15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management

15SecretsSuccessfulPeopleKnow

AboutTimeManagement

TheProductivityHabitsof7Billionaires,

13OlympicAthletes,29Straight-AStudents,and

239Entrepreneurs

KEV IN KRUSE

NewYorkTimesBestsellingAuthor

FirstEdition

THEKRUSEGROUP

Philadelphia

Whatifafewnewhabitscouldincreaseyour

productivityby5xoreven10x?

Imagineyouhadanextrahoureachdaytoread,

exercise,ortospendwithyourfamily?

Based on survey research and interviewswith billionaires,Olympic

athletes, straight-A students, and over 200 entrepreneurs—including

Mark Cuban, Kevin Harrington, James Altucher, John Lee Dumas,

Grant Cardone, and Lewis Howes—New York Times bestselling

author,KevinKruse,answers thequestion:Whatarethesecrets to

extremeproductivity?

Youwilllearn:•Howtocureprocrastinationwith“TimeTravel”

•Howtosave8hoursaweekwith“3Questions”

•Howtoidentifyyourrealtoppriorities•Howtogettozero

emailsinyourinboxeveryday• HowtheE-3Csystemwill

boost productivity by 10x • How to reduce stresswith the

RichardBransonTool• Howto leaveworkat5:00without

feelingguilty • How to runmeetings likeApple,Google&

Virgin•Howtoconquersocialmediadistractions•BONUS:

DiscoverYourTimePersonalityquiz• BONUS:100+Time

ManagementQuotes

YOURTWOFREEGIFTS

Asathankyouforbuyingthisbook,I’mofferingtwoFREE

resources:1)HowMillionaire’sScheduleTheirDay

(1-PagePlannerTool)2)15SurprisingThingsUltra

ProductivePeopleDoDifferently(QuickGuide)Tap

TheLinkBelowToGetInstantAccess:

www.MasterYourMinutes.com

KevinKruse

NewYorkTimesBestsellingAuthor

ForbesContributor

Inc500Entrepreneur

http://www.masteryourminutes.com/

CONTENTS

“OverworkedandOverwhelmed”onaNewJerseyHighway

ThePowerof1440

HowIBeatBackTimeThieves

1,440MinutesinaDay

TimeIstheMostImportantAsset

WhyMinutes,NotSeconds?

ThePowerofProperPriorities

What’sYourOneThing?

IdentifyYourMostImportantTask(MIT)

MarkPincusonHisMIT

TwoAwesomeHoursintheMorning

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

StopMakingTo-DoLists—DoThisInstead

TheProblemwithTo-DoLists

LiveLifefromYourCalendar

JeffWeinerTimeBlocksBufferTime

DesignYourIdealWeekwithTimeBlocks

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

TheProcrastinationCure

ProcrastinationIsn’taboutLaziness

ProcrastinationBuster#1:TimeTravel

ProcrastinationBuster#2:Pain&Pleasure

ProcrastinationBuster#3:AccountabilityPartner

ProcrastinationBuster#4:RewardandPunishment

ProcrastinationBuster#5:ActAsIf…

ProcrastinationBuster#6:SettleForGoodEnough

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

HowtoLeavetheOfficeat5:00—WithoutGuilt

SherylSandbergMakesItHomeforDinner

TheSecrettoGuilt-FreeBalance

DoYouNeedtoBeEverythingforEveryone?

ThereWillAlwaysBeMoretoDo

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

RichardBranson’sSecretProductivityTool

Branson’sMostImportantPossession

AdvicefromBillionaireAristotleOnassis

JimRohn’sThreeTreasures

Notebooksof20FamousPeople

WhatTypeofNotebookIstheBest?

TakeNotesbyHand,NotonaLaptop

MyPersonalNotebookSystem

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

MasterYourEmailInboxWith321Zero

EmailasaCognitiveSlotMachine

7StepstoMasteringYourEmail

HowtoGettoInboxZeroinTenMinutes

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

MeetingHacksfromGoogle,Apple,andVirgin

WhyMeetingsSuck

TheMarkCubanMeetingRule

DustinMoskovitz’sNoMeetingWednesdays!

HowtoDesignEffectiveMeetingAgendas

GoogleVentures’SecretWeapon

TheSteveJobsMeetingMethod

MarissaMayerandRichardBransonHold10-MinuteMeetings

NoSmartphonesAllowed

DailyHuddlesEliminateOtherMeetings

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

OneLittleWordThatMultipliesSuccess

EndlessRequestsforOurTime

BewareofDistantElephants

EveryYesIsaNotoSomethingElse

WhyIt’sHardtoSayNo

7EasyWaystoSayNo

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

ThePowerfulParetoPrinciple

TheAmazingDiscoveryinanItalianGarden

80/20Business

80/20Yardwork

80/20ReadingandStudying

What’sintheDalaiLama’sBag?

The80/20Mindset

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

The“3HarvardQuestions”ThatSave8HoursaWeek

TheSlackerWhoWona“BestCoder”Award

Drop,Delegate,orRedesign

TonyRobbinsWasaTeenWhenHeHiredanAssistant

VentureCapitalistSusterontheValueofanAdmin

TodayYouCan“Uber”Everything

ButMarkCubanStillDoesHisOwnLaundry

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

WhyTwitterCo-FounderJackDorseyThemesHisDays

JackDorsey’sProductivitySecret

HowJohnLeeDumasThemesHisDays

ThreeThemesfromDanSullivan

DesigningMyIdealWeek

AnOfficeHourTheme

SandwichVacationwithBufferDays

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Don’tTouch!(UntilYou’reReady)

HowDoYouSortYourMail?

‘TouchItOnce’Mentality

‘TouchItOnce’forEmail

‘TouchItOnce’andCalendarIt

‘TouchItOnce’toDeclutter

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

ChangeYourMorning,ChangeYourLife

My“Sacred60”MorningRoutine

TheMorningRoutinesofArnoldSchwarzenegger,TonyRobbins,andOther

HighlySuccessfulPeople

HalElrod’s6-StepMorningRoutine

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

EnergyIsEverything

YouCan’tGetMoreTime,OnlyMoreEnergy

RedBullNation

HowMonicaLeonelle6x’dHerProductivity

TheMostProductivePeopleTakeMoreBreaks

EnergyStartswithHealth

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

TheE-3CSystem:PuttingItAllTogether

Energy

Capture

Calendar

Concentrate

TheTimeIsAlwaysNow

WantMoreTrainingontheE-3CSystem?

20MoreTime&ProductivityHacks

TimeSecretsof7Billionaires

TimeSecretsof13OlympicAthletes

TimeSecretsof29Straight-AStudents

TimeSecretsof239Entrepreneurs

Quiz:DiscoverYourTimeManagementPersonality

110BestTimeManagementQuotes

Jointhe#1440Movement

ExtremeProductivityWorkshoporKeynote

KevinKruse

INTRODUCTION

“OverworkedandOverwhelmed”ona

NewJerseyHighway

“Licenseandregistration!”

5:20 a.m. Dark and cold, pulled over on the shoulder of Route 1 in New

Jersey.Ihadbeenheadingtowork.

“DoyouknowwhyIpulledyouover?”

Whydidhehavetoshout?

“IassumeIwasspeeding,”myvoicecracked.

“Speeding!”Heleaneddownuntilthebrimofhishattouchedthetopofmy

window.Eyetoeye,hesaid,“Youflewupbehindme,rodemybumper,swung

aroundandpassedme,andkeptongoing.Iwasdoing65intheslowlane.”

I wish I could say the officer had been driving an unmarked car, but he

wasn’t.BigwhiteCrownVicwith the lightbaron top.Giantblueandyellow

“StatePolice”decalsonthedoors.

Ican’treallyexplainit.Ihavenomemoryofcominguponanycar,letalone

awell-markedcopcar.

Apparently,halfasleepandthinkingofwork,Iwasdrivingover80milesper

hourwhen I came upon a state trooperwhowas going ameasly 65, so I just

switchedlanesanddroverightpasthim.

“I’msorry,officer.Ijust,uh,zonedoutIguess…”

“Zonedout?!”

“Ididn’tgetmuchsleep,and…”

Iwasluckyhedidn’tarrestme.

IwasreallyluckyIdidn’tcrashandkillsomebody.

Thiswas20yearsago,whenIwasyounganddumb.Iwasso“crazybusy”

thatIjustkeptaddingmorehourstomyworkdayandmoretaskstoeachhour.

I’dleavethehouseatfiveinthemorningandworkuntilmidnight.Notimefor

propermeals.Coffeeandabutteredrolleateninmycarforbreakfast.Skipped

lunch.Wolfeddowndinnerstandingup.

IdranksomanydietRedBullsthatIstartedlookingatthosesilverandblue

cansthewayanalcoholiclooksatabottleofwine.Thosecanscalledtome.

Passingatrooper

strokesfordifferentfolks:•Manycreativewannabesuse

Moleskine(http://www.moleskine.com/us/home)notebooks. Iuse themmyself.

These high-quality leather-boundbooks aremade in Italy and cost from$9 to

$25.

• Some Moleskine fans are switching to Ecosystem

(http://www.ecosystemlife.com/)notebooks, includingMichaelHyatt

(http://michaelhyatt.com/why-i-ditched-my-moleskine-journal.html),

becausetheyuserecycledpaper,aremadeintheUSA,andeachpage

isperforated.

• For many years, I preferred the more expensive and

unfortunately very nerdyBoorum&PeaseAccountBook. It’s hard

cover,300pagessoitlastsalongtime,thickenoughtostandupand

standoutonabookshelf—andsobigInevermisplacedit.

• Author and entrepreneur James Altucher

(http://www.jamesaltucher.com/) recommends waiter’s pads, which

cost tencentseach.Heexplainstheyaretheperfectsizeandagreat

conversationstarter—theyalsoshowpeopleyou’refrugal.

Notice that nobody is recommending yellow legal pads or loose pieces of

paper. They are just too easy to get lost in stacks or otherwise damaged.

Notebooksaredesignedtolast.

http://www.moleskine.com/us/home

http://www.ecosystemlife.com/)%20

http://michaelhyatt.com/why-i-ditched-my-moleskine-journal.html

InTheirOwnWords…

IusethisMoleskinenotebookthatI'lljustcarryaroundwithme.Imaketrainingnotesinit.Imakework

notesinit.Ihaveawholebookshelffullofoldonesathome,becauseI'llgobackandrefertooldthings

initallthetime.

–SaraHendershotisanOlympicrowerfortheUnitedStatesandcompetedinthe2012Olympics.Sheis

currentlytrainingforRio2016.

IusetheBulletJournalasmygo-toorganizationsystem.Itkeepsideas,thoughts,andotherimportant

agendaitemsatmyfingertips.Ihighlyrecommendkeepingajournal,becausealifeworthlivingisalife

worthrecording.

–HonoréeCorderisanauthor,speaker,andpersonaltransformationexpert.

Whileappscanbewonderfulandhelpusincreaseproductivity,IprefertoplaninmyMoleskine

ExecutiveDaily.

–NatalieMacNeilisanEmmyAward-winningmediaentrepreneur,creatorof

SheTakesOnTheWorld.com,andauthorofTheConquerKit(Perigee2015).

TakeNotesbyHand,NotonaLaptop

Using paper-based bound notebooks for notes is better than taking notes on a

laptop,tablet,orsmartphone.

Letthehatemailbegin!

First, letmesaythat ifyouhavedyslexiaoranother learningdisabilityand

canreallyonlyrecordnotesbytypingthemintoadigitaldevice,gofor it. It’s

notasin,andI’mnottryingtobiastheworldagainstyou.

ButifyouareusingadigitaldeviceasageneralpreferenceandjustthinkI’m

being an old fashioned Luddite, I encourage you to consider an interesting

article, “The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard,” published in the journal

PsychologicalSciencein2014.

PamMuellerandDanielOppenheimer,psychologistsatPrincetonUniversity

and theUniversity ofCalifornia, LosAngeles, did three different experiments

with327undergraduates.Inonestudy,studentswatchedaTEDtalk,tooknotes,

and then took a test on it 30minutes later.While the laptop users and hand-

writersscoredthesameonfactualquestions, thelaptopusersdidworseonthe

conceptualquestions.

Noticing that laptopuserswere transcribing theTED talk insteadofnoting

keyconcepts,Drs.MuellerandOppenheimerdidasecondstudyandspecifically

toldthelaptopuserstojusttakenotesintheirownwords.Theresultswerethe

same;hand-writershadbetterrecallofthematerial.

One defense of laptop note-taking is that it enables you to take a more

completesetofnotes,whichishelpfulwhenyouneedtoreviewthematerialata

laterdate.Inotherwords,you’llhavemoreoftherawcontenttostudy.Sothe

researchers did a third study inwhich students took the test aweek later, and

weregiventimetostudybeforethetest.Onceagain,hand-writersscoredhigher.

This latest research from Princeton and UCLA just con-firms what others

have discovered in the past. The act of taking notes by hand involves active

listening,cognitiveprocessing,andfinally recalling it to record it.Peoplewho

take noteswith a laptop tend to just robotically record spokenwords,without

doingthementalworktoprocessit.

Anddon’tforget,ifyouwanttokeepadigital,searchablearchiveofallyour

notes, you can always scan them intoEvernote, use the Jot Script 2 Evernote

stylus,orusetheLivescribenotebookbyMoleskine.

MyPersonalNotebookSystem

TherearemanydifferentfancyMoleskinesystemsavailable—includingpeople

whocutouttabsorusefancylabelingsystems.Butyoumightfindinspirationin

myKevinKruseMoleskineGenius System (OK, I justmade that up, I don’t

haveafancynameformysystem).Tome,themorecomplicatedImakeapaper

notebook,thelesslikelyI’lluseit.SoIjustkeepitsimple.

1. Get yourself a brand new notebook. (I’m back to using

Moleskine.)Doesn’titfeelgreatinyourhands?

2. GetyourselfsomePilotG2gelpens.They’recheapanda joy to

writewith.IalsoliketheSharpieExtraFinePointpens.

3. Tape your business card to the inside front cover so if you ever

leaveitbehindinaconferenceroomorairplane,agoodSamaritan

willgetitbacktoyou.Somepeoplewrite,“Iffound,pleasecallor

emailme.Iwillpayarewardtogetthisback!”

4. Write the current date on the inside cover so you can quickly

locate the notebook in the future if you are trying to find notes

from a specific meeting or event. Some people like to use a

Sharpietowritethestartdateontheedgeofthepages,soitcanbe

seenwithoutevenopeningthenotebook.

5. Jot down everything and anything you don’t want to forget.

Recordrandomcreativeideasyouhave:newideasforbooksyou

wanttowrite,companiesyouwanttostart,productstoinvent,new

marketing tactics, gift ideas for your family, future vacation

destinations, restaurant recommendations, a great bottle ofwine,

namesforyourbaby,whatever!Writeeverythingdown,andyou’ll

neverworryorstressoutaboutforgettingsomethingagain.

6. Wheneveryouencountergreatadviceoraninspirationalquote—

whethersomeonesaysitoryoureadit—writeitdownintheback

of the book. Reserve pages in the back for these nuggets of

wisdomsotheycanallstaytogetherandbeeasilyreviewedinthe

future.

7. At the beginning of each phone call or meeting, write the date,

time,andnamesofthepeopleyouarespeakingwith.Jotdownany

notes from the call, especially any follow-up items or

commitmentspeoplearemaking.

8. Ifyouaremeetingpeopleforthefirst time,drawalittlediagram

oftheconferencetableandwritetheirnamesinthelocationwhere

theyaresittingtohelpyourememberthem.Jotdownnotesfrom

themeetingbutdonot try to record everything that is said.You

aren’tacourt reporter! Just try to recordkeygoals, actions,next

steps.Summarize.

9. When you have filled your notebook, write the end date on the

inside front cover, again tohelpyou locate the rightbook in the

futurewhenyouhaveawholerowofthemonyourbookshelf.

10. Put thebookupon the shelfnext to theprevious journals.Here

willbeadetailedrecordofyourentirelife!

11. EveryNewYear’sDay,makeitanewtraditiontothumbthrough

your old journals from the previous year. You’ll be amazed at

howmuchyou’llre-learnfromyournotes,anditwillremindyou

ofallyourprogress.Foranythoughts

orideasthatyou’llwantto

revisitinthecurrentyear,justrewritetheminyourneworcurrent

notebook.

Ialsouseshorthandthataddsclaritytomyfree-formnotes.

•Iputanopensquare( )nexttoanyitemthatisa“todo,”which

I’llputontomycalendarassoonaspossible.

• I put anopen circle ( ) next to any item that is an event to

calendarlater.

•Iputanexclamationmark(!)nexttoitemsthatrequireafollow-

upactionfromme.

•Iputaquestionmark(?)nexttoitemsthatIwanttoaskaboutat

theendofthemeeting.

• Iput anasterisk (*)next to items that are importantorkey

themesfromanevent.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur: Would a notebook help you keep a record of all the

commitmentscolleaguesmakeduringmeetings?

Executive: Would a notebook help you record all that you accomplish

throughouttheyear?

Freelancer:Wouldanotebookhelpyourememberkeyclientobligations?

Student:Wouldanotebookhelpyoutocapturekeylecturenotes?

Stay-at-HomeParent:Wouldanotebookhelpyoutocapturealltherandom

to-doitemsthatoccureachday?Remember,youcanreviewandtransferthemto

yourcalendaratalatertime.

SECRET#6

Alwayscarryanotebook.

How much less stress will you feel when you begin to dump everything

importantintoyournotebook?

FREEBONUS

Todownloadthe“GetTheMostfromYourNotebook”quickreferencecard

andotherFREEbonuses,visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#7

MasterYourEmailInboxWith321Zero

Howcanyouemptyyouremailinboxquicklyandkeepitfrominterfering

withtrulyproductivework?

EmailasaCognitiveSlotMachine

According to a survey conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, office

workersspend2.6hoursperdayreadingandansweringemails,whichequatesto

33 percent of a 40-hour workweek. (OK, OK, nobody only works 40 hours

anymore, but it’s still a big chunk of an averageworkweek!) Clearly people

send too much email at work, and as the dominant form of professional

communication,it’shardtoignore.Butyouhavetotakeresponsibilityforyour

ownroleinemailoverwhelm,too.

Yourbrainusesemail—andallsocialmedia—likeacognitiveslotmachine.

Likepullingaslothandle, there isanticipation,which feelsgoodasyougo to

check for newmessages.Andmost of the time it’s a bust, nothing there.But

everynowandthen,dingdingding,“Oh,look!Aninterestingarticle!”Oreven,

“Oh,someonehasaquestionIcananswerinonlyfiveminutes!I’msohelpful

andproductive!”

Andourbrainreleasesabitofdopaminewitheverytriplecherryontheemail

slotmachine.Ah,thatfeelsgood!Whichmakesuscomebackandcheckitagain

andagain.Yes,youreceivetoomuchemail,butyouneedtotakeresponsibility

forhandlingit.

