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⇱ Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity | Coursera

Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity

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Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity

This course is part of Career Success Specialization

569,903 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.6

16,861 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
1 week at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.6

16,861 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
1 week at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

  • Apply crisis management techniques to prevent and manage crises

  • Manage time and energy resources effectively and efficiently

  • Recognize and overcome barriers to successful time management

  • Plan effectively to achieve your personal and professional goals

Details to know

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Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Career Success Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

This course is for professionals, project managers, administrative assistants, and anyone seeking to enhance their personal and professional productivity. You will gain and apply knowledge of personal and professional awareness, organization, and commitment. Learn to use tools, methods, and techniques in goal setting, prioritization, scheduling, and delegation to overcome time management challenges and enhance productivity.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Plan effectively to achieve your personal and professional goals. 2. Recognize and overcome barriers to successful time management. 3. Identify specific time management tools (e.g., digital calendars, task management apps) and use them effectively. 4. Manage resources both effectively and efficiently. 5. Keep your sense of perspective to prevent and manage crises. 6. Delegate effectively. 7. Manage expectations and say “No” when appropriate. To be successful in this course, you should have a basic understanding of workplace organization and a desire to improve personal efficiency.

Welcome to Module 1: Time Management Fundamentals and Planning! This foundational module will help you distinguish between productive and unproductive work, understand the critical importance of prioritizing, and master the basics of time planning. You'll reflect on past work situations and create your own individual work plans, setting a strong foundation for enhanced personal productivity. To succeed, actively engage with the reflection exercises and start building your plan!

What's included

2 videos6 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

2 videos•Total 5 minutes
  • Being Productive•2 minutes
  • Task Prioritization•2 minutes
6 readings•Total 65 minutes
  • About this Course•10 minutes
  • Productive vs. Unproductive Work•15 minutes
  • Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize!•5 minutes
  • Plan Your Time•10 minutes
  • Find a System that Works for You•5 minutes
  • Resources•20 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
  • Smart Work Habits Just Don't Happen•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 50 minutes
  • Unproductive Work•20 minutes
  • Learning Activity•30 minutes

Welcome to Module 2: Work-Life Balance and Delegation! Building on your time management fundamentals, we'll tackle the concept of work-life balance and equip you with a practical toolkit. You'll learn to evaluate time/money tradeoffs and master effective delegation, crucial skills for any project manager or administrative assistant. This module empowers you to manage your workload and achieve greater personal productivity. Focus on applying the toolkit to your own situation!

What's included

2 videos5 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

2 videos•Total 5 minutes
  • Time Tracking•2 minutes
  • Eisenhower Matrix•3 minutes
5 readings•Total 40 minutes
  • Work/Life Balance is a Myth•10 minutes
  • Where Does YOUR Time Go?•10 minutes
  • The Time/Money Tradeoff•5 minutes
  • It’s Still About Priorities•5 minutes
  • Resources•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
  • Time Is the Most Limited Resource•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 65 minutes
  • Taking Things Off Your To-Do List•20 minutes
  • Learning Activity•45 minutes

Welcome to Module 3: Effective Communication and Scheduling! Building on your planning and delegation skills, this module emphasizes the importance of optimal timing and mastering communication strategies. You'll explore personal experiences with time management and learn to journal your energy levels to identify peak productivity times for better scheduling. This will significantly enhance your professional productivity. Pay close attention to the journaling exercises to personalize your learning!

What's included

2 videos5 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

2 videos•Total 5 minutes
  • Handling Communications•2 minutes
  • Estimating Time•2 minutes
5 readings•Total 55 minutes
  • How Long Will This Take?•10 minutes
  • Communications: When to Answer, When to Wait•10 minutes
  • Keeping it All Together•10 minutes
  • It’s All About the Timing•10 minutes
  • Resources•15 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
  • Little Tips That Make a Big Impact•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 65 minutes
  • Estimating Time•20 minutes
  • Activity•45 minutes

Welcome to the final module, Focus and Productivity! Here, we'll explore how sharp focus can be your competitive advantage and debunk the myth of multitasking. You'll learn to identify and overcome common distractions, solidifying your ability to maintain high professional productivity. This module brings together all your time management skills, preparing you to apply them for sustained success. Stay engaged and reflect on your journey to maximize your learning!

