Thriving at Work: Staying Sane & Productive
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Thriving at Work: Staying Sane & Productive
This course is part of Career Effectiveness: Balance, Networking & Collaboration Specialization
Instructor: Evan Kimbrell
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What you'll learn
Plan and prioritize work around outcomes, not just tasks
Protect focus, manage energy, and reduce distraction in real work environments
Build sustainable personal systems with boundaries, flexibility, and light automation
Details to know
April 2026
8 assignments
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There are 4 modules in this course
This course will help you plan your work around meaningful outcomes, prioritize when everything feels urgent, protect your focus, set healthier boundaries, and build simple systems that make productivity more sustainable. Youβll learn how to move beyond endless task lists, manage distractions without becoming unavailable, match your work to your energy, and use lightweight automation to reduce repetitive admin. By the end, youβll have a practical approach for staying effective at work without constantly feeling overwhelmed, reactive, or burned out.
What makes this course unique is that it treats productivity as a whole-work system, not a collection of hacks. Instead of offering unrealistic routines or one-size-fits-all advice, it focuses on the real pressures of modern work: shifting priorities, meeting overload, constant interruptions, unclear expectations, and the challenge of staying sane while still delivering results. The approach is practical, realistic, and built for professionals who want to improve how they work in ways that are both effective and sustainable.
What's included
3 videos9 readings2 assignments
3 videosβ’Total 19 minutes
- From To-Do Lists to Outcomesβ’7 minutes
- Prioritization Under Uncertaintyβ’7 minutes
- Calendar & Task Triageβ’5 minutes
9 readingsβ’Total 175 minutes
- Example Pack: 24 Weak Task Statements Rewritten as Strong Outcome Statementsβ’20 minutes
- Worksheet: Task List β Outcome Plannerβ’15 minutes
- Going deeper into outcomes, open loops, and weekly planningβ’30 minutes
- Example Pack: 12 Ways to Ask for Clarity Without Sounding Difficultβ’10 minutes
- Worksheet: Weekly Priority Triage Plannerβ’20 minutes
- Sharpening your priorities when the work is fuzzyβ’30 minutes
- Template Pack: 10 βNot Nowβ / Pushback / Renegotiation Scriptsβ’10 minutes
- How to Build a Realistic Timeboxed Weekβ’15 minutes
- Making your calendar reflect your prioritiesβ’25 minutes
2 assignmentsβ’Total 90 minutes
- Planning Your Week When Everything Feels Urgentβ’60 minutes
- Module 1 Knowledge Checkβ’30 minutes
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videosβ’Total 18 minutes
- Deep Work vs. Shallow Work Cadenceβ’6 minutes
- Focus Tools, Rituals & Environmentβ’6 minutes
- Async Norms That Protect Focusβ’6 minutes
6 readingsβ’Total 155 minutes
- Examples List: Deep Work vs. Shallow Work in Real Jobsβ’15 minutes
- Building a better rhythm for deep work and reactive workβ’35 minutes
- Worksheet: Personal Focus Reset Builderβ’30 minutes
- Strengthening your focus rituals and distraction defensesβ’30 minutes
- Why Unclear Expectations Create Reactive Workβ’10 minutes
- Using async norms to protect focus and reduce reactive workβ’35 minutes
2 assignmentsβ’Total 90 minutes
- Protecting Focus: Deep Work, Distraction, and Async Communicationβ’60 minutes
- Module 2 Knowledge Checkβ’30 minutes
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videosβ’Total 23 minutes
- Energy Management 101 (Not Just Time Management)β’6 minutes
- Boundary-Setting Scripts & Difficult Conversationsβ’9 minutes
- Negotiating Work Flexibilityβ’8 minutes
6 readingsβ’Total 170 minutes
- Examples List: High-Energy Tasks vs. Low-Energy Tasks in Real Jobsβ’15 minutes
- Exploring energy, recovery, and your natural work rhythmβ’35 minutes
- Boundary-Setting Scripts for Real Work Situationsβ’15 minutes
- Strengthening boundaries, respectful pushback, and hard conversationsβ’35 minutes
- Worksheet: Flexibility Proposal Builderβ’30 minutes
- Making the case for flexible work that actually worksβ’40 minutes
2 assignmentsβ’Total 90 minutes
- Boundaries, Energy, and Flexibility in Practiceβ’60 minutes
- Module 3 Knowledge Checkβ’30 minutes
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
3 videosβ’Total 21 minutes
- Personal Systems & βGood Enoughβ Processβ’7 minutes
- Micro-Automation for Personal Productivityβ’8 minutes
- Keeping the System Alive (Without Turning Into a Productivity Hobbyist)β’7 minutes
6 readingsβ’Total 145 minutes
- Worksheet: Build Your βSingle Source of Truthβ Systemβ’30 minutes
- Building a personal system you can actually keep usingβ’35 minutes
- Good Candidates for Automation vs. Bad Candidates for Automationβ’10 minutes
- Turning repetitive work into small, useful automationsβ’30 minutes
- Why Productivity Systems Fail Over Timeβ’10 minutes
- Keeping your productivity system useful over timeβ’30 minutes
2 assignmentsβ’Total 90 minutes
- Building a Personal Productivity System That Actually Worksβ’60 minutes
- Module 4 Knowledge Checkβ’30 minutes
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