7StepstoMasteringYourEmail

Unsubscribe from email newsletters. Come on! Do you really need to

subscribe to all those fashion websites? Those flash deals-of-the-day offers?

Those viral clickbait “news” headlines? Don’t give permission to all those

companiestointrudeonyourday,tointerruptyourflow,totemptyouwiththeir

offers.Theyaretryinghardtogetintoyourhead,buttheycan’tifthey’renotin

yourinboxtobeginwith!Justgointoyouremailandsearchfor“unsubscribe”

andthenunsubscribefromalltheemailnewslettersthatyoufind.Youcanalso

go to a cool site calledwww.Unroll.me and itwill let you easily unsubscribe

from the newsletters you want to trash, and then it will consolidate the

newslettersyouwanttokeepintoonebigdailyemail.

Turnoffallemailnotifications.Emailisnotintendedtobeanurgentform

ofcommunication,andespeciallyinthesetimeswhenmostofusaregetting50

to500emailsaday,gettingemailnotifications isa sin.Notifications interrupt

your concentration, your work sprints, and your ability to be present during

meetings and conversations. Whether you have an audible ding, a phone

vibration,or a littlewindow thatpopsupwitheverynewemail…TURNALL

THATOFF.

Onlyprocessemailthreetimesaday,usingthe321Zerosystem.Schedule

threetimesadaytoprocessyouremail(morning,noon,night),setthetimeron

your phone for 21minutes, and try to get to inbox zero in that time.Make a

gameoutofit.21minutesisintentionallynotenoughtime,butitwillkeepyou

focused, ensure thatyour responsesare short, and thatyoudon’t start clicking

linksoutontothewonderfulworldofinternetdistractions.

Immediatelyapplythe4D’s.Everytimeyouopenanemail,youshouldbe

readytoDoit,Delegateit,Deferit,orDelete(archive)it.

Ifyoudeferanemail,inmostcasesthatmeansimmediatelyaddinganentry

toyourcalendar—“moving”theemail toacalendarentry(remember,noto-do

lists!).

Whenyouthink“delete,”inmostcasesyoushouldreallyjustarchive.These

days, with virtually unlimited storage space, it’s easy to just hit the Archive

button onmost things, knowing that you can use the search function to get it

backagaininthefuture.

In addition to the 4D’s, consider F forFile It. Inmy opinion, this is just

anotherformofarchiving,butitcanbehelpfulespeciallyifyouarenervousyou

might not be able to find something again. Just create folders for all your

projects,clients,orevensomethingcrazylike“RespondtoSomeday,”andthen

dragemailsrelatedtothosetopicsintothefolderstokeepyourinboxniceand

clean.

InTheirOwnWords…

Meetings,phonecalls,andemailscanbreakupyourentiredayifyouletthem,leavingyoulittletimeto

getanybigthinkingdone...Cancelmeetingsyoudon'tneed.Andonlycheckemailafewtimesaday.

http://www.Unroll.me

–JonahBergerisamarketingprofessorattheWhartonSchoolattheUniversityofPennsylvaniaand

authorofContagious:WhyThingsCatchOn.

Howdoyoucreateaneffectiveworkroutine?Simple:bychoosingwhatyouwantittobe,ratherthan

lettingothersdictateitforyou.Exceptthatmostpeopledoexactlytheopposite,throughonesimple

(terrible)habit:theychecktheiremailfirstthinginthemorning…Thismeansthattheirfocusandenergy

aregoingwhereothersaredirectingit,ratherthanwheretheystandtomakethegreatestimpact.

–DannyInyisthefounderofmarketingeducationfirmFirepoleMarketingaswellasthebestselling

authorofEngagementfromScratch!andTheAudienceRevolution.

Think twicebeforeyou forward, cc,orbcc.As reported in anAugust9,

2013, article in the Wall Street Journal, London-based International Power

reducedtotalemailtrafficby54percentjustbyencouragingtheirtopexecutives

to“thinktwice”beforetheyforwardedanemailoraddedanyonetothecc:line.

Toooftenweforwardorccsomeoneinthespiritofkeepingthem“intheloop,”

but in reality we are contributing to the information overload problem.

Remember,everyemailyousendandeveryccyouincludemeansyouarelikely

goingtogetareplybackintoyourownemailbox.Ifyousendlessemail,you’ll

alsoreceivelessemail.

Usethesubject linetoindicatetheactionrequired.Anidealsubject line

doesn’t just indicate the subject of the email, but also the type of action it

requires. This helps email recipients to process your email in less time. And

they’lllearntoreciprocate.Theideaistoprefaceyoursubjectlinemessagewith

somemeta-information. I like to use all caps tomake this part of the subject

standoutfromthemessage.Herearesomeexamples:

“FYI: [subject]”—Use the

FYI designation when you are just

passinginfoalongasacourtesy.

“ACTION REQUIRED by [DATE]: [subject]” or “TO DO by

[DATE]”—UseACTIONREQUIREDwhenyourrecipientsshould

takeanaction,buttheydon’treporttoyou;useTODOwhenyou

aregivingadirectivetosomeonewhor*portstoyou.

“NRN:[subject]”—NRNstandsfor“noresponseneeded”andcan

be used to eliminate the polite response emails that people often

sendlike“Thanks”or“Looksinteresting”or“I’lltakealookatthis

nextweek,”etc.

“[subject]–EOM”—Mypersonalfavorite,EOMstandsfor“endof

message”andletsyouputsupershortmessagesrightinthesubject

line.EOMtellstherecipient,don’tbotheropeningthisonebecause

allthecontentisinthesubjectline.

Keepemails short—really short.Realize thatbeingbrief isn’t rude; it’s a

signofrespectfortheotherperson’stime(inadditiontoyourown).

There is even amovement that suggestswe consider emailmessages to be

similartotextmessages.Thewebsitefive.sentenc.essuggestsyoulimitallyour

emails to five sentences or fewer and then add a footer message that directs

peopletothewebsiteforanexplanation.

InTheirOwnWords…

Whyuse100wordswhen10wordswilldo.Whetherthatisinanemail,areport,apresentation,ora

pitch.Brevitycanbepowerful.

–NaomiSimson,founderofRedBalloon,authorofLiveWhatYouLove,andinvestoronSharkTank

Australia.

Keepemailsshortandsweet.Overtheyears,I’vetrainedmyselftowritethree-sentenceemails,leaving

outthefluffandkeepingonlythemostessentialpoints.Itsavesmytimeanditsavesthereader’stime.

–RyanHolmesisthefounderandCEOofHootSuite.

HowtoGettoInboxZeroinTenMinutes

MyfriendChristinehasover10,000emailsinherinbox,mostofthemunread!

Perhapsyoucanrelate?

Ifthisisthesituationyoufindyourselfin,youmightwanttodeclareemail

bankruptcy and quickly start at “inbox zero” before applying the email

managementstepsinthischapter.

Mysuggestionis:

1. Dealwithallemailthatarrivedwithinthelast48hours.

2. CreateafoldercalledOldEmails.

3. MoveALLoftheemailssittinginyourinboxintotheOldEmails

folder.

4. Voila,you’restartingfreshatinboxzero.

Isthissortofcheating?Maybe.

Couldn’t you just archive all your emails insteadof creating a new folder?

Yes.

But why haven’t you previously deleted or archived or filed your emails?

Whyaretheysittingtheretobeginwith?Mostpeopletellmethatthey’reafraid

there is something valuable that they’ll never find again. They don’t seem to

trustthearchivefunctionorknowhowtouseit.Soasimplesolutionistojust

createyourownlabeledfolderandmoveeverythingthere.Enjoy!

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur: Would keeping your email inbox clean reduce your levels of

stressandenableyoutospendmoretimeonrevenue-producingactivities?

Executive: Would reducing the time spent on email enable you to spend

moretimeonstrategicpriorities?

Freelancer:Would reducing the time spent on email enable you to spend

moretimeadvancingyourskills?

Student:I’mguessingyoudon’tuseemailverymuch!

Stay-at-HomeParent:Wouldeliminating thenumberof emailnewsletters

youreceivehelpyoutospendtimemoreproductively?

SECRET#7

Emailisagreatwayforotherpeopletoputtheirprioritiesinto

yourlife;controlyourinbox.

Areyoureadytocommittocheckingemailnomorethanthreetimesaday?

FREEBONUS

Todownloadyour“GettoInboxZero”infographicandotherFREEbonuses,

visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#8

MeetingHacksfromGoogle,Apple,and

Virgin

Howcanyouimmediatelyshortenthetimespentinmeetingsbyone-third?

Been to a great meeting lately? Yeah, didn’t think so. Most meetings are

poorlyorganized,poorlyfacilitated,andhighlyinefficient.

Ina surveyconducted in2015byClarizan,35percentof thosepolled said

theirweekly statusmeetingswere awaste of time.And if a dozen people are

sittinginaone-hour“wasteoftime”meeting,it’sactuallyawasteof12hours!

That’sadozenhoursoflostproductivity,oftentopresentorreviewinformation

thatcouldhavebeencoveredinminutesthroughadifferentmedium.

YetHarvardprofessorNancyKoehnestimates that11millionmeetingsare

heldintheU.S.eachday!

WhyMeetingsSuck

Whydothemajorityofmeetingssucksobadly?

Meetingsstartlate.Whetheraresultofunprofessionalbehaviororthefact

thatmanypeople literally havemeetings stackedback to back,mostmeetings

end up starting late. This becomes a cultural phenomenon as late meetings

actually train people to arrive late.When everyone knows the meeting won’t

start until five or tenminutes past the hour, they don’t bother showing up on

time.Whendozens,hundreds,oreventhousandsofpeopleinanorganizationsit

aroundwaitingforotherpeople toarrive, thoseminutesaddup tomanyhours

overthecourseofayear.

Thewrongpeopleareinthemeeting.Thedefaultideaseemstobe“When

indoubt,invitethem!”Thiswastesthetimeofthepersonwhowasinvited(and

who may not have the professional courage to say “no thanks”), and if that

person feels compelled to ask questions or give input, it wastes the time of

everyoneelseinthemeeting,too.

Parkinson’s lawoftriviality.Alsoknownas thebike-shedeffect, this law

statesthatorganizationsspendthemosttimeontrivialissuesandtheleasttime

onthemostimportantissues.Thestorygoesthatacommitteemustmakeseveral

decisionsrelatedtoanexpensivenuclearpowerplant.Theapprovalofthepower

plant goes quicklywith little input because it’s too complicated of a topic for

mostparticipantstoweighinon.Yetwhenitcomestodecidingonthedesignof

thebikeshedfor thestaff,sinceeveryoneunderstands the trivialproject,great

timeisspentnitpickinganddebatingit.

Meetingsbreakupthedayinillogicalwaysandmayinterferewithflowor

peakconcentrationtimes.

Thewrongpeople dominatemeetings.By their nature, the overconfident

and the extroverts tend to dominate the communication in a meeting—at the

expenseofotherswhomayknowmorebutarelessinclinedtoshareameeting

format.

TheMarkCubanMeetingRule

IreachedouttohundredsofhighlysuccessfulpeopleasIwasdoingresearchfor

thisbook.Bydesign,Iwastryingtocontactthemostsuccessfulpeopleonthe

planet,andknowingthattheyonlyhave1,440minutesaday,itneversurprised

mewhenpeopledidn’trespondtome.

What did surprise me was when billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban

respondedtomyemailonly61minutesafterIsentit.

Inhistypicaldirectandto-the-pointstyle,Cuban’stimemanagementadvice

describedhisapproachtomeetings.

InTheirOwnWords…

Nevertakemeetingsunlesssomeoneiswritingacheck.

–MarkCubanistheowneroftheDallasMavericks,

aserialentrepreneur,andaninvestor

ontheTVshowSharkTank.

DustinMoskovitz’sNoMeetingWednesdays!

Ifyou thinkMarkCuban’sadvice isabitextremeor impractical,perhapsyou

canswearoffmeetingsforonedayaweek.

In an interview for this book, Dustin Moskovitz shared his “NMW”

productivityhack,whichhebroughtwithhimfromFacebook.

InTheirOwnWords…

Pickonedayaweekthatyouandyourteamcanfocusongettingindividualworkdonewithoutany

interruptionslikemeetings.AtAsana,wehaveNoMeetingWednesdaysestablishedtoencourageflow

andproductivityacrossthecompany.

–DustinMoskovitzistheco-founderofteamproductivityappAsanaandco-founderofFacebook.

Others

havetakentothisone-daymeetingreprieveandcalledthem“Maker

Days.” The idea is that everyone leaves everyone else alone to focus on

“making”stuff—especiallyifit’smakingprogressontheirmostimportanttask

(MIT).

HowtoDesignEffectiveMeetingAgendas

If you have to have a meeting, highly successful people know that effective

meetingsbeginwitheffectiveagendas,whicharecirculatedinadvance.Secrets

tocreatingeffectiveagendasinclude:

Seekinputontheagendafromparticipantsbeforethemeeting,so

newtopicsdon’tcropupandderailtheprimarygoal.

Clearlystatethepurposeofthemeeting.

Clearlystatewhothefacilitatoris.

Identifyallinvitedparticipants.Thefewerthebetter,butyoualso

wanttomakesureakeypersonisn’tbeingforgotten.Googletries

to limit meeting participants to ten or fewer. Steve Jobs was

knownto throwpeopleoutof theroomif theycouldn’tcomeup

withagoodreasonforbeingthere.

List agenda topics as questions whenever possible in order to

focustheparticipantsondecision-making.

Attach time estimates to each agenda item so participants can

monitor the progress and pace of the meeting; make sure time

estimatesarerealistic.

GoogleVentures’SecretWeapon

Jake Knapp, design partner at Google Ventures, is an advocate for using a

physicalclocktocountdownthetimeremaininginameeting.Hediscovereda

specific type of timer, called the Time Timer, while visiting his child’s

classroom.

https://blog.asana.com/2015/03/workstyle-no-meeting-wednesdays/

http://www.asana.com

Teachershavebeenknowntocallit“TheMagicClock.”Cominginvarious

sizes—for about $25 fromAmazon.com—the Time Timer is battery powered

andlargeenoughtobeseenbymeetingparticipantsfromacrossaroom.Ared

disc silently spins, showing the amount of time remaining.Whynot just set a

timer on your smartphone? As Knapp wrote on Medium

(https://medium.com/@jakek):

TheTimeTimerisWAYbetterthanatimerapponascreen.Becauseit’s

physical,it’seasiertoadjustandset,andabsolutelyimpossibletoignore.

DuringhertimeatGoogle,MarissaMayerwasknownforusingaprojector

attached toa laptop todisplayagiant count-down timerupon thewallof the

meetingroom.IcanonlyassumeshestillusesthispracticeatYahoo!

TheSteveJobsMeetingMethod

In1999,ateamofpsychologistsconductedresearchonthedifferencebetween

sit-down and stand-upmeetings across 56 different groups.As reported in the

JournalofAppliedPsychology:

Sit-downmeetings were 34 percent longer than stand-upmeetings, but

theyproducednobetterdecisionsthanstand-upmeetings.

In a different study, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis

determined that standing meetings were far better than sit-down meetings in

termsofoutcomes.TheyreportedinSocialPsychological&PersonalityScience

that stand-up meetings led to better collaboration and less possessiveness of

ideas,higherlevelsofengagement,andmoreproblem-solvingcreativity.

IstillrememberthefirsttimeIsoldoneofmybusinesses.RudyKarsanwas

theCEOoftheacquiringcompany,andinmyveryfirstvisittohiscorneroffice,

hejumpedupbeforeIcouldsitandsaid,“Let’sgoforawalk!”Thirtyminutes

later,weshookhandsona$2milliondeal.

RichardBransonisn’t into traditionalmeetingseither.Hewrites inhisblog

(http://www.virgin.com/author/richard-branson):

Oneofmyfavouritetricksistoconductmostofmymeetingsstandingup.

Ifindittobeamuchquickerwayofgettingdowntobusiness,makinga

decisionandsealingthedeal.WhengiventheopportunityIoftenliketo

takethingsastepfurther–literally,withawalkingmeeting.

https://medium.com/@jakek

http://www.virgin.com/author/richard-branson

SteveJobswasnotorious forhis longwalkingmeetings,apractice thathas

beenadoptedbyMarkZuckerbergandJackDorseyaswell.

MarissaMayerandRichardBransonHold10-Minute

Meetings

Whydoallmeetingsseemtodefaultto30minutesoronehour?It’salmostasif

peoplechoosethatdurationbecausethat’sthedefaulttimeblockintheOutlook

calendar.Andweallknowthatworktendstofillupthespaceallocatedtoit.

InaninterviewwithBloombergBusinessin2006,whenMarissaMayerwas

stillwithGoogle(shenowrunsYahoo),shetoldtheinterviewerthatsheholds

up to70meetingsaweek.Theonlywayshecancram themall in is tobreak

down the “30-minute”block into smallmeetings, sometimes as fewas fiveor

tenminuteseach.

VirginfounderRichardBransonoftentalksabouthisaversiontomeetings.In

ablogpostheshared:

It’sveryrare thatameetingonasingle topic shouldneed to lastmore

than5-10minutes.

InTheirOwnWords…

Thedefaultlengthofameetingorcall—bothinternallyandexternally—shouldbe20minutes;anything

longershouldbeanexception…Evenifyou'rejustmovingfrom30-minutemeetingsto20-minute

meetings,youcanfitin4-6moremeetings,calls,orappointmentsinaday.

–RyanDelkleadsgrowthatGumroad.

NoSmartphonesAllowed

Doyoucheckyourphonefortextmessagesoremailsduringbusinessmeetings?

If you answeredyes, research from theUniversity ofSouthernCalifornia’s

Marshall School of Business suggests you are annoying your boss and

colleagues.Theirstudyfound:

86 percent think it’s inappropriate to answer phone calls during

formalmeetings.

84 percent think it’s inappropriate towrite texts or emails during

formalmeetings.

75 percent think it’s inappropriate to read texts or emails during

formalmeetings.

66 percent think it’s inappropriate towrite texts or emails during

anymeetings.

Atleast22percentthinkit’sinappropriatetousephonesduringany

meetings.

Why do so many people—especially more successful people—find

smartphoneuse inmeetings tobe inappropriate? It’sbecausewhenyouaccess

yourphone,itshows:

Lackofrespect.Youconsidertheinformationonyourphonetobe

more important than the conversation in the meeting; you view

people outside of the meeting to be more important than those

sittinginfrontofyou.

Lack of attention.You are unable to stay focused onmore than

oneitematatime;theabilitytomultitaskisamyth.

Lackoflistening.Youaren’tdemonstratingtheattentionandfocus

thatisrequiredoftrulyactivelistening.

Lack of power. You are like a modern day Pavlovian dog who

responds to the beck and call of others through the buzz of your

phone.

