How Successful People Manage Their Time

[Brickjectivity]

I saw this video summary on the internet by Kevin Kruse of tips he got from interviewing many successful people. I'm listing the 'Golden nuggets in the 15 minute video, as well as attaching both a link to the video and the auto-generated transcript from youtube. Here is what the successful people told him:

1. Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource.
2. Identify your most important task and do it first, the most important task -- the M.I.T.
3. Work from your calendar not a to-do list.
4. To overcome procrastination, beat your future self.
5. There will always be more to do.
6. Always carry a notebook.
   
7. Control your inbox.
8. Schedule and attend meetings as a last resort.
9. Say no to everything that doesn't support your immediate goals.
10. Follow the powerful Pareto principle and Preta principle more commonly known as "The 80/20 rule."
11. Focus on your unique strengths and passion, and delegate the rest.
12. Batch your work with recurring themes: Focus days, Buffer days, Free days.
13. If you can do a task in less than five minutes do it immediately.
14. Routinely use early mornings to strengthen your mind your body and your spirit.
15. Productivity is about energy and focus -- not time.

Book Title is: 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
ISBN: 9780985056438, 0985056436

I have attached the transcript as a .txt file.

The video:

Spoiler: Kevin Kruse on the Cut the Crap podcast

 

[Kooky]

Most rich people also have employees to manage their time for them.

Delegation is a real boon, once you've attained a superior position that allows one to delegate to staff.
Of course, if you're staff, you have to do everything by yourself - no delegation when you're at the bottom of the pole.

Hence, the appearance that "successful people delegate" - they do because they can.

 

[Regiomontanus]

I saw this video summary on the internet by Kevin Kruse of tips he got from interviewing many successful people. I'm listing the 'Golden nuggets in the 15 minute video, as well as attaching both a link to the video and the auto-generated transcript from youtube. Here is what the successful people told him:

1. Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource.
2. Identify your most important task and do it first, the most important task -- the M.I.T.
3. Work from your calendar not a to-do list.
4. To overcome procrastination, beat your future self.
5. There will always be more to do.
6. Always carry a notebook.
   
7. Control your inbox.
8. Schedule and attend meetings as a last resort.
9. Say no to everything that doesn't support your immediate goals.
10. Follow the powerful Pareto principle and Preta principle more commonly known as "The 80/20 rule."
11. Focus on your unique strengths and passion, and delegate the rest.
12. Batch your work with recurring themes: Focus days, Buffer days, Free days.
13. If you can do a task in less than five minutes do it immediately.
14. Routinely use early mornings to strengthen your mind your body and your spirit.
15. Productivity is about energy and focus -- not time.

Book Title is: 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
ISBN: 9780985056438, 0985056436

I have attached the transcript as a .txt file.

The video:

Spoiler: Kevin Kruse on the Cut the Crap podcast

I am not sure my definition of success is the same as his, though #1 on the list is a universal truth, IMO.

 

[Nakosis]

I saw this video summary on the internet by Kevin Kruse of tips he got from interviewing many successful people. I'm listing the 'Golden nuggets in the 15 minute video, as well as attaching both a link to the video and the auto-generated transcript from youtube. Here is what the successful people told him:

1. Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource.
2. Identify your most important task and do it first, the most important task -- the M.I.T.
3. Work from your calendar not a to-do list.
4. To overcome procrastination, beat your future self.
5. There will always be more to do.
6. Always carry a notebook.
   
7. Control your inbox.
8. Schedule and attend meetings as a last resort.
9. Say no to everything that doesn't support your immediate goals.
10. Follow the powerful Pareto principle and Preta principle more commonly known as "The 80/20 rule."
11. Focus on your unique strengths and passion, and delegate the rest.
12. Batch your work with recurring themes: Focus days, Buffer days, Free days.
13. If you can do a task in less than five minutes do it immediately.
14. Routinely use early mornings to strengthen your mind your body and your spirit.
15. Productivity is about energy and focus -- not time.

Book Title is: 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
ISBN: 9780985056438, 0985056436

I have attached the transcript as a .txt file.

The video:

Spoiler: Kevin Kruse on the Cut the Crap podcast

I'd imagine it'd depend on what one's definition of success is.
Money? Power? Control?

 

[Brickjectivity]

Most rich people also have employees to manage their time for them.

Delegation is a real boon, once you've attained a superior position that allows one to delegate to staff.
Of course, if you're staff, you have to do everything by yourself - no delegation when you're at the bottom of the pole.

Hence, the appearance that "successful people delegate" - they do because they can.

Yes, and I certainly haven't got a personal staff. I think I haven't really conveyed what the bullet point is about. I get a different message from watching the video than perhaps is conveyed only by line #11. The main emphasis is to focus on *my* or *your* strengths and passions and not to get sidetracked. For example some people go overboard with the do-it-yourself thing and mismanage time that way. We sometimes don't ask for help when we should, or we try to be an expert on everything.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I'd imagine it'd depend on what one's definition of success is.
Money? Power? Control?

