Time Management Takes Work
My weak time management skills have been making life a lot harder than it should be. For a very long time, I made up for this by simply working longer hours than everyone else. It worked for a while, but there was one detrimental side effect. No life. I needed to work smarter, not harder. What is the point of work? To make enough and build something that provides you with the money and time to spend doing the things you REALLY want to do. So I decided to tackle the root of the problem improve my time management skills. In my research I found a few resources I would like to share (quickly):
1. This video: Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch offers priceless wisdom on managing time effectively.
2. This article: 10 tips for time management in a multitasking world by Penelope Trunk at Brazen Carrerist.
3. These books:
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen: I read this one and it provides real-world, hands-on organization and prioritizing tips I could put to work immediately.7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey: I’m sure every Agent Genius reader has dug into it but I cannot leave this classic unmentioned. If you haven’t checked it out, DO IT now.
4. These blogs:
43 Folders – Multitasker Merlin Mann shares insights on productivity, making time and getting things done.Lifehacker – A blog that offers tips and reviews online tools and software that helps you work more efficiently using technology.
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Randy Pausch is amazing.
I have heard him several times. Always well worth it.
My personal favorite would 7 habits of highly effective people. I had the opportunity to meet Steven Covey (20 years ago now–yikes!) when I was just out of college. Amazing.
Thanks Carson
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This is a department that I always need help in…..multi-tasking is my game and I keep adding hours to my day and decreasing sleep time. I know I’m efficient between my 3 kids, my office, the house, soccer, baseball, swimming, tennis, showings, blogging….etc. – but I will pay attention to this and will let you know if I was able to consolidate.
There is NEVER enough time . . . Funny, but I just blogged on this today on Active Rain (http://www.activerain.com/blogs/robinsherman) because one of my three – or is it four – e-mail inboxs hit 1300! I’ve decided that Merlin Mann is INDEED the Man! I’m trying to be disciplined enough to incorporate his tips for a Zero Inbox. Wish me luck!
Thanks for that video. Randy Pausch is a mesmerizing speaker, I was moved by his “Last Lecture and I am glad to hear he still with us. There are some great tips in there!
Carson – There is never enough time – thanks for making it short. There comes a time when you have to hire an assistant to maintain the non-dollar productive activityies. I think my time has come.
Well it’s 4:45 a.m. as I read this blog. I think I need better time management skills… and a life. Thanks Carson for the great info. I need to pull the 7 Habits back out of my library and wipe the dust from the cover. I’ve only watched the first 15 minutes of the Pausch video, when was that made and how is he doing? Does anyone know? Pretty amazing his choice of time to give back to the world about time management with his limited time here…
@Holly – Not sure when it was made. Last I saw, he is still with us, but the cancer he is dealing with is working on him pretty hard. His clear sense of what is important is a huge inspiration to me.
@Eric – to me as well. And to add to that, his sense of selflessness…
Randy is still with us. Click on the link directly above the video and then click on his daily update page and he has a post this year on father’s day.
Hi Carson – thanks for posting the video – it was very inspiring – the resources you posted are excellent.
Time management takes change and we as people have to leave our comfort zones in order to make changes.
Maybe we need to learn about change management before we embark on time management.
Getting Things Done by David Allen can be above most people in my opinion. He comes off as having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I would recommend skipping the book and grabbing a copy of his whitepaper, Getting Things Done & Outlook (or Lotus Notes) – you’ll understand the concepts that he writes of in his book, and have a very practical guide to setting up your software to help with time mangement.
Always seem to run out of time, thanks for posting the video.
Randy Pausch succumbed to Pancreatic cancer today. RIP Randy!
Dan – I heard that on the news just this weekend. It is weird though that someone posted an article about managing one’s email inbox from Inman Real Connect.