To make the most of valuable time spent in meetings, participants should

muteandpockettheirdevicesandleavethemintheirpockets.

DailyHuddlesEliminateOtherMeetings

Canmoremeetingsleadtofewermeetings?

I’veworkedwithalotofconsultantsovertheyears,butonlyVerneHarnish

evergavemethesecretstobuildinghighlysuccessful,fast-growingcompanies.

HarnishisthefounderofthelegendaryEntrepreneursOrganization,theCEOof

GazellesandalsotheauthorofScalingUp.

OneofthebigahamomentsIhadfromhisworkisthatanorganizationcan

onlymoveasfastastheleadershipteam.Asgoesleadership,goestherestofthe

company.Tomakesureeveryoneismovingfastandstayinginsync,it’scritical

to establish a rhythm or cadence of meetings—the most important being the

dailyhuddle.

InitiallyIwasveryskeptical.

Dailyhuddlesarequickstand-upmeetingswithyouandyourteammembers.

Nolongerthan15minutes,alwaysscheduledatthesametimeeachday.

What I quickly discovered is that once daily huddles were in place, they

eliminatedtheneedformanyotherlongerone-offmeetings,reducedthenumber

of phones calls and emails, and had a dramatic impact on other variables

includingemployeeengagementandcross-selling.

Theagendasofdailyhuddlesincludethreethings:

What’sup—highlights from the last24hours,especiallyanything

relevanttootherteammembers

Numbers—this is to review any daily metrics, whether sales,

conversionrates,orwidgetproduction

Stuck—are you “stuck” on anything, whether it’s a problem to

solve,redtapetocut,oraquestionthatneedsananswer

InTheirOwnWords…

"Routinesetsyoufree"isthemantraunderpinningourtoolsandapproachinScalingUpcompanies,

includingthe15-minutedailyhuddlewithyourteam(andspouse!)thatwillsaveeveryonecollectively

overanhoureachdayandallowyoutoavoidminortrainwrecks(thatgrowintobiggerproblems)and

takeadvantageofimmediateopportunities."Ifyouwanttomovefaster,pulsefaster."

–VerneHarnishistheCEOofGazelles.

Keepyourdailyhuddlesto15minutes!Iftheystarttorunlonger,peoplewill

be less likely toshowup.Forcepeople tobebrief,andany“stuck” items that

can’tbesolvedimmediatelyshouldbetakenoffline.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur:Wouldreducingthetimespentinmeetingsenableyoutospend

moretimeimprovingyourproduct?

Executive:Wouldreducingthe timespent inmeetingsenableyoutospend

moretimecoachingyourteammembers?

Freelancer:Wouldreducingthetimespentinmeetingsenableyoutospend

moretimefindingnewclients?

Student:Dostudygroupstrulyhelpyouwithhomework,orwouldyousave

timestudyingalone?

Stay-at-HomeParent:Howmanymeetingsdoyouattendinsupportofthe

PTA, the soccer league, or other community events? Could you have more

impactbyactuallyhavingfewermeetings?

SECRET#8

Scheduleandattendmeetingsasalastresort,whenallother

formsofcommunicationwon’twork.

Lookat themeetings onyour calendar for theweekahead.Howcanyou

eliminatethemorreducetheirallottedtime?

FREEBONUS

Todownloadyour“MaximizeYourMeetings”posterandotherFREE

bonuses,visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#9

OneLittleWordThatMultipliesSuccess

Want a one-word magic spell that will instantly free up space on your

calendarinthefuture?

"Focusingisaboutsayingno."—SteveJobsEmail,socialmedia,andtext

messaginghasnotonly increased theoverall amountof informationwe

mustdealwith,butithasalsomadeitfartooeasyforotherpeopletoask

usforthings.Oftentherequestsaresocialorpersonalinnature.Wantto

hangouttonight?Wanttogotohappyhour?Wanttogoouttolunch?

And for peoplewho have experienced any amount of business or financial

success, the inbound requests to“do lunch”and“grabcoffee” flood the inbox

eachday.

EndlessRequestsforOurTime

ThesearetherequestsI’vereceivedinthelast24hours:• Fromabusiness

friend,“Let’sgrablunch…”

• Fromanauthoracquaintance,“Ifyouhavesomethingtosay

aboutthebook,I'dbedelightedifyou'dpostanAmazonreview.You

candoithere…”

•Fromanagent,askingmetoincludeherrosterofclientsonmy

“Top100LeadershipSpeakers”list• FromanentrepreneurI’ve

nevermet, “I amnowover here inBoston—abit of a shock to the

systemwithallthesnow—andI’dwelcometheopportunitytohavea

quickfiveminutecallifthatwasatallpossibletosayhelloandseek

youradvice.”

•Fromawonderful,localnonprofitleaderlettingmeknowabout

anupcomingfundraiser,“Ihopethateveryoneonthecommitteewill

sell10tickets!”

• Fromthedeanofalocalcollege,“Iamexcitedtotalktoyou

aboutwhatwearedoinghereinthebusinessdepartment…Wouldyou

beavailabletomeetforcoffeeoneday?”

•Nineemailsfromreadersintroducingthemselvesandtellingme

abouttheircurrentchallenge.

AndthenofcoursearetherequeststhatcomethroughLinkedIn.Iget10–20

messagesadayrequestingameetingorcalltoseeifIwouldliketoinvestina

company, reviewanewproductoffering,provideadvice for their startup,help

themwritetheirfirstbook,andonandon.

Nowdon’tgetmewrong.I’mnotcomplainingabouttherequests,noramI

makingfunofanyofthepeoplereachingout.Onthecontrary,I’mflatteredand

viewtheserequestsonmytimetobeasignthatI’mdoingsomethingright.And

in fact, many of these requests I will respond to (coffee with the dean, for

example).

Butwemustbevigilantwithourtime.

Remember,only1,440minutesinaday!

InTheirOwnWords…

PartofbeinganOlympicathleteisjustthattherearealotofthingsthatIhavetomiss,andmomentsor

eventsthatIhavetoskip.I'vealmostjustgottentothepointwhereI'musedtohavingtosay"No"to

things.

–SaraHendershotisanOlympicrowerfortheUnitedStatesandcompetedinthe2012Olympics.Sheis

currentlytrainingforRio2016.

Even a 30-minute chunkof time for a phone call or coffeemeetingmeans

something else won’t get done. It could be a poem that never gets written, a

chunk of code that doesn’t get debugged, a report that doesn’t get proofed, a

clientthatdoesn’tgetcalledbackuntilthenextday,twomilesthatdon’tgetrun,

orabrilliantideathatneveroccurstoyou.Thereisalwaysaprice.

“Thedifferencebetweensuccessfulpeopleandverysuccessfulpeople is

that very successful people say 'no' to almost everything.”—Warren

BuffettBewareofDistantElephants

They say that in the distance, even giant elephants at first look small.

Unfortunately,manysmallthingsturnintobigthingswhentheyactuallyarrive.

ResearchSays…

Peoplewhoroutinelysay“no”torequestsfortheirtimereporthigherlevelsofhappinessandenergy.

(Source:TheKruseGroup,2015)

Ayoungwoman,anundergraduateatDickinsonCollege,emailedmeoutof

theblueonedayandtoldmeshewasafanofmyleadershipwork.Shesaidher

school had a speaker series each year, and she asked if it wasOK for her to

suggestme.

Sure,Isaid.Thatwasmyfirstyes.

Amonthlater,aDickinsonCollegeadministratoremailedtofollowupwitha

specificdateformetocomespeakand to letmeknowtherewouldbenofee.

WouldIconsiderit?Mytypicalspeakingfeeis$12,500to$22,500,butIlove

speaking to students and always try to schedule at least one pro bono speech

eachmonthtoanonprofitgroup.

Ilookedupthedateonmycalendar—threemonthsdowntheroad—andthat

datewas free. In fact,mywholeweekwasunscheduled.Wow, the futurewas

goingtoreallybealotlessbusythanthepresent!Iwaslookingforwardtoit.I

acceptedtheinvitation.Thatwasmysecondyes.

Asthedategotcloser,anotherstudentaskedmeifshecouldinterviewmefor

thecollegeradiostation.Iwouldhavetoarriveacouplehoursearlierthanmy

event to record the interview.Sure, I said; I’d be honored.Thatwasmy third

yes.

A week before the event, a professor emailed to ask if I wouldn’t mind

speakingtohiseconomicsclassaboutbusinessandethicsandengagement.His

classwasearlierintheday.Ilovespeakingtostudents,I’dbethereanyway—

justnowalittleearlierintheday—so,ofcourse,Igavemyfourthyes.

As time ticked away and the pro bono event at the college got closer and

closer, inevitablythingscameup.Mydaughter’sschoolplaygotscheduledfor

the sameday; Iwould have tomiss it. Iwas asked to do a corporate keynote

event on the same day—for my full fee; I had to turn it down. A TV news

programinAustraliawanted

todoaliveinterviewwithmeonthesamedayvia

satellite,butIwasalreadybooked.

Yes,itwasabigbummermissingoutonallthoseotherthings,especiallymy

kid’s play, but I don’t regret my original decision or the string of yeses that

followed.

ButIsharethisstoryasanextremeexampleofhowwemistakenlythinkwe’ll

belessbusyinthefuturethanweareinthepresent.

It’sfartooeasytoacceptalunchdatewhenyoulookatyourcalendarthree

weeks fromnow and see that you have nomeetings or other lunch plans that

day.Sure,thatdaylooksgreattograbacasuallunch!Andthenthatdaycomes,

andit’sfilledwithmeetingsanddeadlinesandfamilyobligations.

You have to realize:whatever obligations and projects and tasks you have

now, you’ll also have in amonth, sixmonths, or a year. Unless youmake a

radicalchangeinyourlife,yourkidswillcontinuetogetsick,playsports,and

require parent-teacher conferences; your bosswill still be giving you projects;

your car will still need oil changes and inspections; your friends will still be

throwingparties.

EveryYesIsaNotoSomethingElse

ThisisalessonIeventrytoteachmykids:everyyesisanotosomethingelse.

It’s not that they should say no to everything; it’s that they should think it

through.

InTheirOwnWords…

Ifsomethingisnota"hell,YEAH!"thenit'sa"no!"

–JamesAltucherisabestsellingauthor,activeinvestor,andhostofTheJamesAltucherShow.

Multipliersrealizethatperfectionisachievednotonlywhennothingmorecanbeadded,butwhen

nothingmorecanbetakenaway.Itisthepermissiontoignore.Becauseanythingwecansaynototoday,

createsmoretimetomorrow.

–RoryVadenistheauthorofProcrastinateOnPurposeandTaketheStairs.

TruefocusissayingnotothethingsYOUreallywanttodo.

–NikhilArora&AlejandroVelez,co-foundersofBacktotheRoots.

Mybesttoolistokeepfrontofmindthisidea:Everythingyousayyestomeansyouaresayingnoto

somethingelse.

–MelanieBensonistheco-authorofEntrepreneur.com’sStartupGuidetoStartinganInformation

MarketingBusiness.

My daughter had RSVP’d yes to a friend’s birthday party. Then the pop

singerMaxSchneiderannouncedalocalconcertdatethatfellrightonthesame

date.Whatshouldshedo?Ohtheteenangst!She’dtoldherfriendshe’dbeat

theparty,andsheneededtohonorthatcommitment.

My eleven-year-old son signed up to play travel soccer; he’s one of two

goaliesontheteam.Aftertheseasonwasunderway,hewasaskedtoplayapart

inalocalplay.Hereallywantedtodoit,buttheplayperformancewouldmean

hewouldmissoneortwosoccergames.Whattodo?Hemadeacommitmentto

hiscoachandfellowteammates,sohewasgoingtoplaysoccer.

Again,thelessonisn’ttoalwayssayno.Justrealizethateveryyeswillbea

notosomethingelsewhenthetimecomes.Understandingthatthereisalwaysan

opportunitycostwillmakeyouhesitateandreallybecarefulaboutwhatyouare

agreeingtoputonyourcalendar.

WhyIt’sHardtoSayNo

Despitethefactthat“everyyesisanotosomethingelse,”wefinditsohardto

justsayno.Therearemanyreasons:•We’reafraidtomakepeoplemad.

•We’reafraidtohurtsomeone’sfeelings.

•Wewanttobeliked.

•Wedon’twanttoberude;wewereraisedtobepolite.

•Weunderestimatehowmuchtimeitwillreallytake.

•Wearen’tclearonourownpriorities.

•Wefeelgoodbybeinghelpful.

•Welikeearningfuturereturnfavors.

Indeedweareraisedandsocializedtowanttohelpothersinneed;wevalue

helpingothers.

Butuncontrolled, sayingyes to requests for timewill quicklyblockout all

theotherthingswevalue—includingtheverythingsthatmadeussuccessfulin

thefirstplace.Weareself-imposingthepressureandthefeelingsofguiltwhen

wesayno.

Giveyourselfpermissiontosaynowithoutguilt.Youshouldnotcareabout

whatothersthinkofyoufordecliningtheirrequests!

7EasyWaystoSayNo

Firstofall,knowthat“no”isenough.Youdon’toweittoany-bodytohaveto

saymorethanthat.

But ifyouarestillstrugglingwith“justsayno,” then try thesemoresubtle

responses. I often send a response email beginningwith “Thanks for reaching

out…”andcontinuewithoneofthesemessages:

1. “…but I’m on a deadline right now and am not taking any new

meetingsuntilI’mdone.”Iusethisapproachoftenwithstrangers

whocold-contactme. Idon’tspecifywhat thedeadline is—since

they’re strangers, they don’t need to know my details and

shouldn’texpectmetoshare.Andtheworddeadlinehasamagic

toit,apowerthatmostpeoplecanrelateto.

2. “…UnfortunatelymyscheduleissopackedatthistimeIcanonly

take calls and meetings with paying clients. Thanks for

understanding.”Iusethisapproachforpeoplewhoarelookingfor

freeadvicethatwillbenefitthemandtheircompanytremendously.

It’s really incredible how often people who already have decent

incomeandassetswillaskfortimeandinformationthatwillmake

thematonofmoney,buttheydon’tthinktohiresomeoneforthe

answer.The approach above is a gentle nudge that if they really

wanttotalktomeabouttheirbusinessproblem,theycandoit if

they’rewillingtopay.Theyalmostalwaysdisappearinstead.

3. “…and I’m happy to connect, but there is no daylight on my

calendar until 2:15 p.m. ET on [pick a date five months in the

future].”ThisiswhatIusuallysaytosomeonewhoIdon’tknow

personallybutwhoisvaguelyconnectedinsomeway.Maybethey

areafriendofsomeonewhousedtoworkformefromyearsago.

Theintentofthisapproachistonotrejectthemoutright,buttolet

them know I’m hustlin’ and have a very busy calendar. This

response sends the message that their issue had better be pretty

important,andiftheyreallywanttomeetwithyou,they’lltakethe

offeredtimeslotinthedistantfuture.I’vefoundthatmostofthese

peoplejustrespondandsay,“Oh,noworries,yousoundswamped.

Let’sjustconnectwhenyou’relessbusy.”Andtheygoaway.

4. “…andmynextopenslotforaphonecallis2:00a.m.–2:15a.m.

ETonThursdayofnextweek.Letmeknowifthatworksforyou.”

Noticethetimeslotisa.m.,notp.m.;that’sonpurpose.Ionlyuse

this line aboutonce ayear, because if theperson callsmybluff,

I’llactuallyhavetostayuplateordragmybuttoutofbedtotake

thecall.ButIusethisonpeoplewhoarereally,reallypersistent.If

I know they’re a persistent stranger just trying to sell me

something,Icaneasilysayno.Butifafriendorbusinesspartner

suggestedtheycallme,Idon’twanttoignorethemoutofcourtesy

to my friend. But this approach puts a burden back on the

requester.Howbadlydotheywanttotalktome?Aretheyreally

willing to do the call in the middle of the night? Usually they

respondwith,“Sure,nextThursdayafternoonisgreat,butyouhad

a typoandwrote a.m.…thatwould surebea crazy time!” I then

writeback,“Notypo.I’ma24/7kindofguy,andthat’smyonly

openslotforthenextseveralmonths.Doyouwantit?”I’venever

actually had a person in this situation ask for the call, which is

reallyamazing.Theyarewillingtoimposeonmytimetotrytoget

some life-or career-altering information, yet they won’t take the

callattwointhemorning.And,ifanyoneeversays,“Youbet,I’ll

call you then,” I can always respond and say I found a way to

move something around and that we can talk during normal

businesshours.

“…butIdon’tthinkI’mthebestperson;I’dliketoreferyouto…”

This isaneasyone.Peopleoften requestyour timebecause they

think you know something that can help them or that you are a

decisionmakerthatcanbuysomething.Ifyouaren’t,orifyou’ve

“delegated”thatdecisionmakingpowertosomeoneonyourteam,

usethisapproach.Youcanalwaysqualifyitbysayingsomething

like,“Thefastestway tomakeprogresson this is foryou to talk

directly tomy colleague Paulina. But don’t worry; when you’re

talkingtoPaulina,you’retalkingtome.She’stheultimatedecider

here.”

6. “…but I’m not able to take any more meetings or calls during

normalbusinesshours.ButIoftencancatchuponemailsduring

traveloratnight.Wouldyouliketocommunicateviaemail?”This

isprobablytheresponseIusemostoften.Ireallydotrytorespond

to every email I get from readers, email newsletter subscribers,

referrals, etc. And email is way more efficient than live phone

calls.

7. “…and as a rule, I only schedule 15 minutes for first calls. If

you’reinterested,couldyousendoveradraftagendasoIcansee

whatwe’llbecoveringandwhatdesiredoutcomeyouarehoping

for?”Again,ifyoudon’twanttojustrejecttheperson,thistypeof

response isagoodway to let themknowyou’reverybusy,so if

theyreallywanttotalktoyou,they’dbetterbewillingtodosome

pre-work.Iusuallyneverhearfromthesepeopleagain.

InTheirOwnWords…

Sayingnotofriends:Thinkoftheconsequencesandwhatthebestdecisionisforyou;don'ttrytoplease

others.Thinkofyourselffirst.Becarefulofwhoyousurroundyourselfwith;ifthey'reyourfriend,no

willnotbeanissue.

–HaleySilvaisastraight-Astudentat

SierraHighSchool.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur:Would “just saying no” help you to reject tangentialmeetings

fromoutsideparties,enablingyoutostayfocusedonyourcurrentproductroad

map?

Executive: Would “just saying no” help you to stay out of nice-to-have

initiatives,enablingyoutomakeprogressonyourquarterlyobjectives?

Freelancer:Would“justsayingno”helptoreduceyourprobonohours?

Student:Would“justsayingno”helpyoutospendmoretimeinthelibrary

andlesstimeatthecoffeeshop?

Stay-at-Home Parent: Would “just saying no” help to minimize your

“volunteering”andmaximizeparenting?