I think of success as being proud of how I have lived, so for me its not talking about money or power or control. Its more basic to me: How do I stop having a messy house? How do I stay on task and keep things in repair around here? How do I keep improving?

 

[icehorse]

Here is what the successful people told him

BTW, the best bosses support their people in implementing these ideas. Too many bosses put roadblocks in the way of their employees.

 

[Fool]

Time isn't the most valuable resource. You have nothing but loads of time. Love is the most valuable resource. Successful people love what they are doing; otherwise they'd be doing something else.

"I think you should continue your training as a gymnast. A warrior does not give up what he loves, Dan. He finds the love in what he does." - Socrates, 'Peaceful Warrior'.

 

[viole]

I saw this video summary on the internet by Kevin Kruse of tips he got from interviewing many successful people. I'm listing the 'Golden nuggets in the 15 minute video, as well as attaching both a link to the video and the auto-generated transcript from youtube. Here is what the successful people told him:

1. Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource.
2. Identify your most important task and do it first, the most important task -- the M.I.T.
3. Work from your calendar not a to-do list.
4. To overcome procrastination, beat your future self.
5. There will always be more to do.
6. Always carry a notebook.
   
7. Control your inbox.
8. Schedule and attend meetings as a last resort.
9. Say no to everything that doesn't support your immediate goals.
10. Follow the powerful Pareto principle and Preta principle more commonly known as "The 80/20 rule."
11. Focus on your unique strengths and passion, and delegate the rest.
12. Batch your work with recurring themes: Focus days, Buffer days, Free days.
13. If you can do a task in less than five minutes do it immediately.
14. Routinely use early mornings to strengthen your mind your body and your spirit.
15. Productivity is about energy and focus -- not time.

Book Title is: 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
ISBN: 9780985056438, 0985056436

I have attached the transcript as a .txt file.

The video:

Spoiler: Kevin Kruse on the Cut the Crap podcast

Really successful people do not need to manage their time. They do whatever they want.

Ciao

- viole

 

[PureX]

"Successful" people spend their time managing other people's time and efforts. That's what "success" means in a culture that cannot transcend it's obsession with controlling everything and everyone. Will humans ever rise above social Darwinism? We can only dream.

 

[Brickjectivity]

BTW, the best bosses support their people in implementing these ideas. Too many bosses put roadblocks in the way of their employees.

I am curious how that happens or doesn't. Are there specific ways to support people that all bosses can do? For example should they issue notebooks? Perhaps you are talking about just one or two points such as not having lots of meetings and working from calendars instead of to do lists.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Really successful people do not need to manage their time. They do whatever they want.

Ciao

- viole

Its not final, but at least the writer says he gathered this information from 29 straight-A students, 239 entrepreneurs, 7 billionaires and 13 olympic athletes. I don't know if all the athletes were on the same team, or if all the students had the same teacher and cheated, or if the 7 billionaires simply inherited or if the entrepreneurs all read the same magazines. He assures us that he interviewed successful people. The students were successful students, the billionaires successful billionaires, the entrepreneurs successful entrepreneurs, the athletes successful athletes. We only have his word on it.

 

[icehorse]

I am curious how that happens or doesn't. Are there specific ways to support people that all bosses can do? For example should they issue notebooks? Perhaps you are talking about just one or two points such as not having lots of meetings and working from calendars instead of to do lists.

(sorry, I couldn't find an easy way to copy and paste your list of 15):

I think good bosses can support (from your list): 1, 2, 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. That's a lot.

 

[Kooky]

Yes, and I certainly haven't got a personal staff.

Well, there you go - once you can afford a PA, you will be much more likely to employ these strategies of success!

I think I haven't really conveyed what the bullet point is about. I get a different message from watching the video than perhaps is conveyed only by line #11. The main emphasis is to focus on *my* or *your* strengths and passions and not to get sidetracked. For example some people go overboard with the do-it-yourself thing and mismanage time that way. We sometimes don't ask for help when we should, or we try to be an expert on everything.

You still assume that people can afford to emphasize their strengths and passions, and can afford to not get sidetracked. There is nobody else for me to "delegate" household chores or the handling of utility bills towards, and I strongly doubt that the unemployed people I teach choose to go for a job that pays the bills rather than pursueing their passions.

What these kinds of success guides assume is that financial success can be reproduced by mimicking the habits of those who are already financially successful - but this disregards why people have adopted these habits, and further disregards any other factors that may have been in play.

For example, have you ever wondered why the wealthy consider time more important than money?
Could it, perhaps, be the case that if you're earning a lot, then money is less of an object than time, which you do not gain more of no matter how wealthy you become? And time, then, becomes progressively more valuable to us the more money we earn?

Think about it.

 

[icehorse]

Think about it.

There is no question that some people start off life way ahead of the game.

