Productivity Coaching
Productivity is an important aspect of the culture of higher ed, one that might be at times frustrating or elusive. Just how do those prolific scholars around us get so much accomplished?
If productivity is a practice you engage in systematically, you can work at your own pace and follow your interests while making steady, reliable progress. Scrum, an easy project management framework, can change the way you work and produce writing, research, grant proposals, art, quality courses – whatever is meaningful for you. With this system, you can stay on top of your priorities, ramp up productivity when needed, but also stay engaged in fun, important, and personally meaningful work.
[Jump to productivity coaching packages]
What is Scrum, and why should you use it to manage your work?
Scrum is an easy framework with three primary phases – planning your work, “sprinting” by concentrating on getting a few high priority tasks completed, and reflecting on the product completed and the success of your productivity practice during the sprint. By isolating priorities and tasks, you can stay on track to meet your meaningful professional goals.
When Rebecca introduced me to the Agile method, it was a game changer. It has positively impacted my own productivity, and also the work of my research team. The practicality of how Rebecca applies Agile methodology to aspects of academic life and culture is both unique and refreshing.
Dr. Katie Linder, Writer, Podcaster, Coach, Kansas State University Global Campus
I’ll teach you the Scrum framework, help you set up your productivity practice, and coach you through any aspect of the process to help you achieve your goals.
How can I master my productivity practice with Scrum?
I created the Agile Faculty productivity system to help faculty members more easily handle the multiple projects they juggle between writing, research, and service. The system helps you to understand your projects and the tasks needed to accomplish them, clearly prioritize those projects and tasks, and transparently visualize your work as you make steady, incremental progress toward your meaningful goals.
I offer three levels of Agile Faculty productivity coaching:
- The Basics gives you the workbook and access to online materials to get up and running as well as one 60-minute planning session with me to set up your sprint goals and tasks.
- With the month-to-month Sprint package, I act as your own personal Scrum master for one one-month sprint, which includes everything in the Basic level plus one weekly 20-minute accountability check, a 45-minute review meeting to review work produced during the sprint, and a 45-minute retrospective meeting to assess your productivity practice and set you up for success in the next sprint. A sprint can be anywhere from three to six weeks depending on preference.
- And The Epic package includes everything in the Spring package as well as more personalized, one-on-one accountability and coaching. With this package, we will work together to create your entire project backlog and run two full sprints with each sprint taking somewhere between three and six weeks, with double the personal attention as the Sprint package.
Why Should You Work with Me?
I am a certified Professional Scrum Master with over 80 hours of professional training in Scrum project management and coaching practices. The book from which this program derives, Agile Faculty: Practical Strategies for Managing Research, Service, and Teaching, was published in 2017 by the University of Chicago and is packed with strategies for increasing and managing academic productivity. And as a coach, I have completed over 160 hours of professional training, mentored coaching, and private practice in pursuit of my International Coaching Federation ACC certificate, expected mid-2021.
How much is Scrum productivity coaching?
| The Basics | The Sprint | The Epic | |
| Package cost | $200 (one time) | $600 | $1500 first time $1000 additional two-sprint cycles |
| 3 sprint cycles pre-paid packages | $1600 (save $200) | $3000 (save $500) | |
| Scrum workbook | X | X | X |
| Access to video lessons (coming soon) | X | X | X |
| Full project backlog set-up coaching (90 min) | Optional add-on, $150 | Optional add-on, $150 | 1 |
| Sprint planning session (60 min) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Daily Scrum accountability meeting (20 min) | 4-6 (1x week) | 8-10 (2x week) | |
| Review meeting (45 min) | 1 | 2 | |
| Retrospective activity meeting (45 min) | 1 | 2 | |
| One-on-one coaching sessions (60 min) | $100 per session up to 3 additional sessions | $80 per session up to 3 additional sessions | $60 per session up to 3 additional sessions |
| RPR available by email | X | X |
rebecca pope-ruark 