SECRET#9

Saynotoeverythingthatdoesn’tsupportyourimmediategoals.

Which meetings, calls, and projects will you say no to in the upcoming

weeks?

FREEBONUS

TodownloadyourFREEbonuses,visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#10

ThePowerfulParetoPrinciple

Couldasimpleanalysisofyourworkloadmake80percentofitdisappear?

TheAmazingDiscoveryinanItalianGarden

VilfredoFedericoDamasoParetowasborninItalyin1848.Hewouldgoonto

becomeanimportantphilosopherandeconomist.Legendhasitthatonedayhe

noticed that20percentof thepeaplants inhisgardengenerated80percentof

the healthy peapods. This observation caused him to think about uneven

distribution.Hethoughtaboutwealthanddiscoveredthat80percentoftheland

inItalywasownedbyjust20percentofthepopulation.Heinvestigateddifferent

industriesandfound that80percentofproduction typicallycamefromjust20

percentofthecompanies.

80percentofresultswillcomefromjust20percentoftheaction.

This “universal truth” about the imbalance of inputs and outputs became

knownastheParetoprinciple,orthe80/20rule.Whileitdoesn’talwayscometo

beanexact80/20ratio,thisimbalanceisoftenseeninvariousbusinesscases:

•20percentofthesalesrepsgenerate80percentoftotalsales.

•20percentofcustomersaccountfor80percentoftotalprofits.

•20percentofthemostreportedsoftwarebugscause80percent

ofsoftwarecrashes.

• 20 percent of patients account for 80 percent of healthcare

spending(and5percentofpatientsaccountforafull50percentofall

expenditures!)

On amore personal note, youmight be able to relate tomy unintentional

80/20habits.

Iownat least fiveamazingsuits,but80percentof the timeormoreIgrab

my black, well-tailored, single-breasted Armani with a powder blue shirt.

(Ladies,howmanyshoesdoyouown,andhowoftendoyougrabthesame20

percent?)

Ihave15roomsinmyhouse,butIspendabout80percentofmytimeinjust

mybedroom,familyroom,andoffice.

I’mnotsurehowmanymilesofroadsareinthesmalltownwhereIlive,but

IbetIonlydriveon20percentorlessofthem.

OnmySamsungS5smartphone, Ihave48differentmobileappspinned to

thetiles,but80percentofthetimeI’msureI’monlyusingabout8ofthem.

When I gogrocery shopping, I definitely spend themost time in the aisles

thatarearoundtheedgesofthestore:produce,thefishmarket,dairy,breads—

and generally skip the aisles in the middle of the store (except health and

beauty).

Asamassiveintrovert,Idon’tactuallysocializetoomuch,butyouprobably

findthatyouspend80percentofyourtimewith20percentofyourfriendsand

familymembers.

InTheirOwnWords…

IacceptthatIcannotdoeverythingsoIworkonlyonthingsthatarevitallyimportantusingthe80:20

rule.

–JamesSchramkoisthefounderofSuperFastBusiness.

ThetwoprimaryproductivityconceptsIapplyarethefollowing...First,the80/20rule,whichhelpsmeto

identifywhichtasksdeliverthebiggestrewardsandthusIshouldfocuson.Two,the“Theoryof

Constraints,”whichhelpsmetoidentifywhattheimmediateconstraintisthat’sholdingmebackfroma

desirableresult.

–YaroStarakistheauthoroftheblogProfitsBlueprintandfounderoftheEntrepreneurs-Journey.com

blog.

SohowcanweapplyPareto’sprincipletogainmoretimeinourlives?

80/20Business

Inbusiness,youcouldliterallyanalyzeyourcustomerbaseanddecideto“fire”

80percentof the leastprofitablecustomers. Icertainly firedmanyclientswho

weren’tworththetroublebackinmyday.

Youcoulddothesamewithyoursalesforce.Applythe80/20ruleandfire

themajorityofyoursales representativeswhoareactuallyproducing the least.

Thiswillenableyoutorewardtheremaininghighlysuccessfulrepswithmore

accountsorlargerterritoriesandgiveyoumoretimetosupportthe“winners”on

yoursalesteam.

Youcouldlookatalltheproductsyouarecurrentlyofferingand,using80/20

analysis, get rid of themajority of your products that provide the least profit.

This could eliminate themajority of customer service issues, free up room in

yourwarehouse,andsimplifyyourvalueproposition.

Ifyou’rerunningasoftwarecompany,makesureyouareidentifyingwhich

bugs are causing 80 percent of the phone calls to your help center. Eliminate

thesefirst,andyou’lldramaticallyreduceyourtechsupportcosts.

Youcanevenapply80/20toyourmarketingefforts.IonceinterviewedSeth

Godinataconferenceandaskedhimwhyhedidn’tuseTwitter.Thiswasback

when Twitter was all the rage and, given that Seth is viewed as a marketing

guru, people were shocked he wasn’t engaged with the platform. He said, “I

havenothingagainstTwitter.ThereareonlysomanyhoursadayandifIspend

timeonTwitter, Iwon’tbespending timeonother things, likewritingadaily

blogpost.”

Inthisageofsocialmedia,somanyofusfeellikewehavetobeonTwitter

and Facebook and LinkedIn—my gosh, I even have a Pinterest page! But a

simple80/20analysiswouldrevealthatmostofyourengagement,most

ofyour

audience, probably comes from just one platform.You could let people know

that’swhereyou’llbe,andthenignoretherest.

80/20Yardwork

Howmuchtimeandmoneydoyouspendonyouryardeachyear?Maybeyour

current practice is to mow the lawn, edge the lawn, apply fertilizer or other

chemicals,weed the flowerbeds, trim thebushesand trees,plant flowers, and

sweepthesidewalk.Ifyoudon’tdoityourself, thinkhowmuchyouspendon

mowing, replacing mulch, buying lawn fertilizer, applying weed killer, or

trimmingtrees.

The 80/20 rule would suggest that only 20 percent of yard maintenance

activities account for about 80 percent of howyour yard actually looks to the

neighbors and others who are driving by your home.With that in mind, you

mightdecidetomowandweed,butstopedgingandplantingseasonalflowers.

(Unlessyardworkisfunforyou,ofcourse!)

80/20ReadingandStudying

MyfavoritehighschoolteachergavemesoundadviceasIwentofftocollege.

Shewarned that the readingassignmentswouldbeunlikeanything Ihaddone

before.Abookaweek for classesusing fiction, andmultiple chapters aweek

fromeachtextbook.

Shetaughtmethatifyoujustreadthefirstandlastparagraphofeachchapter

aswellasthefirstsentenceofeachparagraphinbetween,you’llunderstand80

percentof themessageof thebook.I learnedthat itmightnotgetyoustraight

A’s,butitcangetyousolidB’s.

Today, I have three over-scheduled kids in school. As I help my teenage

daughters study for high school tests, I now know to start by looking at the

chapter summaries and chapter self-tests. Knowing what the textbook author

thinksismostimportant,andthengoingbackandfindingtheanswerstothose

questionsinthetextit*elf,ismuchmoreefficientthanreadingtheentirechapter

frombeginningtoend.

What’sintheDalaiLama’sBag?

MyfavoritestoryabouttheDalaiLamawasfromanarticleinTheGlobeand

Mail in 2002. The Dalai Lama travels the world frequently, teaching people

about Buddhism and the plight of the Tibetan people. A man without many

possessions,healwayscarriesasmall redbagwhereverhegoes.Accordingto

thereporteratoneevent,someone in theaudienceasked theDalaiLamawhat

wasinhisbag.

Immediately, he opened it and began pulling out objects for all to see. A

chocolatebar,acaseforhisglasses,atoothbrush,Kleenextissues,andthenafter

a pause—a single candy, which he promptly unwrapped and popped into his

mouth.

Howmuchstuffdoyoucarrywithyouwhenyoutravel?Istoomuch“stuff”

takingawayyourtime?

Mostofmyfriendshavesecondhomes.SomeareinNewYork,othersatthe

Jersey shore, others have ski cabins in the Poconos. They are surprised that I

don’t have a vacationhome.What theydon’t realize is that I’ve listenedvery

carefullywhentheytalkabouttheirhomes.Rarelydotheytalkabouthowmuch

joy they aregetting from them.But I definitelyhear itwhen they tellme that

theyhavetodealwiththeaftermathofabreak-in,orthatHurricaneSandyput

threefeetofwaterintheirfirstfloor,orthatthey’verenteditoutandsomeone

trashedtheplace.

Asecondhome is justoneexample to show the truth thatallobjectscome

withacost,likecollectibleknickknacksthatneedtobedustedeveryweek.The

bigger the house, themore rooms that need to be cleaned. Electronic gadgets

needtobelearned,setup,stored,Bluetooth-paired,andultimatelyfixed!Pools

need to be cleaned. Pets need to get walked, groomed, and taken to the vet.

Boatsputinandtakenoutofthewater.

With three school-age kids, I thinkmy suburban lifestyle is practical. But

once the kids are all out of the house, Iwill be too! I envision getting rid of

almost everything I own (I’ll pack up the sentimental stuff—there won’t be

much—andputit inaclimate-controlledstoragefacility)andjustspendayear

rentinganamazingapartmentinadifferentcityeachyearuntilIgetboredwith

thatordie.NewYork,Barcelona,Amalfi,SydneyorMelbourne,HongKong,

LaJollaorNapa,whoknowswhere!

Thelessonisn’tthatall“things”arebad—Ihavesometoystodriveandtwo

cats. It’s just that all things require time, and we should think twice before

acquiringthem.

Whilewemaynotwanttolimitourpossessionstoonlythatwhichfitsinto

onesmallredbag,wecanprobablytakeinspirationfromtheDalaiLama,who

clearlydoesn’tneedobjectstofeelhappy.

The80/20Mindset

The important takeawayfromthischapteron theParetoprinciple isnot to run

aroundwithacalculatorandactuallydothemathtofigureout80percentand20

percentcalculationsindifferentareasofyourlife.

It’s more important to have a mindset of identifying the few things and

activitiesthatwillgiveyououtsizedreturns.Youwantto:

•Lookforshortcuts.

• Dothemostimportantthingsexceptionallywell,andtherest

just“goodenough”ornotatall.

• Developyourskillstobeexceptionalinafewtargetedareas;

don’ttrytomastereverything.

• Realizethatyoucanworkless,stressless,andincreaseyour

happiness by figuringout the 20percent of goals and activities that

aremostimportanttoyou.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur: Would an 80/20 mindset help you to stay focused on your

strategicplanandspendlesstimechasingendlessnewopportunities?

Executive:Would an80/20mindset helpyou tomaximize the return from

yourlimitedresources?

Freelancer:Wouldan80/20mindsethelpyoutofocusonandserviceyour

mostimportantclients?

Student: Would an 80/20 mindset help you to identify the content that

mattersmostonatest?

Stay-at-Home Parent: Would an 80/20 mindset help you to manage the

householdwithoutlosingyourmind?

SECRET#10

Eightypercentofoutcomesaregeneratedbytwentypercentof

activities.

What20percentofyourtimegenerates80percentofyourvalue?

FREEBONUS

TodownloadyourFREEbonuses,visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#11

The“3HarvardQuestions”ThatSave8

HoursaWeek

Canthreesimplequestionssaveyoueighthoursaweek?

TheSlackerWhoWona“BestCoder”Award

In January of 2013, several news outlets reported on the remarkable story of

Bob.

WithBob’sprogramming speedandcodequality, his companynamedhim

“BestCoderintheBuilding”andgavehimanexcellentperformancereview.He

was amodel employee; in hismid-40s,Bob clocked in bynine eachmorning

andsenthisbossadailysummaryofhisproductivitybeforeheleftatfive.

But if we had been able to secretly peek over Bob’s shoulder all day—to

discover howhe spent his time—wewould have seen something peculiar.On

Bob’stypicalday,hewouldreadRedditandwatchYouTubevideosfromabout

9:00to11:30,whichiswhenhewouldheadouttohis90-minutelunch.Backat

1:00 p.m., Bob would then spend the next three and a half hours on Ebay,

Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites. At 4:30, he would send a

reporttohisbossandgohome—withoutwritingasinglelineofcode.Thenext

daywouldbethesame.

Howcouldthisbe?Howcould“Bob”behiscompany’sstarprogrammer,yet

goofoffallday?

ItturnsoutthatBobwasverysmart.

Insteadofasking,“HowcanIdothis?”

Heasked,“Howcanthisgetdone?”

Theanswer,inBob’scase,wasthatheoutsourcedhistask—actuallyhisjob

—to a software development company in

Shenyang, China. Bob’s company

gave him approximately $200,000 a year to do hiswork, and he in turn gave

$50,000ayeartoaprogrammerinChinatodoitforhim.

For the longest time, Bob’s company marveled at his productivity and

quality,whilehesurfedtheInterneteighthoursaday.

Eventually Bob’s company noticed unusual server access from China, and

thinkingtheywerebeinghacked,theystumbledonBob’sbrilliantscheme.They

werenotamused.Bobwasfired.

ResearchSays…

Peoplewhoactivelylookforthingstodelegatereporthigherlevelsofproductivity,happinessand

energy,andarelesslikelytofeel“overworkedandoverwhelmed.”

(Source:TheKruseGroup,2015)

IfIhadbeentheCEO,IwouldhavedoubledBob’ssalaryandmadehimthe

CTO.Thatwayhecouldhaveoutsourcedall thedevelopmentworkandsaved

thecompanymillionsofdollars.

WhileBobultimatelygotfiredforbreakingcompanyrules,wecanlearnalot

fromhisapproachtogettingthingsdone.

InTheirOwnWords…

Seeyourdayfromahigherperspective…Avoidleveragingyourtimeformoney,insteadleverageyour

expertiseanddelegatetherest.

–JeffMooreispresidentoftwoseafoodcompaniesandthefounderofa*globalmastermindgroupcalled

ThursdayNightBoardroom.

Drop,Delegate,orRedesign

InSeptember2013,ProfessorsJulianBirkinshawandJordanCohensharedthe

resultsoftheirproductivityexperimentintheHarvardBusinessReview.

They found that 41 percent of knowledge workers’ time is spent on

discretionaryactivitiesthatweren’tpersonallysatisfyingandcouldalsobedone

byothers.

Sowhydopeoplekeepdoingtheseactivities?

Theresearcherssuggestthatoftenwefeelimportantwhenwefeelbusy;we

feel engaged and satisfied as we make progress against tasks, and while

meetingsareoftenboring,theyalsoprovideanopportunitytoleavethedeskand

socializealittlebit.

OnceworkersweretrainedbyBirkinshawandCohentoslowdownandthink

abouttheiractivitiesinanewway,theyachievedmassivetimegains.

In fact, on average, theworkerswhowere trained saved six hours of desk

workandtwohoursofmeetingtimeeachweek.

Sowhat’sthesecrettothesemassivetimesavings?

Theresearchers trainedeveryone toanalyze their tasks tosee if theycould:

•Drop:WhatitemscanIdrop?WhatcanIstopdoingentirely?

•Delegate:WhatitemscanIdelegatetoasubordinate?Whatcan

Ioutsource?

•Redesign:WhatdoIneedtocontinuedoing,butdoitinanew,

time-efficientway?

Toputthisintopractice,makealistofallthetasksandmeetingsyouworked

onduringthepreviousweekandfollowthesesteps:

1. Ask, “How valuable is this task tome or to the company?

WhatwouldhappenifIjustdroppeditcompletely?”

2. Ask,“AmItheonlypersonwhocoulddothistask?Whoelse

inoroutsidethecompanycouldaccomplishthis?”

3. Ask, “How can the same outcome be achieved but with a

fasterprocess?HowcouldthistaskgetcompletedifIonlyhad

halfthetime?”

Those threequestionswill giveyou thedatayouneed to identify the tasks

thatareoflowvalueandshouldbetargetedtoDrop,Delegate,Redesign.

InTheirOwnWords…

Leverageeverydimeyouhavetooutsourceandbuyotherpeople'stime.Thatisthekey.Organizeyour

168hours,thenBUYhoursfromotherstogrow.

–Shane&JocelynSamsbuiltahighsix-figurebusinesssellingdigitalproductsandstarted

FlippedLifestyle.comtohelpotherfamilies"fliptheirlives"withonlinebusinesses.

TonyRobbinsWasaTeenWhenHeHiredanAssistant

Icanrememberbeing25yearsoldandmowingmylawnonahotSaturdayin

August. Iwas theCEO of a startup,working over 80 hours perweek, barely

getting any sleep, gettingno exercise, and Ihadno social life, andyet there I

wasspendingacouplehoursmowingandedgingmylawn.

Sweatdrippingoffmychin, facebaking in thesun, strainingup thegrassy

hill, pushing themower through a cloud of dirt and grass pollen, all the time

thinkingabouttheslidedeckIneededtocreatebeforeMonday,thehundredsof

emails I needed to respond to, not to mention painting a bedroom, doing the

laundry,andgoinggroceryshopping.

Sowhydidn’tIjusthiresomekidtomowmylawnforme?BecauseIhadno

money.IshouldsayIthoughtIhadnomoney.

IrecentlywatchedaninterviewwithTonyRobbins.Hetellsasimilarstory

ofstartingout—still justa teenager—andrealizing thatasbrokeashewas,he

wasgoingtohirehelp,initiallyforjusttwohoursaday.Hetellshisstory:

I think in the very beginning the hard thing is you think you can only do it

yourselfand then there’sonly somanyhoursandyou’vegot kidsand family

andfriendsandhowdoIdoitall?

Theanswerisyouhiresomeone.Youtradewithsomeone.Youtradethemfor2

hours.That’swhatIdidinthebeginning.BecauseIremember,Iremember,I’ll

neverforget,Iwasjustreallyyounginmycareer,veryintheearlydays,andI

wasrunningtogettothedrycleanerssoIcouldgetmyonlytwosuitsbecause

ifIdidn'tgetthem,youknow,thentheplaceclosesandIcan’tgetontheplane.

And I was running to the airport sweating like crazy, and I’m a sweater

anyway.Sweating like this, trying toget in thedoor, and itwas like,what is

wrongwiththispicture?

Icouldbedoingsomethingthat’ssoproductiveandI’mstandinginlineatthe

drycleaningplace.Thisisjustnuts.AndsoIwasreally…Iwaslike17,18,19,

Idon'tknowwhatIwas,andIsaid,“I’mgonnahiresomebody.”Twohoursa

day,that’swhatIneedtostartwith.Andthenitwas4hours.

Andsomyview is Idon'tdoanything thatsomeoneelsecandobetter,andI

don'tdoanythingthatisn’tthehighestandbestuseofmytime.

Youneedtostartpayingotherpeopletodostuffforyouevenbeforeyoufeel

youareready.Whatwoulditcost tohirethekiddownthestreet tomowyour

lawneachweek?

