Randy Pausch on Time Management. Time Is All You Have.

I'm a big fan of Randy Pausch. 
If you haven't seen "The Last Lecture" it would be 1:16 minutes well spent.
I took some notes.

Time management

  • Money is not important: you can earn money later.  Your time is what's important because you can't get any of it back.
  • You can't fix it (time management) in the next hour, it must be long term
  • Time management is boring.  How about having ulcers? This is life advice. Make life fun.
  • If you're not going to have fun and enjoy it, why do it?
  • Being successful does not make you manage your time well. Managing your time well makes you successful
  • Must focus time and energy on things that matter and don't worry about things that don't.

Goals, Priorities and Planning

  • Anytime anything crosses your life you need to ask: This thing I'm thinking about doing, why am I doing it? Why is it there? What is the goal? Why will I succeed? What happens if I choose not to do it?
  • To do list: If you just say, hmmm no, I don't feel like doing that...No one will take you to jail!
  • Have 100 things to do in life.  If he's not working on 1 of those, why work on others? (Lou Holtz)
  • 80/20 rule. 80% of success comes from 20% of clients.
  • Experience comes with time and there's no shortcuts
  • Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. If things aren't going well, your probably learning a lot and it will go well later. You can't fake experience.
  • Walt Disney: If you can dream it you can do it. Inspiration is important.  If you refuse to allow yourself to dream it, you won't do it.  No shortcuts in life, just hard work.
  • Planning is done at multiple levels: What do you need to get done today, in a week, in a year. But doesn't mean your locked in. "You can always change your plan but only once you have one."
  • Make a fake class, go to the library and do it.

To do lists

  • Break it down to small steps!
  • If you have a bunch of things to do, do the ugliest thing first.

Leadership

  • Delegation: You can accomplish a lot more with help.
  • Being a boss is about growing your people.
  • Grant them authority with responsibility. You need to trust them. Always do the dirtiest job yourself. 
  • Treat your people well with dignity and respect.
  • If you want to get things done, you can not be vague. Specific: Thursday at 3:22 with specific penalty or reward.
  • Challenge people.

Important advice

  • Kill your television
  • Write thank you notes in pen. Not email: Tangible way to let people know how much you appreciate them. 
  • Sometimes all you have to do is ask.
  • Eat, sleep and exercise...you always have time to sleep or else it will effect everything else.
  • Keep your word.
  • Get feedback loops. If some one will tell you are doing right and wrong, they're worth their weight in gold.

What you can do today

  • Get a calendar and sort a to do list by priority.
  • Make a note from 30 days from today( once you have the timer) and figure out what you've changed.


"Time is all we have. And you may find one day you have less than you think."