That said, most everyone can still bootstrap themselves, and these time management ideas are powerful. Even if your circumstance is that you can't control all of them, trying to incorporate as many as you can, will help you improve your lot in life.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Well, there you go - once you can afford a PA, you will be much more likely to employ these strategies of success!

You still assume that people can afford to emphasize their strengths and passions, and can afford to not get sidetracked. There is nobody else for me to "delegate" household chores or the handling of utility bills towards, and I strongly doubt that the unemployed people I teach choose to go for a job that pays the bills rather than pursueing their passions.

What these kinds of success guides assume is that financial success can be reproduced by mimicking the habits of those who are already financially successful - but this disregards why people have adopted these habits, and further disregards any other factors that may have been in play.

For example, have you ever wondered why the wealthy consider time more important than money?
Could it, perhaps, be the case that if you're earning a lot, then money is less of an object than time, which you do not gain more of no matter how wealthy you become? And time, then, becomes progressively more valuable to us the more money we earn?

Think about it.

I will think about it. I appreciate time tips even though I'm not expecting to become wealthy, and time management would be a great thing for me. That is why I shared this information when I came across it. Managing one's time is a successful thing which eludes many people. If you can manage your time then it is something to be proud of. Don't minimize that skill.

 

[Kooky]

I will think about it. I appreciate time tips even though I'm not expecting to become wealthy, and time management would be a great thing for me. That is why I shared this information when I came across it. Managing one's time is a successful thing which eludes many people. If you can manage your time then it is something to be proud of. Don't minimize that skill.

I can't, but telling me to delegate is not an option when I don't have (and can't afford) staff to delegate things to. I'm not wasting my time by doing the things I hate because I choose, but because there's literally nobody else who will do them for me, and they keep wasting my time because I have the bad habit of trying to avoid doing things I hate doing.

 

[PureX]

Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource.

If that's so, then I think you're living life for the wrong reasons.

Identify your most important task and do it first, the most important task -- the M.I.T.

Do one thing at a time. Do it right, and completely, so you don't have to come back and redo it. And neither will anyone else.

Work from your calendar not a to-do list.

Throw your calendar out the window, and trust that as long as you keep doing the next thing that needs doing, everything that needs doing will get done.

To overcome procrastination, beat your future self.

There is no such thing as procrastination as long as you keep doing the next right thing. And sometimes, the next right thing is to do nothing at all for a while.

There will always be more to do.

... And a lot of it will be completely unnecessary. Don't be afraid to say 'no, I won't do that'.

Always carry a notebook.

And use it as seldom as possible. Seriously! If it's important, you'll probably remember it without the note. There are occasions, though, when you have to write something down. Not often, but they do occur.

Control your inbox.

Control it by editing it, heavily.

Schedule and attend meetings as a last resort.

Meetings are very often an enormous waste of everyone's time. I agree. Avoid them whenever possible.

Say no to everything that doesn't support your immediate goals.

Say nothing at all, if that's possible.

 

[Brickjectivity]

If that's so, then I think you're living life for the wrong reasons.
Do one thing at a time. Do it right, and completely, so you don't have to come back and redo it. And neither will anyone else.
Throw your calendar out the window, and trust that as long as you keep doing the next thing that needs doing, everything that needs doing will get done.
There is no such thing as procrastination as long as you keep doing the next right thing. And sometimes, the next right thing is to do nothing at all for a while.
... And a lot of it will be completely unnecessary. Don't be afraid to say 'no, I won't do that'.
And use it as seldom as possible. Seriously! If it's important, you'll probably remember it without the note. There are occasions, though, when you have to write something down. Not often, but they do occur.
Control it by editing it, heavily.
Meetings are very often an enormous waste of everyone's time. I agree. Avoid them whenever possible.
Say nothing at all, if that's possible.

I feel like its a very positive piece of advice, or I wouldn't recommend looking at it. My thought is that it is independent of what economy we're in or whether you're in business or alone or a parent, student, monk, tradesperson or whatever. Obviously you feel time is not our most important resource, but its still an important resource. You also agree about the notepad.

I can't, but telling me to delegate is not an option when I don't have (and can't afford) staff to delegate things to. I'm not wasting my time by doing the things I hate because I choose, but because there's literally nobody else who will do them for me, and they keep wasting my time because I have the bad habit of trying to avoid doing things I hate doing.

Now...the bit about delegation I may have mistakenly added. I went through the transcript and inferred that delegation was supposed to be part of that nugget. It bothers me that you caught it. If you see the transcript and search on nuggets and find the #11 you'll see what I mean. Its not clear if "Delegate the rest" is supposed to be part of #11. The others I left alone.

 

[ajay0]

I don't like wearing a watch constantly, but found that when I do so, I am a better manager of time. It helps me to reorient myself and remind me of my daily routine and to-do list set in time.

Keeping a log (note-book and notepad ) has also helped me in time management. Prioritizing and minimalising are also good tools that can be used in this regard.