Are you a stay-at-home dad? What would it cost to hire an unemployed

collegegradtowatchyourkidsforanhoureachafternoontoletyouhavesome

alonetime?

InTheirOwnWords…

Nothingwillslowyoudown,takeyouofftrack,orkeepyouunproductivemorethandoingthingswhich

youboth:donotliketodoandarenotgoodat.Anythingthatfallsintothatcategorymustbeoutsourced

tosomeoneelse(ideallywhobothlikesitandhascompetence)assoonaspossible.Theextenttowhich

youcontinueonthosetypesoftasksiswhatwillholdyoubackfromtrulylovingwhatyou'redoingand

alsobeingfulfilled.

–AndreaWaltzistheco-authorofthebestsellingbook,GoforNo!,andaprofessionalspeaker.

IoutsourceanythingIcanusingfantastictoolslikeAmazonPrimefortwo-dayshippingandPeapodfor

grocerydeliverysoIdon'thavetogotothestore;FancyHands.comtobookappointments,lookup

vendors,researchproducts,etc.;Thumbtackforfindinganyhouseholdtaskthatcanbedone;and

ZocDocformakingdoctorappointments.Beingamomoftwolittleonesandrunningamulti-office

agencyrequiresallofthehelpIcanget!

–KimWalsh-Phillipsisaleadingdirectresponsesocialmediamarketer,bestsellingauthor,

keynotespeaker,andfounderofIOCreativeGroup.

VentureCapitalistSusteron

theValueofanAdmin

AreyouastartupCEO?Whatwoulditcosttohireareallygoodadministrative

assistant? Why spend money on an admin when you know how to use a

computerandcandoityourself?

ThereareonlytwoblogsthatIreadreligiously,andventurecapitalistMark

Suster writes one of them. In Bothsides of the Table

(http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/), Suster gives advice to startup

entrepreneurs.Inhisarticle

“TheControversialFirstRoletoHireAfterYour‘A

Round,’”Sustermakesacompellingcaseforthevalueofanadmin.

Yourfirsthireafterthatfirstroundofcapitalisanofficemanager/company-

wideassistant.

“What?You’rejoking,right?”

No.

WhileI’mpassionateaboutbeingscrappywhenyoustartandcontrollingyour

costs,I’mequallypassionateaboutperformancewhenyouhaveabitofcash.

And I’ve seen way too many CEOs/founders get bogged down in minutiae

because they were used to it from the scrappy phase. They’ve struggled to

scale.

Thinkaboutit.Yoursinglemostvaluableassetintheearlydaysisyoursenior

teamandpresumably nobody ismore valuable than the founding team.And

you’re bogged down in expense claims, booking hotel rooms, scheduling

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/

meetings,dealingwithaleakytoilet,processingpayroll,orderingcomputers,

etc.

Ifyoudon’thaveanadmin,youareanadmin.

Even if you can do all the administrativework yourself, why should you?

The one hour a day you spend running to the post office, balancing the

checkbook, or booking airline tickets would be better spent calling prospects,

learning,orthinkingstrategically.Alwaystrytospendasmuchtimeaspossible

usingyouruniquestrengthsonyourhighest leverageactivities.Runningoutto

Staplestobuyprinterpaperprobablydoesn’tfallintothatcategory.

InTheirOwnWords…

Focusonwhatyouaregreatatandhireeveryoneelsetodotherest.

–LewisHowesisabestsellingauthor,entrepreneur,andformerprofessionalathlete.Heisthehostof

TheSchoolofGreatnesspodcast.

TodayYouCan“Uber”Everything

Ever since the success ofThe4-HourWorkweek byTimFerriss, usingvirtual

assistantshasbeensomewhatinvogue.Initially,usingavirtualassistant,orVA,

generallymeantworkingwithsomeoneinIndiaorthePhilippinestoscreenyour

email,scheduleappointments,andothergeneraltasks.Whilesomefoundthese

arrangements to be helpful, others found the language barriers and the lower

qualityofworktobeunacceptable.

ButsincetheearlydaysofVAs,theconcepthasreallygrownandmorphed

into the idea that you can outsource almost anything, with very little prior

planning.

Uber was really the company that popularized the concept of on-demand

mobile service (ODMS). Remember being envious of the “rich and famous”

withtheirchauffeurs?Well inthesametimeitwouldtakeyoutosay,“Home,

James,”youcannowtapyourUberappandhaveyourpersonalchauffeurshow

uptotakeyoutoyourdestination.

Spend too much time grocery shopping? See if Instacart

(www.instacart.com), Peapod (www.peapod.com), or Fresh Direct

(www.freshdirect.com) operates in your area. For non-perishables, use

Amazon.com Subscribe & Save (www.amazon.com/gp/subscribe-and-

save/details/).

Need someone to do some Internet research, make social media updates,

http://www.peapod.com

make reservations at a restaurant, or cancel your cable? Just visit

FancyHands.com.

Have miscellaneous chores to complete? See if the folks on TaskRabbit

(www.TaskRabbit.com) will hop over to clean your oven, build your Ikea

furniture,ororganizeyourclosets.

And don’t forget, for all your general freelance needs: www.fiverr.com,

www.freelance.com,andwww.upwork.com.

WhenThe4-HourWorkweekfirstcameout,outsourcingwasanovelty.Now,

it’s just assumed you can give thework to the best people, and nobody cares

where they are located.WithWiFi Internet access, Skype, email, and project

management communication tools like Asana (www.asana.com) and Slack

(www.slack.com),workingwithremoteteammembershasbecomenobigdeal.

IliveoutsideofPhiladelphiaandpersonallyuse“virtual”helpforallkindsof

things:

Clarissaisoneofmybookcoverdesigners;shelivesinSingapore,

andIhavenoideawhatshelookslike(we’veonlycommunicated

viaemail).

BalajilivesinIndia,andI’veusedhisteamtodoresearchprojects,

datamining,andslidedesigns.

SerenaanswersmyMailchimpemailtechnicalquestions(whenwe

firstconnected,shewasspendingtimeinIreland,andnowshe’sin

Thailand).

Camille is one of my book editors whom I found on

www.Fiverr.com (her profile page says she lives in the United

States,butIhavenoideawhere).

Matt and Chris are the two guys who handle my websites (I’ve

neverhadaface-to-faceprojectmeetingwiththem).

InadditiontotheteamofremotefreelancersIroutinelyworkwith,locallyI

alsooutsourcetheseitems:

Ipay$60aweektoacompanytomowmylawn.

Ipay$100toaguytoplowmydrivewaywhenitsnows.

I pay $150 every two weeks to a cleaning service to clean my

house.

Ipay$20anhourtoawomantohelpmegetmykidsofftoschool

eachmorning.

I pay a bookkeeper to handle both my personal and business

accountingneeds;Ineverwriteacheckmyself.

Ihireplumbers,electricians,andpainterstomaintainmyhome.

http://www.fancyhands.com

http://www.upwork.com

http://www.asana.com

ButMarkCubanStillDoesHisOwnLaundry

Sowhatshouldn’tyououtsource?

NoticethatwhileIhavesomeonewhostopsinafewmorningseachweekto

help, I’ve never had a full-time nanny for my three kids.While I have good

friends who have live-in nannies or daily full-time nannies, I just never felt

comfortablewiththatmyself.Forme,Idon’twantanon-familymemberliving

inmyhouse,andparentingismyfirstvalue,soIwanttodoitmyselfasmuchas

Ican.I’mfortunateinthatIhavealotofscheduleflexibilitythatenablesthis.

I’m not judging others who aremaking different choices; I do it consciously,

knowingthatitiscostingmepotentialincomeandcareeradvancement.

I also domy own grocery shopping—almost every day or every other day

actually.Thismakesnosensefromatimeoptimizationstandpoint.ButIactually

like it. I like having the freshest fruits and vegetables and fish possible, and

zippingquickly through the store ismywayofgoing to themarket eachday.

SinceIworkfromhome,it’sagoodexcusetogetsomefreshairandsunlight.

BillionaireMarkCubanrevealedonSharkTankthathestillwasheshisown

laundry.Ido,too.Itwouldbeeasyformetohavesomeonestopineachweekto

domylaundryortodropitatthedrycleaningplace—itwouldbeeasyforyou

todothattoo,andmaybeyoushould.ButIjustfinditgroundingsomehowtodo

myownlaundry.

Thebottomlineisyoushouldtrytooutsourceeverythingyoucanunless:

1. You enjoy doing it and it’s part of your rest and recharging

process.

2. It’spartofyourvaluestocontinuedoingthetask.

3. Itcostsyoumoreperhourtooutsourceitthanyouwanttomake

yourself.

InTheirOwnWords…

Everyyear,audityourtimeandfindawaytodelegateatleast15%ofwhatyou'redoing.

–JayBaeristhefounderofConvince&Convert,akeynotespeaker,andauthorofYoutility.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur:Would being aggressive about outsourcing help you to spend

moretimeusingyouruniqueabilities?

Executive:Wouldbeingaggressiveaboutoutsourcingenableyoutoreduce

projectcosts?

Freelancer:Wouldbeingaggressiveaboutoutsourcingenableyoutospend

moretimeutilizingyourtruetalents?

Student:Wouldbeingaggressiveaboutoutsourcing(yourlaundryperhaps?)

helpyoutospendmoretimestudyingforthebigexams?

Stay-at-HomeParent:Wouldbeingaggressiveaboutoutsourcinggiveyoua

fewhourstoexerciseorrecharge?

SECRET#11

Focusyourtimeonlyonthingsthatutilizeyourunique

strengthsandpassions.

Whatareyougoingtooutsource

onthehighwaywithoutevenrealizingitwasdefinitelythe

worstthingIdid,buttherewereothersignsofbeingoutofcontrolbeforethat.

Likewhen I filled upmy carwith gas, drove away, andKLAANK! I had

forgotten to take thegasnozzleoutofmycar. It’samiracle Ididn’tblow the

placeup.

And the timesmywifekept tellingme, “I justdon’t feel connected toyou

anymore.”She’snowmyex-wife.

Itwasn’t likeIwascompletelycluelessabout timemanagement.Ihadread

allthebestsellers.Iwasthemasteroftheto-dolistandprioritizediteverynight

forthenextday.AtonepointIhadsuchalonglistthatIusedastandardpiece

of rulednotebookpaperandfilled in twocolumns—35ruled lines,2 tasksper

line,70totalto-doitems.

Ilookbackatthattimeinmylifewithhorrorandembarrassment.

Thankfully,todayI’madifferentperson.

I’masingledadwiththreekids.Ihelpthemwiththeirhomeworkeverynight

and amhome for dinner at the kitchen tablemore than half the time. I attend

most of their games, plays, and music recitals. I’m no athlete, but I exercise

routinely and ammaintaining a healthyweight. I manage at least one or two

“datenights”withmygirlfriendeachweek.

For work, I run a small consulting practice, write two books a year, give

speechesaroundtheworld,andoverseemyinvestmentsinvariousstartupsand

commercialrealestate.

I take a lot of vacation time, too. Last year alone I went to Puerto Rico,

Cancun,andtheJerseyshore;spentseveralweekendsinNewYorkCity;andfor

mydaughter’s16thbirthday,ItookheronanepictriptoBarcelona,Madrid,and

toseetherunningofthebullsinPamplona.

I do all this—and this is the key point—while rarely feeling stressed out,

rushed, overwhelmed, or guilty. I definitely don’t feel “crazy busy” and don’t

feeltheneedtobragaboutbeing“crazybusy”tothosearoundme.

Don’tyoujusthateme?

My personal time and stress transformation started as I began to ask my

successfulfriendshowtheymanagedtime.

Iimmediatelynoticedthatnoneofthemmentionedthethingsthataretaught

intraditionaltimemanagementbooks.

Mycuriositysoon turned intoaquest,andIdidoriginalsurveyresearchof

working professionals, looking for correlations between specific time

managementpracticesandproductivity,stress,andhappiness. I fundedastudy

ofthousandsofworkingprofessionalsandwefoundnocorrelationbetweentime

managementtrainingandhigherlevelsofproductivityorreducedstress.Zero!

I then interviewed hundreds of highly successful people including Mark

Cubanandotherbillionaires,famousentrepreneurs,goldmedalOlympianslike

ShannonMiller,andstraight-Astudents.

WhatIdiscoveredisthathighlysuccessfulpeopledon’tprioritizetasksona

to-do list, or follow some complex five-step system, or refer to logic tree

diagramstomakedecisions.

Actually, highly successful people don’t think about time much at all.

Instead,theythinkaboutvalues,priorities,andconsistenthabits.

Whilenotwopeoplemanagetimeexactlythesameway,therearecommon

themes.Andifyoureallytrythem,youmightfindthatjustoneoftheir“secrets”

hasthepowertotransformyourcareerandyourlife.

KevinKruse

BucksCounty,PA

CHAPTER#1

ThePowerof1440

Canasinglenumberchangeyourlife?

Athree-wordquestionusedtosendchillsofdreaddownmyspine.

“Gotaminute?”

Sure, I believed in an open door policy. Sure, I was the boss. Sure, some

peoplewouldsayIwasoverlydetailoriented,whichmadepeoplecheckinwith

metoofrequently(who,me?).

Iwas the founder and president of a digital learning company that quickly

tookoff.Revenuedoublingeveryyearandalltherelatedchallenges:newhires,

sales,productlaunches,fundraising,andonandon.

The fires to put out keptmultiplying, as did the knocks onmyoffice door

followedby,“Gotaminute?”

Therewas nothingwrongwith people askingme for advice or help.But I

quickly found entire days were being spent on other people’s priorities and

thebackburnerandjustgooutwithfriends.

I recommendmaking sure toplanyourdayaheadof time, thinkaboutwhat

needstogetdone,andthendoit.Leaveplentyoftimebeforeyougotobedto

make sure you accomplishwhat you need.One strategy that really helps is

havingasettimetostartdoingyourschoolworkandtosetanalarmtomake

sure you actually start then. Staying in a routine and trying to stick to a

consistentschedulearekey.

NIHARSUTHAR is currentlyanundergraduate studentatCornellUniversity

inIthaca,NY.Nihar’sadvice:

Prioritize!IalwaysprioritizethemostimportanttasksthatIhavetogetdone

for theday.Thefirstonthe list formeisalwaysschoolwork, thenwriting(I

writebooks),anyathleticpractices,andthenhangingoutwithfriends.Ifind

thatifyouprioritize,youwillalmostalwaysbeabletogetallyourworkdone

andhaveextratimetospendwithfriendsaswell.

Another tip I learned is that whenever I have a small task that needs to be

completed (that takes less than 5minutes), I should complete it now, rather

thanputting it off.This ensures that Idonothavea long list of tasks that I

havetocompletelaterattheendoftheday.

NATALIE KRUSE attends Council Rock High School South in Holland,

Pennsylvania.Heradvice:

Ihaveahomeworklog,whichisadailycalendar,andforeachclassIwrite

downwhenthehomeworkisdue.Evenif it’sdueat theendof theweek,I’ll

stillwriteitdownsoifIhaveextratimeatnightIcanstartearly.Igenerally

writedownwhenIhaveatesttwotothreedaysaheadoftimesoIremember

tospreadoutthestudyingoverafewdays,toreducethetimeandstressspent

thenightbefore.

When it comes to reducing distractions, I don’t listen to music or watch

television while I’m doing my homework. I find that this helps me push

throughmyhomeworkat amuchquickerpace.For socialmedia, I’ll spend

timeonmyphonewhen I firstgethome,but then I’llput itdownandwon’t

pickitupuntilmyhomeworkisdone,orI’llpickitupbetweensubjectsasa

littlereward—butIdon’tgivemyselfmorethanatenminutebreak,becauseit

will feel likeyouhavealotmorehomeworkthanyoudoifyoutakemultiple

breaks.

ItrytostartmyhomeworkprettyearlyafterIcomehomesoIcanbedoneby

nineortenatnight.AfterthatIstarttogettiredandlazyandworkatamuch

slowerpace.

JOHNRAMOSisamedicalstudentattheUniversityofCoimbrainPortugal,

andisawriteratTheStudentPower.com.Hisadvice:

Set realistic small goals. I call them daily quotas, a term that got some

attention on Quora. By daily quota I mean a small goal that seems

insignificant,butwhenrepeateddayafterdaygetsdaunting tasksdone.For

example,20wordsinaforeignlanguageaday(usingaflashcardsystem,for

instance)means3000wordsafter5months.That’salmostcompletefluency.

Likewise,10mathproblemsaday,everyday,mean300problemsdonebythe

endofamonth.Itwordsbecauseit’sasmalltimeinvestmentthatcompounds.

Work in short bursts of productive work, instead of long, unproductive

sessions(inwhich80%of thetimeisspentonFacebook).Strategieslikethe

PomodoroTechnique suggestworking in periods of 25-30minutes, taking a

small breakand then resuming for another 25-30minute session. It reduces

distractionsandincreasesproductivity.

Enforce self-discipline with the help of browser extensions like StayFocusd

(blockssocialmediaandothertime-wastersduringcertainperiodsoftheday)

andRescueTime(holdsyourselfaccountablebymeasuringexactlyhowmuch

timeyouspendworkingorwastingtimeonyourcomputer).

HALEYSILVAisasenioratSierraHighSchoolinManteca,CA.Sherecently

receivedascholarshiptotheUniversityofthePacificinStockton.Heradvice:

Tips for staying focused:Have a goal, a positivemind set, and no doubt in

overcominganyobstacles(likeactivitiesorpeople)thatmaycrossyourpath.

Time management: Have a daily/monthly planner and make a to-do list to

rememberwhatyourprioritiesare,andlimitdistractions.

Sayingnotofriends:Thinkoftheconsequencesandwhatthebestdecisionis

foryou;don'ttrytopleaseothers,thinkofyourselffirst.Becarefulofwhoyou

surround yourself with; if they're your friend, no will not be an issue, and

neitherwillnegativepeerpressure.

Howtoavoidthelureofsocialmedia:Ifyoufeelthenecessitytohavesocial

media,beawareandcautiousofwhoyoucontactandwhocontacts you,as

well as what you say and display. It is meant for interacting with friends,

which is why social media is not a necessity; you can easily contact your

friendsviatextorwithaphonecallinstead.

JOSHUAEICKMEIER isanonlinehybridMBAstudentatCarnegieMellon

University'sTepperSchoolofBusiness.Hisadvice:

You need to be a realist: it’s not possible to give 100% effort on every

assignment,exceedexpectationsatwork,spendtimewithfamily,andkeepup

withGameofThrones.Ifyoutry,you’lljuststressyourselfout.

Youneedtosetyourprioritiesearlyonandstick to them.Isuggest thatyou

maintaintimewithfamilyandfriends,butbequicktocutlow-valueactivities

likevideogamesorTVshows.Whenyouhavetomakemoredifficultchoices,

look at things from a long-term perspective.Don’twaste time feeling guilty

aboutyourchoices–thinkofthemaseffectivecompromisesthatwillleadto

yourlong-termsuccess.

