.
 A NEW KIND OF TIME
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
For the 21st Century
 HOW I MANAGE MY WORK.
I create my own content, do my own marketing, manage projects because you can keep meeting
admin, sales and course creation. On top of that I notes, ideas, sketches, designs, screenshots and
usually have over a hundred comments and plans all in one place. You can also add a timeline,
questions to answer every day. a status indicator and so much more. Any
additional tasks that come up from these notes
Yet my system is simple. It does not require can be added to you to-do list quickly and
additional apps other than a to-do list, a notes efficiently at the end of the day.
app and a calendar. Any additional apps on top of
those creates further problems by giving you Because most notes apps can be organised by
something else to update each day last modified, even if you forget which projects
you have worked on that day, they will always be
Content creation, marketing and course creation at the top of you list.
are my vital areas of work. Without doing those
consistently every day and week, I would not have Really what it is about is managing your work so
a business or an income. Because of that, these you stay focused on the core essential work—the
are scheduled on my calendar each week and they work that generates your income. After that, you
are fixed. Monday is blog post writing day. fit in whatever else needs doing around your day
Tuesday is podcast script writing, Wednesday is and that is where your to-do list can help keep
newsletter and course development day etc. work that needs doing front and centre.

These are also non-negotiable. They are on my My to-do list is organised by time sectors: this
calendar and they get done. No excuses. None of week, next week, this month, next month and
these are in my to-do list because they are long-term. When I process it at the end of the day,
already on my calendar. I may add tasks such as all I have to do is decide when I am going to do a
“research Ivy Lee method” or “replace batteries in task and place it in its time sector. If it is a task
my lapel mic for Friday’s recording session” but I that need doing this week, I will add a date to the
would not have tasks such as “write blog post” or task. If not, I won’t add a date until it arrives in my
“record videos for ABC course”. this week sector.

Content plans and ideas are all kept in my notes I do a ten minute daily planning session at the end
app with a dedicated folder for content. That way I of the day where I flag tasks that ‘must’ be done
can easily access the folder of the work I am tomorrow, and I do a thirty minute weekly
working on that day. planning session on a Sunday where I pull forward
next week’s tasks into this week’s sector and add
Admin and my sales funnel management are done a date.
every day - I just find time to do them every day,
usually sometime in the afternoon once I have And that is really about it. Nothing complex. It
finished at the gym or been out for a run. Most of keeps me focused on what is important—work
these are managed using Apple’s Numbers that grows my business—and avoids a lot of
spreadsheet or Freshbooks. unnecessary organising and updating.

My project management is done in my notes app.

Your notes app is a much more logical place to
SETTING
UP THE
TIME
SECTORS
YOU ONLY NEED TO SET UP SIX SECTORS. THESE ARE:

This week Next month

This sector is where you put tasks This sector is where you put tasks
you want to complete this week you want to complete net month.

Next week Long term / on hold

This sector is where you put tasks This sector is where you put tasks
you want to complete next week that are not due for three months
or more or are things you want to
do sometime in the future.

This month Routines

This sector is where you put tasks Thus sector is for your daily/
you want to complete this month weekly/ monthly routine tasks
but have not yet decided when that do not improve your life or
you will do them. take your projects or goals
forward.
SETTING
UP THE
SYSTEM
Collect & Process
Throughout the day you collect your tasks and commitments and at the end of the day
give yourself ten to twenty minutes to organise what to collected by when you want to /
need to complete the task.
Recurring Areas of Focus and Routines
Your recurring areas of focus and routines just automatically come up in your today
view when they are due.
 WHAT IS AN AREA OF FOCUS?
An Area of Focus is a repeating task that moves your regular
work and goals forward.
• Go to the gym
• Continue writing book
• Arrange date night with your partner
• Work on side-project
• Weekly planning session
• Regular project work (work that earns your income)

WHAT IS A ROUTINE?
A routine is anything you just have to do that does not take
your goals or projects further forward.

• Take the garbage out

• Clean up the house
• Do your expenses
• Clean up your files
• Wash the car
YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY
YOUR CORE WORK.
These are the non-negotiable tasks you complete every week.
 WHAT IS YOUR CORE WORK?
In the space below write out the tasks you need to complete each day/week/month/year
that either contributes to your income, your goals or purpose.

Daily Weekly

Monthly Annually

Examples would be:

Make 5 sales call today, write blog post, do exercise, create something, spend time with
a loved one etc.
 WHAT ARE YOUR ROUTINES?
In the space below write out the tasks you need to complete each day/week/month/year
that just need to be done but do not take your life or work further forward.

Daily Weekly

Monthly Annually

Examples would be:

Take out the garbage, do your expenses, do housework, do your banking etc.
USING THE
SYSTEM
 SPEND MORE TIME DOING AND LESS TIME ORGANISING
Traditional digital systems force you to organise your tasks in a way that encourages you
to spend too much time processing and organising. If you want to be more productive
your must spend more time doing and less time processing and organising

Project tasks:
The Time Sector Method is all about making one decision; When am I going to do this
task?