What's included

2 videos7 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

2 videos•Total 5 minutes
  • Multitasking: The Myth•2 minutes
  • Avoiding Distractions•2 minutes
7 readings•Total 62 minutes
  • Focus is a Competitive Advantage•10 minutes
  • Multitasking is Madness•10 minutes
  • Overcoming Common Distractions•15 minutes
  • It’s All Up to You•10 minutes
  • References•2 minutes
  • Resources•10 minutes
  • Course Wrap-Up•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
  • Productivity Comes from Paying Attention•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 40 minutes
  • Activity•20 minutes
  • Work Smarter, Not Harder•20 minutes

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Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.7 (3,480 ratings)
University of California, Irvine
33 Courses•1,301,346 learners

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Learner reviews

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  • 4 stars

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  • 3 stars

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  • 2 stars

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  • 1 star

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Showing 3 of 16861

CJ
·

Reviewed on Jan 2, 2021

I learned alot from this time management course! I never knew I've been adding more tasks to my daily life than helping myself cope with all my organization stresses! this was indeed very helpful

BM
·

Reviewed on Feb 13, 2021

I enjoyed this course a lot, it was easy, a little fun, and somehow close.It was nevertheless helpful to me and now I can achieve more in my days So thank You for the hard work and please keep it up

MB
·

Reviewed on Apr 10, 2020

Its a very nice and important course for our day to day life. Very effectively tutor explained the each and every topic in a very efficient manner which anyone can understand easily. Thanks.

Frequently asked questions

You'll learn how to plan your time more deliberately, prioritize what matters, and stay productive without relying on constant urgency. It starts with productive versus unproductive work and weekly planning, then builds into delegation, communication habits, timing, and focus. Along the way, you'll apply the ideas by creating a work plan, tracking your time, and identifying distractions that pull you off task.

No, you don't need formal time management training before starting. A basic understanding of workplace organization will help, because the course quickly asks you to plan tasks, reflect on work habits, and use simple prioritization methods in everyday situations. If you already manage a calendar, to-do list, or regular responsibilities, you should be ready for the course.

Yes, it's beginner-friendly if you want practical ways to manage time better and you're willing to look honestly at your own habits. The course uses short lessons, readings, quizzes, and guided activities instead of assuming advanced business or management experience. It's especially useful if you have work or study responsibilities you can use as real examples while you learn.

It takes about 10 hours to complete. That makes it a short course rather than a long multiweek commitment, with work broken into manageable sections. The course includes lessons, readings, quizzes, and guided activities like work-planning and time-tracking exercises.

Yes, but the hands-on work is more like guided exercises than open-ended projects or labs. You'll create a five-day work plan, track your time and energy, complete a work-life balance toolkit, and make a plan to reduce a common distraction. That practice matters because you're applying each idea to your own schedule instead of only reading about productivity.

You'll work on planning, prioritization, scheduling, delegation, and managing your time and energy more deliberately. The course also covers time tracking, communication habits, the Eisenhower Matrix, and ways to protect focus by reducing distractions and avoiding multitasking. Taken together, those topics help you build a more realistic and sustainable approach to personal and professional productivity.

After finishing, you should be able to build a workable weekly plan, prioritize competing tasks, and decide what to do yourself versus what to delegate or decline. You'll also be able to track where your time goes, estimate tasks more realistically, and handle messages with more intention instead of constant interruption. For example, you could review a crowded workweek, sort tasks by urgency and importance, and create a schedule that protects focus time.

It's more applied than theoretical, but the practice is guided rather than project-heavy. You'll learn the ideas through lessons and readings, then use them in short exercises like work planning, time tracking, and distraction management. That's a good fit if you want usable methods without a large final project.

Choose this course if you want a time management class that helps you build a system that fits you, rather than pushing one fixed productivity method. It moves from planning and prioritization into delegation, communication, timing, and focus, and it repeatedly asks you to apply those ideas through personal work plans, tracking exercises, and reflection. If you want a beginner-friendly course centered on everyday work habits instead of abstract productivity theory, this is a strong fit.

Financial aid available,