I also suggest structuring your schedule to avoid these conflicts whenever

possible.Forexample,doingschoolworkinthemorningisagreatwaytokeep

eveningsfreefortimewithfamilyorcoworkers,andmakingweekendplansin

advancekeepsyoumotivatedtogetworkdoneduringtheweek.

CORAIMAMEDELLIN is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania who

graduated from Camden County College in 2014 as a member of Phi Theta

KappaInternationalHonorSociety,thetophonorsocietyforcommunitycollege

students.Heradvice:

I try to stay out of my dorm room because I tend to lie onmy bed, get on

Facebook, Instagram,Snapchat, etc. So I go to thequietest placeonPenn's

campus,FisherFineArtsLibrary,andstudythere.Thequiethelps,butIthink

seeingothersaroundmeworkingonassignmentsmotivatesmetodothesame.

Sure, IgoonFacebook,but theamountof timeIspendon it issignificantly

reduced.IthinkithastodowiththefactthatpeoplepassbyandI'mafraidof

being judged going to a library and doing something that I could do

somewhereelse!

When it comes to reducing my social media usage, I try to restrict myself,

especiallywhen I'mgetting ready foranexamorwritingapaper. Iwant to

stress theword 'try'because it'seasiersaid thandone.So, Ibribemyselfby

sayingsomethingalongthe linesof, 'Ifyoureadthisentirechapter,youcan

takeahalf-hourbreakanduseFacebookduringthattime.'

Managing my time was something that I struggled with a lot when I first

startedatPenn,soIvisitedtheWeingartenCenteroncampustoget

somehelp

withtimemanagement.It'sbeensuggestedthatforeveryhourofclasslecture

you attend, you should study for two to three hours. So when I spoke to a

counselor atWeingarten, Iwas given aweekly schedule that I putmywork

scheduleandmyclassscheduleinandthenwrotethetimesthatIplannedto

study for each class. I found that it works when I have an exam or a huge

papercominguptokeepmemotivatedandfocused.

RANAELMAKADEMwill graduatewith an associate degree fromCamden

CountyCollegeasthestudentcommencementspeaker(valedictorian)thisMay

and is theNewJerseyStatepresidentofPhiThetaKappa InternationalHonor

Society.Heradvice:

I recommenda large 'monthview'calendar. Iusebothpaperandelectronic

versions(onmyphoneandlaptop),andIenterallassignmentduedatesfrom

mysyllabiat thebeginningof thesemester.But Ienter themasdue three to

four days before the actual due date. I also recommend entering yourwork

scheduleandanyotherobligationstohelpyouvisualizeeverythingyouneed

todoandwhenyoucanallocateyourtime.

Settingincrementalremindersofupcomingduedatesandwhendifferentparts

ofyourprojectorassignmentshouldbedonehelpstokeepyouontrackand

minimizeprocrastinating.

Whenstudying,dependingonthesubject,Ibreakupmytimewithone15-to-

30-minute break for every 90 minutes to two hours of studying. During my

breaks,Ileavemystudyareaandwalkaround,grabasnackandusuallyjust

checksocialmediaforfiveminutes.Doingsomethingfunthattakesyourmind

offstudyinghelpsyoustayrefreshedandrefocuswhenyourbreakisover.

IhaveaPost-itNoteapponmylaptopwhereIputdeadlinesormyto-dolist.I

like it because I'monmy laptop a lot, and I have this constant reminder of

what I need to get done. It always feels goodwhen I delete the notes that I

completedanddecluttermyscreen.

We'reallstucktoourphones24/7,sovisityourappstoreandtryoutdifferent

time-managementandstudy/homeworkappstoseewhichworksbestforyou.I

stuckwithMyHomeworkappforsometime,butfoundthatplacingeverything

onalargevisualcalendarworkedbestforme.

Regarding friends: If you know you have to get something done, then get it

done.Saying'no'toyourfriendsisactuallyverysimpleinpractice.Justsay,

'No,Ihaveanassignmenttogetdone.'Butdosetasidesometimetohangout

withyour friendsanddosomething funorrelaxing. Itcouldbeassimpleas

having lunch or going to themovies. You still need awork/play balance in

yourlife.Itdoesn'thavetobefrequent,butmakingplansgivesyousomething

funtolookforwardtoandkeepseveryonefocusedatthetasksathand.

VICTORIASHOCKLEYwasastraight-A,honorsstudentatWakefieldHigh

School and recentlygraduated summacum laude fromNCStateUniversity in

onlythreeyears.Heradvice:

Combine multiple tasks together. Sometimes, there literally aren't enough

hours in the day to do everything. Find an opportunity to combine several

things at once -maybe youdo homework or studywhile on the bus, or you

listentoanaudiobookforclasswhilecleaningyourroom.Youhavetodoall

four things eventually, but this way you can maximize time that you might

otherwisehavespentbeingidle(suchasabusride).Thatway,youcrosstwo

thingsoffthelistatonce!

Learn to say no. I know it can be hard to turn down social events or

extracurriculars,butit's importanttoknowyourlimitssoyoudon'toverload

yourself.Ifyouknowyouhaveabusyweekendwithfriendscomingup,tryto

limit your social calendar during the week so you can get the next week's

homework/reading done early (if it's available in advance).While itmay be

disappointing to stay in on theweeknights, you'll have a stress-free, school-

freeweekendtolookforwardto.Ifyou'reworkingwhileinschool,seeifyou

cantakeonfewerhoursduringbusyweeks,likemidtermsandfinals.

Stayorganized!!Ican'temphasisenoughhowstayingorganizedhelpspeople

manage their time. Prioritize your tasks bywhat's themost important / due

first,anddon'tjusthavealong-termTo-Dolist-createasmalloneeachday

togiveyourselfaconcrete ideaofwhatneeds togetdone.Maintainaclean

workspace, which eliminates constantly having to sift through papers and

binderslookingforyourwork.Takenotesinaplanner,whetheronyourphone

or hard copy (I use both!). It's especially helpful to write down important

dates,liketestsandpaperduedates,assoonasyougetthesyllabus.Also,for

very important reminders that you absolutely cannot miss, I'd suggest the

RemindersappontheiPhonesoyoucanimmediatelybenotifiedevenifyou

haven'tyetcheckedyourhardcopyplanner.

LimityourtimeonsocialmediauntilAFTERyourworkisfinished.Thisisa

big one - it's so easy to get distracted scrolling through our Facebook

newsfeedsorcheckingoutphotosonInstagram.Wecanstartchattingwitha

friendorsurfingthroughTwitterandbeforeweknowit,halfthenightisgone.

Not only that, but if you're trying to write a paper and stopping every five

minutestocheckanotification,thatpaperisgoingtotakesomuchlongerto

write...and the longer it takes and the later it gets, the more sleepy you

become. In between classes or lunch time are great opportunities to check

yourprofiles,butotherwisewaittologinuntilafteryourhomework/studying

andotherresponsibilitiesarecomplete!

AKRAMALASHARI,MDwasthetopstudentinmedicalschoolandtodayis

atraumasurgeonandsurgicalintensivistattheUniversityofFlorida.Akramis

alsotheauthorof,ThePowerofPeakState.Hisadvice:

First,rememberthattherearetwoformsofresources:internalandexternal.

Too much focus is placed on external resources, such as computers, the

internet, other people, etc. Oftentimes, the importance of inner resources is

overlooked. This entails mental strength, courage, perseverance, grit, etc.

Cultivating this resourcefulness will allow the individual to excel despite

challenges.

Second,thereisanextraordinaryamountofidletimeinourlives.Insteadof

letting that time pass underutilized, it is best to maximize productivity by

takingadvantageofit.ThisincludesANYwaitingtime.Forexample,waiting

for thebus, in theairport, inbetweenclasses,etc.Use that timetocomplete

short tasks that would otherwise accumulate and become a larger burden,

suchasrespondingtoemailsorstudying.Anotheroptionwouldbetousethat

timetobecomeproductiveinshortburstsonalargerproject.Thiswillallow

the project to be completed sooner, with less perceived pain and stress. In

addition,shortburstsaremoreeffectivethansloggingatsomethingforhours.

Third,performtasksthatrequirealotofcognitiveenergyduringtimesofthe

daythatyouaremostproductive.Thistimewillvaryforeachperson,butuse

that time toward creative tasks, and tasks that require problem-solving.

Perform tasks that don’t require a lot of mental energy during times of

diminished energy. These tasks include things like cleaning, organizing,

respondingtoemails(thingsthatcanbedoneonautopilot).

KESHAWNBOSTICisasophom*oreatNorthfieldMountHermon.Heisalso

a student atBreakthroughNewYork, a nonprofit organization that transforms

the lives ofmotivated, low-income students by preparing them for college so

thattheycansucceedintheworld.Keshawn’sadvice:

Timemanagement

isabigpartofbeingagoodstudent,andtoputitbluntly,it

isnoteasy.It isallaboutmotivationandself-discipline.Sometimes,youjust

need to tell yourself thatwork ismore important thanasocial life.Thebest

waytodothatistomaketimeworkforyou.

Learn how you work, what time you work best, and where you work best;

whetheryouworkbestrightafterschooloratmidnight,dowhatyouneedto

dotodothebestwork.PersonallyIpreferalamplitroombetweenthehours

of7-10pmforoptimalperformance,butthatisjustme.

There will be times when you will have to ignore friends or that special

girl/guyyou’vebeenSnapchattingeveryday—thisisjusttherealityoflifeasa

student.Butbyhavingthatinitialworktimealone,youcanthenmakethemost

ofyourtimeelsewhere.

JOHNPAULENGELgraduatedfromtheUniversityofIowaandwasnameda

CollegiateScholar.HeearnedanMBAfromtheUniversityofChicago.Today

heisExecutiveDirector,ProjectBetheChange(www.projectbethechange.com).

Hisadvice:

Alwaysgetatleast1weekaheadinyourreadingatthestartofthesemesterin

firstweekofclasses.Thatwayyoucankeeptheworkloadmoreeventhrough

the semester and you will always have read the material the professor or

teacherwillcoverinclass.

Takenotesbyhandmarkingtheimportantpoints.Thenatnighttypethenotes

intoyourcomputer.Thisisgoodreviewanditmakessureyouhaveabackup

ofyournotes.

Makeaonepagestudysheetoftheitemsyouthinkarethemostimportantin

http://www.projectbethechange.com

theclass.Inotherwordsguesswhatisgoingtobeonthetest-hintifitwasin

thebookandtheteachertalkedaboutitinclassthereisagoodchanceitwill

beonthe test.Carryyouronepagestudysheetaroundwithyoueverywhere

yougoandcheckitwhenyouhavefreetime.IT'seasiertolearnalittleata

timethenitistotrytocramthenightbefore.InevergotlessthananAina

classImadeaonepagestudysheet.

Convinceyourselfwhateveryouarestudying is funandwillbe important to

youinlife.IFyouthinkit’shardthenitwillbehard.Ifyoumakeagameofit

creating songsand little gameswith flash cards then youaremore likely to

rememberit.

Whenyoustudyyouneedtostudy.Nocellphone,Facebook,etc.Youneedto

unplugandfocus.Gosomeplacetostudyorstudyatthekitchentable.Ifyou

studyinyourroomyouwillsleeporgetinterruptedbyyourfriends.

Study on Friday nights. Seriously if youwant to bemore than average you

have to do what the average won't do. Most students start the weekend on

Thursdaynight.IfyouworkthroughFridaythenyoucanbesuretogetyour

workdone.Ifnot,thenyoustillhavetwodaysbeforetheworkisdue.

Surroundyourselfbythe5smartestpeopleyoucanfind.Theywillchallenge

you to be better.My friends and I used to compete on who could earn the

highestscoreonatest.Makeitagamewithbraggingrights.

JONATHANFARLEY graduated second in his class at Harvard University,

with29A'sandthreeA-'s.Hisadvice:

First,choosetherightcourses:(a)Don'ttakecoursesyouknownothingabout

just because they look interesting, unless Russian roulette is one of your

favoritegames.(b)Donottaketoomanycourseseachterm.

Second, prepare before each course: learn the subject beforehand; find the

readinglistforthecourseandread.

Third,Joinstudygroups.

Fourth,donotbringa television tocollege.Go tosophisticatedmovieswith

friendsifyouaregoingtowatchascreen:thatwayyouarealwaysimproving

yourself.

KRISTIN GMUNDER is a senior at Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown,

NewJersey.Heradvice:

Every high school and college student loves to watch TV; we're not

fooling anyone.However,we all knowwe don't have time towatchTV

every night of theweek aswewould like to.As students,we know that

eachweektheworkloadisdifferentinweight--someweekswehavevery

littleworkandotherweekswehavesomuchthatwearedrowning.The

way to combat this issue of our TV addictions is to binge watch. Yes,

manypeoplewouldlookatmeweirdlyforsuggestingthatstudentsbinge

watchusingprogramslikeNetflixorHulu,butthisreallyisthebestway

forustoenjoyTVwhenthoseworkloadsarelessandwehavemorefree

time.Thiswaywhenwe'resufferingunderthosetextbooksandthepapers

wehave towrite,we'renot tempted to typenetflix.com into theGoogle

searchbar.

JASON KHOO is part of the President Scholar Program at California State

UniversityFullertonandontheDean’sListfortheMihayloCollegeofBusiness

andEconomics.Hisadvice:

Maintaininggoodgradesishavingagoodunderstandingoftheconstruct

ofyourgrade.Mostclassesareweightedandthusdifferentassignments

and tests have a larger impact on your grade. Know when the most

importantassignments, tests,andprojectsoccur, thenmakesureat that

time you are ready to work. I've seen many people who are excellent

planners and never procrastinate only receive B's and C's. This is

becausetheydon'tproperlyweight theireffort.Knowwhentoput inall

youreffortandknowwhentoeaseback.Thiswillhelpyoustayenergized

butalsonotwasteexcessivetimeonacademics.

ANGELAHANSONwasvaledictorianofherhighschoolgraduatingclassand

isatopstudentatRose-HulmanInstituteofTechnology.Heradvice:

Ihave founditmosthelpful todosomethingrather thannothing.Ifyou

aren't sure what to work on first, just pick something and get started.

Once you get tired of one assignment, either finish it out or move to

somethingelse.Alotoftimeiswasteddecidingwheretostartoravoiding

anassignmentyoudon'tlike.Also,achangeofscenerycanbehelpful.I

now associate my apartment with socializing, so I try to find another

placethatisjustforhomework.Thismakesiteasiertobeproductive.

MARIAM OLADIPO is ranked number one in her senior class at Milton

HersheySchool,inHershey,Pennsylvania.Heradvice:

Duringtheday,ItrytogetasmuchhomeworkdoneaspossiblesothatI'mnot

as swamped at night. It seems towork because I get a good seven to eight

hoursofsleepeverynight.

Forme,it'smorebalancingfriendswithactivities.Withschool,Icanjustplan

astudysessionwherewecangetworkdoneandhangout.Activitiespresenta

differentproblem.ManytimesIhavetoscheduletimejusttohangoutwithmy

friends.It'snotspontaneous,butitisstillfun.

AlotofmyfriendshavesocialmediabutIprefernottobecauseIknowthatit

cantakeupalotoftime.Iprefertotext,call,ortalktopeopleinperson.

Iwouldsaypickthethingstogetinvolvedwiththatyoutrulylove.Youdon't

have tobe involved ina lotofdifferent thingsbecauseyouwon'tbeable to

manageitallwithyourfriends,yourgrades,andyourhealth.Makesurethat

youtaketimeforyourselfsothatyoucanbethebestpersonthatyoucanbe.

JANENINIVAGGIisasenioratUniversityLiggettSchoolandplanstoattend

BarnardCollege.Heradvice:

Thereisnothingwrongwithsocialmedia,butitcantakeoverastudent’slife

iftheyarenotabletodisconnectfromit.Duringexamweeks,IdeleteTwitter

andInstagramoffmyphone.Ialsomakesuretoleavemyphoneathomewhen

thereissomethingthatIknowIneedtoputallofmyfocusinto.

Akeypartofstayingfocusediskeepingyourstandardshigh.AtLiggett,Iplay

severalsportsandamontheStudentCommission,sothathelpstogiveusan

inherent sense of time management. You quickly learn that your time is so

invaluableandyouwant

tospenditinthemostproductiveway.

Ialsofindwaysontheweekendtocombinemysocialandacademiclife—I

hangoutwith friendswhohavesimilarstandardsandwedo things together

ontheweekendssuchasstudyingforexams.

JACQUELINEKOPICKIisasenioratUniversityLiggettSchoolandplansto

attendMiamiUniversityinOhio.Heradvice:

Iputeverything inmycalendaronmyphone,andIcolorcodemyactivities

and appointments. For example, I will code athletics one color, the school

musicalpracticesanothercolorandmyassignmentsanothercolor.

I think setting your own priorities and figuring out what is most important

helpsyoumanageyourtimeandstayfocused.Forme,schoolcomesfirst,soI

makeitaprioritytofinishmyhomeworkandtalktomyteachersaboutallof

my school-related issues before anything else. At the school, the most

important thing is tohavea close relationshipwith your teachersandother

studentswho are focused. This helps you gain themindset towork on your

schoolworkfirstbeforeyoutackleanythingelse.

GRACELEBRONattendsEastlakeHighSchool.Heradvice:

Ithinkaboutmyfutureconstantlyandit'swhatkeepsmeinline.IknowIwant

to leadahappy,successful lifeandthatgettingmyworkdoneandbeingthe

bestIcanbeinmyeducationalenvironmentisastepintherightdirection.

SayingNo toFriends:You really need to prioritize and consider everything

that'sgoingon.Ifyouknowyouhavetestscomingupyou'renotpreparedfor

orhaveunfinishedassignmentsduethenextday,goingtothemoviesshouldn't

beatthetopofyourlist.

ResistingSocialMedia:PersonallyIsetminigoalsandcheckingsocialmedia

is kindof like I'm rewardingmyself.For example I'd tellmyself thatwhen I

finish two assignments I can check one socialmedia. It's worked out pretty

wellforme.

Time Management: If it's important, then you'll find time for it. School is

important to me so I make time to have all school related things in order

beforeanythingelse.LacrosseandfieldhockeyareimportanttomesoImake

time to put in the necessary work for that as well. Family is also very

importantsoIalwaysmaketimetobewiththemandhelparoundthehouse.

We teenagers do need some downtime though so no matter what, ALWAYS

carveouttimetoenjoyahobbyorjustrelax.It'llkeepyoufromgoingcrazy.

ALIWARSHAYisasenioratWestwoodHighSchoolandisenteringHarvard

College.Ali’sadvice:

A piece of advice Iwould give to helpmanage time is that before anything

else,knowyourorganizationalstrengthsandweaknessesaswellashowmuch

youcanrealisticallycompletewellinagivenday.Ibecomedistractedeasilyif

I don't set a detailed schedule for myself; however, once I've allocated a

specific amount of time for everything onmy to-do list, tasks becomemuch

more manageable. I religiously use the Schedule Planner app, which syncs

withmycalendarandhelpsmevisuallymanagemytime.

