Time Management

How Do You Score on Your Time Management?

Mush Productivity , ,

time to take a break

Answer these simple questions and find out:

  1. Do you usually have time for the essential stuff like reading/learning, exercising, socialising, relationships, holidays?
  2. Do you usually get things done on time – including getting to appointments on time, whether at home or at work?
  3. Do you usually have written goals and plans to achieve them?
  4. Are your tasks usually connected to your goals and plans?
  5. Do you usually have a written list of priorities for the month or the week?
  6. Do you usually differentiate easily between urgent and important? And spend more time on important stuff?
  7. Do you usually focus on one thing at a time, clearing away all distractions?
  8. Do you usually differentiate between efficiency and effectiveness – doing things right, and doing the right things?
  9. Do you usually get a lot of stuff done through delegation?
  10. Do you often say ‘no’ to things when your schedule is already full?

The more yeses you have, the greater is your time management, and the better your quality of life! And what if your time management isn’t so great? Firstly acknowledge. Then understand that it’s a skill that anyone can learn, like driving or cooking or languages. And like any other skill, you can learn time management from books, courses, workshops… as long as you start applying the principles that you learn. Time management is a skill that you live with, so you need to make the necessary changes to your habits and behaviours.

Get a better understanding of some tested and proven time management strategies, and some practical tips, at my upcoming class at General Assembly in Hong Kong on Tuesday 8th October. Registration and details here.

[Photo at Interlaken in China – a recent short holiday]

Favorite Quotes on Time

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The key is in not spending time, but in investing it. Stephen R. Covey

Make use of time, let not advantage slip. William Shakespeare

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life. Charles Darwin

Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade! Anthony Robbins

If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got. Lee Iacocca Continue reading →

You DO Have The Time!

Mush Productivity ,

I have an associate who is always complaining of not having enough time… to respond to emails, to return calls, to eat lunch, to take a holiday, to exercise, to read, to be with her family etc. etc. In case you are wondering, she only has time for her business. Does that sound familiar? We all give that excuse every now and then, don’t we? I believe the real reason behind the excuse is one of the following:

  1. No commitment. One of my favorite quotes: If you are interested, you will do what’s convenient. If you are committed, you will do whatever it takes. This is often the reason why people can’t follow a diet plan, or exercise regularly, or do the things they know they should do. They are just not committed.
  2. No priorities – or wrong priorities. Like in the case of my friend, her only priority is her business. She believes everything else can wait, until she is a millionaire. When I have difficulty leaving the office on time, with unfinished work, I ask myself: When I am 70 or 80, will I regret not spending enough time in the office, or not spending enough time with my family?
  3. No time management. Everyone has 24 hours in a day but some people get a lot more out of these hours than the others. Think about 86,400 seconds being given to you right now. And you have 24 hours to use it or lose it, forever. Check out the 4 D’s of Time Management.

I overheard a dialogue in Kung Fu Panda that my kids were watching last night. The wise old turtle tells the panda: Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift – that’s why it’s called present.

Let’s make today count. Let’s stop telling ourselves or others that we don’t have the time. Because we know we do.

[Photo taken during a hike in Tung Chung, Hong Kong]

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The 4 D’s of Time Management!

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Originally published on 3rd April:

We are all so busy. We have so many things to do, and so little time. We can’t get everything done. And even if we do, we don’t always get the sense of fulfillment. Most time management books try to teach you how to do more in less time. I think the secret to fulfillment is doing less, not more, but doing it with passion and attention and focus. To do less, I use the “4 D’s Principle”:

  1. First D is for ‘Drop it’. Some things don’t need to be done at all. E.g. what would happen if you don’t take that call while having dinner with your family? What if you don’t go to pick up that friend from the airport? What difference would it make?
  2. Second D is for ‘Delay it’. You notice your car is dirty. Do you have to wash it right now, or you can do it tomorrow? That email doesn’t have to be answered right now; you can do it after completing the proposal you are working on. Are there things you do every day that can be done once a week? Or things you do every week that can be done once a month?
  3. Third D is for ‘Delegate it’. So here’s something that can’t be dropped or delayed e.g. Your child needs to be taken to a doctor. The air conditioning needs to be fixed. The customer needs a product replacement or a refund. do you have to do it yourself, or you can get someone else to do it for you? You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to do things for you, only if you ask (nicely).
  4. Fourth D is obviously ‘Do it’. Your daily exercise. Time with your kids – reading, talking, playing, helping them with their school work, or just listening to them. Being with your loved one – the dinner, movie, walk or just being together. That customer you need to call. That paper you need to write. The books you want to read. The friend you want to call. The vacation that you need. These are some of the things you won’t have to drop, delay or delegate if you follow the 4 D’s.