To make that decision, first decide whether it can be or must be done this week. If not,
add it to one of your other time sectors (next week, this month, next month etc).

If you decide it needs doing this week, check your calendar, look for available time and
add the appropriate date.

Recurring Areas of Focus

Once you set these up, they will recur when you have decided they need doing. These
are you non-negotiable tasks. These tasks move your life forward, increase your income
and keeps you moving forward on your goals.

These are non-negotiable. This must be done when they are due. No excuses.

Routines
These are the ‘negotiable’ tasks that just need to be done when they need to be done.
They neither improve your life or move anything significant forward.

If you have to skip one of these, it would not be the end of the world.
DAILY
PLANNING
Throughout the day you will be collecting
tasks and commitments.

The first step is to process what you

collected into their rightful sector. If a task
needs doing this week, add the day you will
do it and put in in this week’s sector.

All other tasks do not add a date, just put it

in the relevant sector.

Once you have processed what you have collected for the day, open
the “this week sector” and you calendar and check that everything
is still relevant and that you have not over-committed yourself.

Then do you 2+8 Prioritisation—deciding which ten tasks you will do

tomorrow as a priority.
 DAILY PRIORITY WORKFLOW

What two tasks could you do tomorrow that would have the biggest, positive impact on your
goals and projects?

What will you focus on tomorrow? (project/activity/goal)

What eight tasks would you like to get done tomorrow, that either need doing to make
progress or you would like to just get done?

If you have time left, what very next tasks on your projects list could you get done now that
would move you forward on those projects?
HOW TO USE THIS WORKFLOW

As part of your Golden Ten evening routine, use this workflow to prioritise what you want to
accomplish tomorrow.

1 Your Two Objectives

Choose two tasks from your daily list for tomorrow that would have the biggest positive impact
on your goals or projects. These tasks must be completed—no excuses!

2 Your Daily Focus

What will you focus on tomorrow? This could be a project, a hobby, your family. Anything you
want to put your attention on for the day. A good example would be if you have a deadline
coming up and you need to spend some focused time on it. Make that your focus for the day so
that in between doing your tasks this one focus will be done.

3 The Daily Eight

These are the eight tasks you would like to get done tomorrow, but it would not be the end of
the world if you didn’t manage to do them. They are priorities, but not top priorities.

4 The Next Actions

These are the very next tasks from the projects in your active projects list. Most days you will
not get round to these, but if you do have spare time at the end of the day these are great tasks
to get done because they keep all your active projects moving forward.

The reason the number of tasks are kept to a maximum of ten is so you will have time
throughout the day to handle any interruptions that come your way. Of course, the goal is to
keep the list as short as you possibly can. If you only have one objective and one task on your
daily eight, that’s fantastic. It means you are focusing on what is important.

These lists do not include your daily routines. These are kept separate as they do not move your
life further forward and just have to be done on specific days, often at specific times.

The whole purpose of this workflow is to keep you focused on what is important to you, your
development and your priorities. If you find your lists are filling up with the priorities of other
people (your boss, parents, partner or friends) then you need to re-evaluate what is important
to you.
WEEKLY
PLANNING
With your weekly planning session, you
only need to be checking three sectors.

1. Make sure you have completed your

tasks for this week
2. Pull forward the tasks in “next week”
into “this week”
3. Check to see if there are any tasks in
“this month” you can pull forward into
this week.

With your “this Week” Sector, Date all the new tasks
and make sure you are giving yourself enough time to
complete your tasks.

Remember, your recurring areas of focus will already be

coming up when they are due and your routines are
feeding into your daily task list.
HOW TO
MANAGE
PROJECTS
AND GOALS
PROJECTS AND GOALS ARE BEST
MANAGED IN YOUR NOTES APP
You have far greater freedom to play, create, brainstorm and add
screenshots/images and web links
• Organise your folders in a hierarchy structure so
you can easily switch between your roles.
• Inside each folder each project/goal should have its
own note.
• Be careful adding more sub-folders. This rarely
adds any value to your overall structure.
• All good notes apps have a strong built in search
feature that will allow you to search by keyword.

For you goals, make sure the title of your note is clear,
motivating and written in a positive way.

not “Lose weight” or “stop smoking” etc. Instead write “I

will weight 75kg” or “I will be a non-smoker”

This way, when you look at your goals list you will only
see clear, positive statements.
With projects, you can add timelines, progress bars,
files, notes and screenshots. Far more flexible than any
to-do list manager will allow you.

You can customise what you see and where within the
note to meet your own standards.
SAMPLE
SETUPS
Microsoft To-do

Apple Reminders
Todoist

TeuxDeux
JOIN
ME
YOU CAN FOLLOW ME AT….
My purpose is to help as many people as I can become better organised
and more productive so I can contribute to reducing the epidemic levels of
workplace stress in the world.

Get yourself enrolled in my FREE Beginners Guide To C.O.D online course

and start using my simple to create, easy to maintain, complete
productivity system. https://bit.ly/2rC0rFd

Visit my Websites:
https://www.carlpullein.com
https://carl-pullein.thinkific.com

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