I'malsoabigfanoftheStayFocusedapponmycomputer,whichblocksthe

amount of time I can spend each day on specificwebsites (especially social

media).

MORGANMUNSEY isasenioratSullivanEastHighSchoolandwillattend

EastTennesseeStateUniversity.Morgan’sadvice:

Iuseaplannerwithamonthviewandaweeklyview.Iputallclubmeetings,

planned time with friends and family, sport activities, and big tests on the

monthview.DailyitemsIneedtoaccomplishsuchashomeworkandreadingI

keepintheweeklyviewsections.EachnightIspend5-10minutesfocusingon

whatIaccomplished,whatIneedtobetter,andwhatistocomethenextday.

Thishelpskeepmepreparedandlessforgetful.

Iamaprocrastinator.Ialwayshavebeen,andIalwayswillbe.It'ssoeasyto

say,Icandoitlater,andthenforgettodoit.Soratherthanmakinglaterthe

nextdayorinafewhoursIusethetimerfunctiononmyphone.Ifthetimeis

11:13 and I need to study but want to put it off, I give myself 17 minutes.

Although it doesn't seem like much time, this routine satisfies my

procrastinatorpersonality.

Whenever Ihaveamomentof free time ImakeStudyBluenotecards.Rather

thantakingthetimetotypeoutfulldefinitions,Iusethetalktotextoptionon

myiPad.Imaylookalittlesillytothosewatching,butthismakestheprocess

gomuchfaster.SinceImadethenotecardsonStudyBlueIcanstudybasically

anywhereatany time.Thisallowsme to studyevenwhen Ionlyhavea few

minutessuchasbetweenclassesorduringlunch.Theabilitytodothisisgreat

whenyouhaveabusyweek.

I don't have the best handwriting which can make studying more difficult.

When allowed, I love to take notes on Google Docs. The program is

convenientbecause itupdatesasyou typeononedevice toallofyourother

devices.Theprogramalsoallowsforeasycolorchangesandgraphing,which

canmakenotesseemalittlemoreenjoyable.

NATHANREYNOLDSattendsReynoldsburgHighSchool.Hisadvice:

Doyourschoolworkinschool,whenyouhavefreetime.Itgreatlyhelps

at homewhen you have a lot of otherwork to do. If you can't do it in

school, divvy up your work and time so that you have a schedule that

readslike,8-8:30Math,andsoon.Itmakesyoufeeltheneedtogetthe

workdonewithinyourtimelimit,andmakesforfreetimeinyourday.

KRYSTIESEESEisagraduatestudentatPostUniversity.Heradvice:

Ihave found that Iworkbestwhen Iuseaplanner to track theassignments

I’vecompletedanddenotetheassignmentsIstillowe.Thisprocesshasyetto

failme.At thebeginningofeachweek Iplanwhat Iwillcompleteeachday

specifically. This helps alleviate the overwhelming feeling of seeing 10-12

assignmentsthatneedtobedone.AsIcompletethem,Icheckthemoff.Simple

asthat!Inaddition,thissystemhashelpedmeensurethatallworkdueeach

weekiscompletedontime.

Onthatsamenote,itisbesttoplantocompleteassignmentswhenyouknow

youhavetime.Forexample,IsetasideeverySundayformyschoolwork.Iget

as much done as I can on Sundays, and spread out completing unfinished

assignmentsthroughouttheremainderoftheweek.Thistakesthestressoffof

cominghomefromalongdayatworkandstillhavingatonofschoolworkto

do. I’ve found thekey tosuccess inanonlineprogram is toplanaheadand

havethedisciplinetofollowthrough.

SHANEWOLFisacandidateforvaledictorianofBridgewayAcademy’s2015

graduating class and plans to attend the College of Southern Maryland. His

advice:

Asahomeschoolstudentthedemandsonmytimecanbealittledifferentthan

thatofmypeers.Nevertheless,Iwouldarguetimemanagementskillsareeven

more imperative for homeschooling students than traditional students. As a

homeschooler,Iamtaskeddailytowritemyownschedule,sticktodeadlines,

and balance my schoolwork with extracurricular activities, without the

watchfuleyeofateacher.

One thing I learned early on is that scheduling is so important. Having a

scheduleistheeasiestwaytoknowwhatyouhavegoingonandwhatneedsto

becompleted.IuseMicrosoftExceltowriteoutmyschedule,whereIinclude

information likemy extracurricular activities, job, and current coursework.

My parents taughtmemy education is very important and comes first, so I

prioritize my academics. To ensure I keep my grades up, I identify which

projects need to be completed first and foremost. If I’m struggling in a

particularsubject,Itrytoallowmyselfmore

timetofocusandconcentratemy

energiesthere.Thishelpsmekeepmygradesupacrosstheboard,andnotjust

inthesubjectsImayhaveastrongerinterestin.

CHAPTER21

TimeSecretsof239Entrepreneurs

Innovators, risk takers, dream chasers, business moguls, self-made

millionaires…inotherwords,entrepreneurs.Arguablynoothergroupfeels the

pressure ofmultiple obligations.Most are overseeing sales aswell as product

development.Customer service and raising capital. Podcasting,writing books,

speakingatconferences.Howdoentrepreneursmanagetobesoproductive?

Icollectedover25,000wordsfromentrepreneursinresponsetomyquestions

about time management and productivity. With such diversity in people and

answersthereisofcoursenooneconsistentanswertoincreasingproductivity.

However,astheanswersstartedcomingbackwhatdidsurprisemewashow

many entrepreneurs brought up the importance of a morning routine. These

responseswere totallyunaided—Ididn’taskabout their routine,or if theyhad

one,andwasactuallystartledbyhowmanybroughtitup.

Otherthemesthatemergedincludedtheimportanceofschedulingeverything

youwanttoaccomplishonyourcalendar,thedangersofunmanagedemail,and

theneedforfocus.Nomulti-taskingforthisgroup.

Thefulluneditedcommentsreceivedfromentrepreneursappearbelow.

StephanAarstol(Twitter:@stephansarstol)

www.towerpaddleboards.com

Freetimedoesn'tmaterializebyitself.Youhavetomanufacturerit.Steponeis

totrytostripdownyourcurrentresponsibilitiestothebareminimum.It'sa

managementbyabsencepractice.Youbasicallyjuststopdoingcertainthings

thatyoupreviouslythoughtwerenonnegotiable...thenyouseewhatbreaks.

Maybestopansweringthephone.MaybestopcomingtoworkonWednesdays.

Maybeonlydoemailatacoffeeshopwithyourlaptopthathasabatterylifeof

90minutes.Thenseewhatbreaks.You'llbesurprisedathowmuchdoesn't

break.Itwillalsoforceyoutocleanupyourprocessesbecauseyouwill

basicallybeoperatingatthelevelofproductivity,butwithasignificantly

reducedinputoftime.Then,youtakethefreetimeanddevoteitentirelytoyour

nextproject,orsomesortofbusinessdevelopmentfunction,100%.Ididthis

whenItransitionedfrommypokerchipcompanyBuyPokerChips.comto

TowerPaddleBoards.com.IgotmytimecommitmentonBuyPokerChips.com

downtoabout12-15hoursperweek(from40-50).Iliterallyspendallof

TuesdayandThursdayexploringnewbusinessideas,aswellashalftheday

MWF.TheresultisIwentfromhavingabusinessdoing$500Kperyearwithno

growthprospects,toonenowwhereIdid$5Mlastyearandwasnamedthe

fastestgrowingprivatecompanyinSanDiego.Iattributethatleaptothisexact

process.

StephanAarstolistheCEOandFounderofTowerPaddleBoards,andapast

contributortoFastCompany,Entrepreneur,SearchEngineJournal,Inc.&

otherpublications.

AmandaAbella(Twitter:@amandaabella)

www.amandaabella.com

ThebesttimemanagementtipI'veimploredistostopobsessingovertime

managementtipsandinsteadworkwithmybody.Ihavedeadlines,ofcourse,

butonadailybasisIworkaccordingtohowmybodyisfeeling.Forexample,

I'mnotreallyamorningpersonsoinsteadofworkingIusuallyspendearly

morningexercisingorslowlygettingmyenergyup.

AmandaAbellaisabestsellingauthor,speaker,andcreatoroftheMakeMoney

YourHoneymethodology.

MikiAgrawal(Twitter:@twinmiki)

www.mikiagrawal.comandwww.docoolsh*t.org

IusedtheGmaillab"CannedResponses"tosendmultipleemailsthataresimilar

faster,IuseBoomerangtocueupemailstosendontheday/timethatIchoose,I

useRapportiveforGmailtogetbasicinfoaboutwhoisemailingme,IuseSlack

tocommunicatequicklywithmyteam,andexpensifyapptomanageallofmy

receiptssoIdon'thavetokeepanyreceipts.It'sallaboutusingthegreattools

thatexistforefficiencythroughouttheday.

MikiAgrawalisabestsellingauthorofDoCoolsh*tandaserialsocial

entrepreneur.SheistheCEOandco-founderofTHINX:ForWomenwith

Periodsandfounderofthegluten-freepizzaconceptWILD.Shewasnamedby

Forbes"Top20MillenialsOnaMission".

NellieR.Akalp

www.immad.me

First,establishadedicatedworkspace.Creatingboundariesbetweenyour‘work’

and‘personal’livesiscritical.Ifpossible,trytogiveyourselfadedicatedoffice,

withadoortoshutoutunwanteddistractions.Second,makegooduseofyour

productivetime.Productivityexpertswilltellyoutosetspecificofficehours

whenyouworkfromhome.However,it’simportanttorememberthatthese

hoursdon’thavetobe9-5(unless,ofcourse,yourscheduleisdictatedbya

clientoremployer).Third,endyourdaywithatasklistfortomorrow.When

creatingyourlist,trytomakeyourtaskitemsasconcreteaspossible;anabstract

taskitemlike‘findmoreclients’won’thelpyoufocus.

NellieR.Akalpisthefounder&CEOofCorpNetIncorporated.

ImmadAkhund(Twitter:@immad)

www.immad.me

Makeyourselfresponsiblefortwoorthreecorethingsandempower/trustother

peopletodoeverythingelse.Thismeansyouwilldoagreatjobwiththingsthat

youconsidercoreandwillempowerothersyouworkwithtotakeresponsibility

andgetthingsdone.

ImmadAkhundisCEOandfounderofHeyzap,aprofitableandVCfunded

leadingmobileadvertisingcompany.

GlenAllsopp(Twitter:@viperchill)

www.viperchill.com

Ifyourcurrentlifesituationhasnotyetreachedtheheightsyou'reaimingfor,

yourdaymustbedictatedtowardssuccess,byyou.Evenifyouhaveabossand

havecolleagueswhichrequireyoutohelpthemwithtasks,thefirstthingI

recommenddoingeachdayistowritedownwhichhoursyouwilldedicateto

whichtasks.Ifyougetanemailbeforeemailtimeisscheduledinyourday,

ignoreit.Asyoucrossoffeveryitem,you'llfeelempoweredthatyouplanned

somethingandmadeithappen—nomatterhowsmall—whichwillspuryouonto

thenextpoint.

Glenwasnamedan“SEOExpert”bytheGuardiannewspaperatage21and

runsthepopularmarketingbrand,ViperChill.

MaxAltschuler(Twitter:@maxalts)

www.saleshacker.com

FindavirtualassistantinthePhilippinesandoutsourceanythingthatyou

yourselfdonotneedtodo.Doitfirst,documenttheprocess,andthenhanditoff

tothem.Startyourdaywithagoodhabitthatmanydon'tdo,likemakingthe

bed.Thisgetsyourdayofftoaproductivestart.Putyouremailinboxonyour

phoneonthelastscreenallbyitself.Thiswaywhenyoulookatyourphoneyou

don'tseetheappiconunlessyou'reactuallytryingtocheckyouremail.This

keepsyoufromcheckingyouremailconstantly.Checkingemailtoomuchisa

hugeproductivitykiller.

MaxAltschuleristheCEOofSalesHackerInc,aglobalmediacompany

focusedonbringthenewesttactics,strategies,andtechnologiestosales

organizationseverywhere.Healsowrotethebestsellingbook,HackingSales.

JamesAltucher(Twitter:@jaltucher)

www.jamesaltucher.com

Ifsomethingisnota"hell,YEAH!"thenit'sa"no!"

JamesAltucherstartedandsoldseveralbusinesses,isabestsellingauthor,an

activeinvestorandadviser,andamediocrepodcaster.

RaoulAnderson(Twitter:@raoula)

www.andersonmorgan.com

Myphilosophyinrunningabusinessacrossmultiplecountriesandmultipletime

zonesistoempowerthelocalpeopletomakedecisionsthatbenefittheirlocal

area.Thisallowsquickdecisionstobemadewithoutimplementingalarge

systemlinedwithredtapethatnaturallyimpedesefficiencyandresponse

speeds.MyfavouriteappforkeepingmyscheduleorganizedisTempo.Itnot

onlypullsmycalendarsfrommultiplesources,butalsoprovidesasingle,simple

interfacetoalertmeofthingsImaybeinterestedinthathavebeenpostedon

social

medialikeTwitter,LinkedInandFacebookwithoutinterruptingmyday.

RaoulAndersonisthefounderofAndersonMorgan,atechnologycompany

startedinasmallregionalareainTasmaniathatnowspanstheglobewith

operationsinAustralia,Canada,andtheUnitedStates.

DaveArnold(Twitter:@davejarnold16)

www.davearnoldspeaks.com

Writedownthethreethingsyouaremostpassionateaboutandkeepit

somewhereyoucanseeconstantly.Keepthosethreethingsbeforeyouandfocus

onworkingtowardthem;asaresult,thiswillhelpyoukeepfocusedandnotget

suckedintodoingthingswhichwillnothelpyouthrive.

DaveArnoldisaminister,speaker,coach,andbestsellingauthor.

NikhilArora&AlejandroVelez(Twitter:@BTTRventures)

www.backtotheroots.com

Focus—truefocusissayingnotothethingsYOUreallywanttodo.

Essentialism—starteachweekandeachmorningbyaskingyourselfwhatarethe

threemostessentialthingsthathavetobedonetoday/thisweektoimpactthe

businessmost.Keepthatlistinfrontofyouthroughoutthedaysotheblackhole

ofemaildoesn'tsuckyouup!Findpartnerswhodowhatyoucandobetterand

workwiththem!Don'ttrytodoeverythingyourself—westartedofftryingto

collectcoffeegrounds,growmushrooms,sellmushrooms,doourown

packagingdesign,ourownsales,etc.—itwasjusttoomuchandweweren't

doinganyofitverywell!We'vesincefoundpartnersthatletusfocuson

developingproducts,gettingthemoutthere,andbuildingacommunityaround

them!

NikhilArora&AlejandroVelezco-foundedBacktotheRootsin2009.Thetwo

havebeennamedoneofBusinessWeek’sTop25Entrepreneursunder25,Inc.’s

30Under30,Forbes’30Under30,andCNN’s10NextEntrepreneur’sto

watch.BacktotheRootswasnamedoneofMarthaStewart’sTop10American

Madecompanies,#373totheINC5000list,andhasbeenrecognizedforits

innovationbyPresidentObama.

ArjunArora(Twitter:@ArjunDArora)

www.immediatelyApp.com

First,beruthlessaboutyourcalendar—sticktoit,hellorhighwaterbutcreate

spaceforunstructuredtimeaswell.Second,forcingfunctions—usethemtoyour

advantagetogetthingsdone.Havepeopleshowupforeventsonthecalendar

thatyouhavetobeat—thatforceyoutodocertainthingsquickly.Work

expandstofillthetimeyougiveit.Third,takecareofyourself—createspace

andtimeinyourcalendarforthingsforyou.Youare100xmoreproductive

whenyouarewelltakencareof.Mypersonalexample:Iworkoutbeforelunch

MondaythroughFriday.That’smytime.Fourth,nevereatalone—yougethuge

leveragefromastrongnetwork,builditout.Knowingthepersonwhocanget

youwhatyouneedandwhoiswillingtohelpyouwillsaveyouhoursandhours

oftime.

ArjunAroraistheco-founderofImmediatelyandfounderandformerCEOof

ReTargeter.HehasbeenrecognizedattheWhiteHouse,attheUN,andatthe

GlobalSummitforentrepreneurshipforhissuccessandcommitmenttoavalues

centeredorganization.

YasmineArrington(Twitter:@yazziespeaks)

www.scholarchipsfund.com

Balanceineverythingyoudoiskeytosuccessfultimemanagement!Thereare

onlysomanyhoursinaday,soyoumustprioritizewhatneedstobedoneeach

day.Makealistweeklyordailyofwhatmustbedoneoncertaindaysandwhat

taskscanwaittilthenextday.Checkthemoffasyougo.Checkingoffitemson

your"ToDo"listwillhelpyouvisuallykeeptrackofyourprogressandgiveyou

aneededsenseofaccomplishment.Timemanagementdoesnotonlyinclude

prioritizingbusinesstasks,butalsoyourhealth(timeforexercisingandeating),

timeforasufficientamountofsleep,andrecreationaltime.Todaythereare

manymobileandonlineappsthatcanhelpyouwithtimemanagementand

schedulingsuchasGoogleCalendarandWunderlist,howevermyfavorite

remainstheold-fashionedwrittenplanner.IalsofindthatIammostproductive

earlyinthemorningorlateatnight,whenitisreallyquiet.Itallowsforbetter

concentration—thoughsomepeopledobetterconcentratinginaplacewith

backgroundnoise.Thefactofthematteris,youmustfindwhatworksbestfor

youandstickwithit.

YasmineArringtonisthefounderandexecutivedirectorofthenon-profit

ScholarCHIPS(forChildrenofIncarceratedParents).Yasminestarted

ScholarCHIPSasajuniorinhighschool.

JulieAustin(Twitter:SpeakerSponsor)

www.createforcash.comBecauseIworkanaverageofatleast12hoursaday,I

havetomakesureIdoallheavybrainworkinthemorning(likewriting),and

repetitivework(likefillingorders)laterintheday.

JulieAustinisaninventor,multiplebusinessowner,andinnovationkeynote

speaker.

AndreeaAyers(Twitter:@andreeaayers)

www.LaunchGrowJoy.comBeforeIsitdowntoworkeverymorning,Igofora

30minutewalktoclearmyheadandplanforthedayahead.Ialsoknowthatmy

mostcreativetimeisbeforelunch,soIhaveblockedoff9-12everydayforwork

-Idon'ttakeanyphonecallsordoanyinterviewsduringthattime.ThatwayI

canbeatmymostproductiveeverymorningwithoutanydistractions!