Look at all the stuff you do and see what can be dropped, delayed or delegated. How much more time you’ll have to do the things that really matter – that are important, as well as urgent! Please share your own examples.

Best Kept Secret To Time Management – The Pareto Principle

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Often in life, regardless of your profession, you will struggle to find the balance between all your responsibilities/obligations/interests/hobbies. Too much to do. Too little time.

As a university student, here are things I see all too often. Some study too hard, so their social life takes a hit. Some work long hours at their part-time jobs to earn money, so their academic life takes a hit. Some spend way too much time with friends, so their finances/academics both get screwed over. You get the picture.

I have often found myself in situations where everyone around me would be studying for hours on end for an exam whereas I would be doing something entirely different. I would spend half the time on revision, yet still come out with similar results, was I smarter than the others? No. I was on to something. As I was flicking through some of my management textbooks earlier today, it turns out that there is a name for that “something”:

The Pareto Principle.

This principle put simply, states that for many events roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In other words, most of the results you achieve are due to a small minority of your actions. Here are some real world applications of the Pareto principle that I’ve come across after some research:

  • 80% of your knowledge for an exam is likely to be gained from 20% of your total time spent on revision
  • 80% of your improvement in a sport will likely be achieved from 20% of your time practicing/training
  • 80% of your weight loss/muscle gain will be achieved by 20% of the time of you spend in the gym
  • 20% of your clients may give you 80% of your revenue
  • 20% of product defects/computer bugs cause 80% of the problems
  • 20% of your employees are likely to be the cause of 80% of the company’s total results/profitability

The rule can be applied to almost anything in life. The key is to identify, and really focus, on that 20% and ditch the rest to make space for other things in life. If something isn’t going to get done, something on your to-do list must slip, make sure it’s not part of that 20 percent. Work smart, not hard.

The Weekly Round-Up: An Introduction

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First post by our new contributor, Hamza:

How’s it going readers? Starting from today, I’ll be putting up a couple of links from around the blogosphere of articles that are either a must-read, extremely useful, or just plain interesting. These will of course be sticking to the themes of healthy living, productivity, business, personal finance, inspiration and life in general.

Without further ado, here are 8 interesting articles for the week ending Sunday, 12/04.

Stay tuned for the next weekly round-up!

Time Management: do less, get more done!

Mush Life, Productivity , , ,

We are all so busy. We have so many things to do, and so little time. We can’t get everything done. And even if we do, we don’t always get the sense of fulfillment. Most time management books try to teach you how to do more in less time. I think the secret to fulfillment is doing less, not more, but doing it with passion and attention and focus. To do less, I use the “4 D’s Principle”:

  1. First D is for ‘Drop it’. Some things don’t need to be done at all. E.g. what would happen if you don’t take that call while having dinner with your family? What if you don’t go to pick up that friend from the airport? What if you stopped washing the tub before and after every shower? What difference would it make?
  2. Second D is for ‘Delay it’. You notice your car is dirty. Do you have to wash it right now, or you can do it tomorrow? That email doesn’t have to be answered right now; you can do it after completing the proposal you are working on. You don’t have to open all the mail as soon as it arrives. Are there things you do every day that can be done once a week? Or things you do every week that can be done once a month?
  3. Third D is for ‘Delegate it’. So here’s something that can’t be dropped or delayed e.g. Your child needs to be taken to a doctor. The air conditioning needs to be fixed. The customer needs a product replacement or a refund. Ask yourself if you have to do it yourself, or whether you can get someone else to do it for you. You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to do things for you, only if you ask (nicely).
  4. Fourth D is obviously ‘Do it’. Your daily exercise. Time with your kids – reading, talking, playing, helping them with their school work, or just listening to them. Being with your loved one – the dinner, movie, walk or just being together. That course you have been wanting to do. That customer you need to call. That paper you need to write. The books you want to read. The friend you want to call. The vacation that you need. These are some of the things you won’t have to drop, delay or delegate if you follow the 4 D’s.

Look at all the stuff you do and see what can be dropped, delayed or delegated. How much more time you’ll have to do the things that really matter – that are important, as well as urgent! Please share your own examples.