AndreeaAyersisthefounderofLaunchGrowJoy.com,whichisTHEgo-to

sourceforproductentrepreneurswhowantmorepress,moreexposure,more

success,andmoresales.

JustinBaeder(Twitter:@eduleadership)

www.eduleadership.orgWeknowthatwhatgetsscheduledtendstobewhatgets

done,andifsomethingdoesn'tmakeitontothecalendar,it'sfarmorelikelyto

remainonthe“to-do”listforever.Butmostofushavefarmoretodothanwe

canfitintoourschedules.Howcanwegetthemostimportantworkscheduled

andcompleted,withoutaddingmorehourstotheday?Threetoolscanwork

togethertohelpusaccomplishmoreofwhatmattersinthetimeavailabletous:

1)Anelectronicto-dolist.2)Aleadershipagenda,awrittensetofgoals,major

projects,andpriorities.3)Acalendar.Anelectronic“to-do”listisagreattool

fororganizing,prioritizing,andkeepingtrackoftasks,butitdoesn'tsolvethe

schedulingproblem.Sincewecan'tmaketimeinourscheduleforeverysingle

task,weneedafilter.Theagendaservesasthefilterbetweenyouroverflowing

andunrealistic“to-do”list,andtheharshrealityofyourcalendar.Asyouplan

yourweek,reviewyouragendaandyour“to-do”list,andscheduletheworkthat

appearsinboth.You'llfindthatyouneedtoaddtaskstoyour“to-do”listto

reflectyourpriorities,andeliminateothersthatdon'tfityouragenda.You'll

noticewhenyouragendaneedstobeupdated,andyou'llbeabletoseehowwell

youruseoftimelinesupwithyourpriorities.

JustinBaederisaspeaker,leadershipconsultant,anddirectorofThePrincipal

Center,aprofessionaldevelopmentfirmsupportingschoolleadersin34

countriesthroughvideo-basedonlineprograms.

JayBaer(Twitter:@jaybaer)

www.ConvinceAndConvert.orgEveryyear,audityourtimeandfindawayto

delegateatleast15%ofwhatyou'redoing.

JayBaeristhefounderofConvince&Convert,akeynotespeaker,andbest

sellingauthorofYoutility.

CraigBallantyne(Twitter:@craigballantyne)

www.EarlyToRise.comGetup15-minutesearlierthaneveryoneelseinyour

houseandgetintotheoffice15-minutesbeforeeveryoneelse.Youcansolve

anyprobleminyourlifeifyoudevote15-minutesoffocusedthinkingtoitfirst

thinginthemorningeveryday.

CraigBallantyneisthecreatorofTurbulenceTraining,theworld'sbest

metabolichomeworkout,andistheeditorofEarlyToRise.com.

ZviBand(Twitter:skeevis)

www.zviband.comEverySunday,Itake30minutestoidentifywhatmycore

goalsareforthecomingweek,andhavethatonmydeskatalltimes.Believeit

ornot,themosteffectivethingI'vefound,whichI'vepracticedforthepasteight

years,istohaveasmallpapernotepadonmydeskatalltimes.I'vepracticedthe

sameritual—thefirstthingIdointhemorning

iswritedownthelistofactionsI

havetodo,carryingoveranythingfrompreviousdays.I'llcrossoffandadd

tasksduringtheday,aswellasrecordnotes.Despiteallthedigital“to-do”tools,

nothingI'vefoundbeatshavingapieceofpaperandseeingthingsgetcrossed

off.

Zviistheco-founderandCEOofContactually,acontactmanagementplatform

thathelpsprofessionalsturnrelationshipsintoresults.

EricBandholz(Twitter:@bandholz)

www.beardbrand.comInlife,thereisonlyonething—action.Whatareyou

currentlydoingatthismomentandhowisithelpingtoimproveyourlife?You

havethesameamountoftimeinadayaseveryoneelseontheplanet.Howyou

breakupthatdaywillultimatelydeterminethelegacyyoubuild.Thebeautiful

thingaboutthisiswhenyourecognizethatyouare100%incontrolofyour

actions,thenyoucandowhateverthehellyouwant.Ifyoureallywanttobe

betterattimemanagement,thenstartactingonit;everythingelsewillfallin

line.

EricBandholzisthefounderofBeardbrand,acompanythatischangingtheway

societyviewsbeardsmenthroughbeardcare.

JeetBanerjee(Twitter:@TheJeetBanerjee)

www.JeetBanerjee.comMybesttimemanagementorproductivitytipiswaking

upbrightandearlyeverymorningtocreatealistoftasksthatmustgetdone

eachday.IcreatealistofalltheitemsIwanttogetdoneinasingleday.After

that,Iordereachitembasedontheimportanceofit.Atthetop,Ihavealistof

thethingsthatmustgetdonebeforetheendofthedaytoallofthelowerlevel

stuff.Thathelpsmestayfocusedandtacklethemostimportantitemsatthe

beginningoftheday.

JeetBanerjeeisa22yearoldserialentrepreneur,digitalmarketingconsultant,

TEDxspeaker,andbestsellingauthor.

CorbettBarr(Twitter:@corbettbarr)

www.fizzle.coIstayproductivebydevelopingandmaintainingwhatIcalla

personal"operatingsystem,"whichisasetofprocesses,tools,andcheckpoints

thatdefinehowIgetworkdoneeveryday.Thespecificsofanoperatingsystem

differfrompersontoperson,buttheimportantthingisthatyouhaveone,and

youworktomakeitbetterasyoulearnmoreabouthowyouworkandwhat's

importanttoyou.

CorbettBarrisco-founderandCEOofFizzle,acommunityandtraining

platformforentrepreneurs.

MarniBattista(Twitter:@MarniBattista)

www.DatingWithDignity.comInadditiontoapersonalizeddailyplanner

tailoredtomyneeds,IalsousesomethingcalledtheCALMProsperityProcess.

AsthefounderofDatingwithDignityandwithmorethan25yearsofpersonal

relationshipanddatingexperience,MarniBattistahasdated,wasmarriedfor

17years,divorced,andthensuccessfullydatedagain(andmarried!)inthe21st

century.

SamanthaBell(Twitter:@SamBe11)

www.SamanthaBell.com.auGmailinboxpause—forwhenemailexplosions

happenduringbigworkloads,moveunimportantemailsintothehiddenpaused

folder.Boomerangapp—scheduleemailstoreturnwhenmorerelevant.Recruit

well,includetrialperiodstofindyourgreatcrew.Findpeoplewhoarefunand

easytocollaboratewithandwhocansensewhatyouneedtobeinflow.From

TimFerriss—nomeetingsonMonday(plantheweekthatday)andFridays

(life/workchores).Inboxzeroasoftenaspossible.

SamanthaBellistheco-founderofDoLecturesAustralia.

SophiaBera(Twitter:@sophiabera)

www.GenYPlanning.comIfI'mfeelingstuckandIdon'twanttostartaproject,I

setmyphonefor30minutesandtellmyselfthatIonlyhavetoworkforthat

amountoftime.Oncethetimeisup,Iusuallyjustspendafewminutesfinishing

theproject.OftentimesIsurprisemyselfbyhowmuchIcangetdonewithjust

30minutesoffocusedwork.IlovedoingyogaandeverySundayIlookatmy

calendarandplanoutmyyogascheduleforthenextweek.Byputtingitonmy

calendarwithmyotherappointments,Iactuallyendupgoingfourtofivetimes

perweekinsteadofonetotwotimeswhenIdidn'ttakethetimetoputitonmy

calendar.Myothertipistodowalkingmeetings.AnymeetingthatIdon'tneed

totakenotesfor,Itrytoturnintoawalkingmeetingandjustpopinmyearbuds

whileIgooutside.Ifindthatsittinginfrontofthecomputerformorethanafew

hoursmakesmestircrazysothisisagreatwaytousethetimewithintime.I'm

alsomorefocusedonwhattheotherpersonisactuallysayinginsteadofbeing

distractedbymycomputer.Ibelievethatfindingwaystoexerciseormove

throughoutthedayisoneofthebestthingswecandoforourproductivity.

SophiaBera,CFPisavirtualfinancialplannerformillennialsandthefounder

ofGenYPlanning.

LauraBerg(Twitter:@LauraBergInc)

www.LauraBergInc.comItrytousethe‘touchitonce’principlewhenchecking

emails.Ifyouopenanemail,youanswerit.BeforeIwouldwastesomuchtime

readingthroughemailsandthenmarkingthem‘unread’sothatIcouldcome

backtothemwhenIhadmoretime.Now,ifIdon’thavetimetoanswerthemI

don’topenthem.Thinkaboutit,evenifyoutake30secondstore-readanemail

thatyou’vealreadyreadoverthecourseofaweekyouarewastingvaluable

minutes,thoseminutesaddup.Whenyouareanentrepreneuryourtimeis

precioussodon’twasteitre-readingemails.Ofcourse,thereisanexception

whenyouneedtogiveanemailsomethoughtbutItrymybesttoalways‘touch

itonce’.

LauraBergisthepresidentofMySmartHandsandauthoroftheBabySigning

Bible.Sheisanexpertinvideomarketing,certifiedthroughGoogleasa

YouTubespecialist.ShesuccessfullyusedYouTubetogrowhercompanyintoan

internationallyrecognizablebrand.

JonahBerger(Twitter:@j1berger)

www.jonahberger.comMeetings,phonecalls,andemailscanbreakupyour

entiredayifyouletthem,leavingyoulittletimetogetanybigthinkingdone.

Makesuretoblockofftimetogetimportantthingsdone.Cancelmeetingsyou

don'tneed.Andonlycheckemailafewtimesaday.Youwon'tmissmuchbut

you'llsavealotoftime.

JonahBergerisamarketingprofessorattheWhartonSchoolattheUniversity

ofPennsylvania,andbestsellingauthorofContagious:WhyThingsCatchOn.

WarrenBobrow(Twitter:@warrenbobrow1)

www.co*cktailwhisperer.comDon'tbeafraidtodream—tofindoutwhatisyour

passion!Ittookmetwentyyearstorealizemineandwhatarealizationitis!

WarrenBobrowreinventedhimselffromcook/pastamaker,totobankteller,to

privatebankingexecutiveassistantfortwentyyears,tooffshoring,tobecoming

athricepublishedauthoronthetopicofliquor/mixology.

NormBour(Twitter:@vapementors)

www.VapeMentors.comGooglecalendarhasbecomeagreatfriendfordaily

schedulingandAsana,forprojectmanagementwithmyteam.Schedulingphone

callsandhavingitloadtomyphoneisaGod-send!

Lifelongentrepreneur,developerofVapeMentorsandVAPEU,whichsupport

businessesinthevapingandelectroniccigarettespace.

FarnooshBrock(Twitter:@prolificliving)

www.prolificliving.comWatchwhatyouputinyourmouth:Eatahigh-energy

inducingdiet.Yourdietcouldn’tbemoreinstrumentaltoyourproductivity.

Trustinthisevenifit'saninvisiblelink.Ifyouliveonsodas,junksnacksand

fastfoods,youarewillinglyhandingoverhoursofpowerproductivityoverto

yourbodysoitcandigestanddealwiththe“food”ratherthanunleashyourown

creativegenius.Caseinpoint:howproductiveyoufeelafteraheavylunchora

dayofeatingpoorlyonaroadtrip?Thinkhowmuchmoreeffortittakestojust

focuswhenyouaretiredanddizzyfromahangover?Nowcomparethistohow

productiveandclearandenergeticyoufeelafteranutrientrichmeal,suchas

healthyproteins,agreenjuiceorarawsalad?Myfirstandbiggestadvicetoyou

istoradicallyimproveyourdietifyouwanttotoenjoymassiveproductivityand

creativityinyourdailylife.

FarnooshBrockisanex-corporate,

publishedauthor,businesscoach,speaker,

andishopelesslydevotedtoyogaandworldtraveling.Afteralongcorporate

career,shestartedProlificLivingtohelpcareeristsintransitionwithbuilding

theirprofitableside-hustlesandfullonlinebusinesses.

ChrisBrogan(Twitter:@chrisbrogan)

www.chrisbrogan.comIworkmoreontimealignment.Isthispartofmy

mission?Doesthisserveothersorstrengthenmyabilitytoserveothers?Those

twoquestionskeepmetighttomymap.That'showIbestmanagemytimeand

priorities.

ChrisBrogan,CEOofOwnerMediaGroup,helpspeoplegrowtheir

capabilitiesandconnections.

RobertBrooks(Twitter:@drrobertbrooks)

www.drrobertbrooks.comMuchofmyprofessionaltimeinvolveswritingand

planningmypresentationsandworkshops.Ihavefoundthattousemytime

mosteffectivelyandbemostproductive,I(a)exercisefirstthinginthemorning

sinceexerciseissuchanimportantpartofouroverallhealthandcreativity,(b)

domostofmywritinginthemorningsincethatiswhenIammostalert,(c)

chooseandfocusasmuchaspossibleonthoseactivitiesandtopicsthatarenot

onlyofgreatinteresttomebutalsoaddmeaningandpurposetomylifeby

enrichingthelivesofothers(creatingmeaningandpurposehelpmetoremain

motivatedandfocusedandareimportantdimensionsofresilience),(d)avoid

self-blame,whichwastestimeandenergy,andrecognizethatsomedaysarejust

notgoingtobeasproductiveasotherdays,and(e)makecertainIengagewith

friendsandfamilyinactivitiesnotrelatedtomyprofessionallife.Idonotuse

anappfortimemanagementorproductivity.Idiscussthemainthemesofmy

approachinmybookThePowerofResilience:AchievingBalance,Confidence,

andPersonalStrengthinYourLife,publishedbyMcGraw-Hill.

Dr.RobertBrooksisaclinicalpsychologist,author,andkeynotespeakerwho

addressessuchtopicsasresilience,motivation,positiveworkenvironments,

familyrelationships,effectiveleadership,andbalancingourpersonaland

professionallives.

SunniBrown(Twitter:@sunnibrown)

www.sunnibrown.comAdvice:Outsourcetheproblemtoyoursubconscious.

Theverbal,consciousbrainformsprettystronghabitpatterns.Toalterthe

thinkingpaths,tosolvereallychallengingproblems,thebrainneedstodeployits

diversefunctionality—differentnetworks,differentparts,differentassociations.

Onceyouhavetheinformationyouneed,thefoundationforcreativethinkingis

established,thenyoucanoftentrustthesubconscioustouseitsuntapped

horsepowertoprovidesolutions.Walkawayfromtheproblemandtrustthat

yourdeepermindandbodywillshowupandofferaresponse.

SunniBrownisfounderofacreativeconsultancy,aninternationalspeaker,co-

authorofthebestsellingbookGamestorming,andauthorofOprah.com's"must-

read"TheDoodleRevolution.Shewasnamedoneofthe“100MostCreative

PeopleinBusiness”andoneofthe“10MostCreativePeopleonTwitter”by

FastCompany.

HowardBrown(Twitter:@HowardBrown)

www.RingDNA.comTome,thesecrettotimemanagementisactuallycreating

moretimethroughincreasedproductivity.Butthatdoesn’tmeanIhavetowork

harder.Isimplyinvestonehouramonthtoresearchandtestnewproductivity

toolsthatcanautomatemundanetasks.We’reluckytoliveinatimeof

remarkableinnovation,sothere’salwayssomethingnew,amazing(andoften

free)thatcanmakeyouatleast1%moreproductive.Theprocesshasbeenso

effectiveformethatitinspiredmetocreatemycompany,RingDNA,which

buildssalesaccelerationappsthatmakesalesteamsmoreproductive.

Whateveryourindustryis,Iencourageyoutoseekoutproductivityapps.Ifyou

haveroutine,repetitivetasksinyourlife,oddsarethatsomeonehasinventeda

shortcut.Ifyoucanfindjustoneortwosmallsolutionseachmonth,you’llsoon

findthatyouactuallyhavealotmoretimetomanage.

HowardBrownisathree-timeentrepreneurwithaproventrackrecordof

successandinnovationinmarketing,sales,andcloudcomputing.Hispassion

forrevenueperformanceoptimizationthroughtechnologywasthecatalystfor

creatingRingDNA.

WilliamBrown(Twitter:@williamdeanchoc)

www.williamdeanchocolates.comOneofmyfavoritequotesfrommydaysin

corporatethatItrulybelieveleadstosuccessis"Plantheworkthenworkthe

plan".CreativityiswhatmakesmewhoIambutlikeothercreativeminded

people...itcanbehardtostayontaskandwithoutablueprint,nothinggetsbuilt.

Wealsouseasystemwherewedevelopaplanforthenextdayandprioritize

fivetasksthatneedtobedonebyeachperson,someareindividualwhilesome

maybegrouptask.Wethenputallothertasksonanothersheetanddothem

whentheirpriorityistopsorafterfinishingthetop5tasksfortheday.It's

amazingtomehowproductivitybuildsoffthesuccessofcompletingtasksand

movingtothenext.Webegin/endeachdaythesameinthekitchenwithashort

huddleaboutwhatarethetopgoalsandattheendoftheday,everyoneworks

togethertocleanupsowearepreparedtohitthegroundrunningthenextday.I

findthatmakingchocolatesisnotunlikemydaysbackincorporateAmerica.

WhenIstartwithaplan,Iendwithproductivityandsatisfaction...withoutaplan

itcanseemaverylong,aimlessandunproductivedayandIlikethefeelingofa

dayofaccomplishmentoveroneofuncertainty.

WilliamBrownisfounder,PresidentandChiefChocolateOfficerofWilliam

DeanChocolates.WilliamDeanChocolatesisanartisanchocolatecompany

locatedinBelleairBluffsFloridawhoseproductshaveappearedinTheHunger

Gamesseriesandhavewonover100awardsnationally.Williamwasselected

asoneoftheTop10ChocolatiersinNorthAmericafor2014byDessert

Professional.

StephanieBurns(Twitter:@StephanieABurns)

www.stephanie-burns.comIhavealotofdifferenttoolsIusetokeepmyselfand

mytimeorganized.Firstly,Ialwaysscheduleonedayaweekwherethereareno

callsandnomeetings.Iamcompletelyunavailablethatday.Iusethosedaysto

powerthroughthingsIneedtogetdonewithoutthedistractions.Iuseatool

calledFollowupthen.comtohelpmeremembertofollowuponemailsor

reminders.IlovethistoolbecauseIcanhaveanemailsentbacktomeinone

minuteoroneyear.Finally,Ischeduleinallrecurringremindersinmycalendar

soIcanforgetthem.Forexample,IscheduleineverythreemonthsthatIneed

togetmyoilchanged,everysixmonths,togetmyteethcleaned,everyyearto

paymycarregistration.Ican'tkeepthosethingsinmyhead,soIputthemallon

thecalendarandforgetaboutit.

StephanieBurnsisanauthor,speaker,andfounderofChicCEO,aglobal

onlineresourceforfemaleentrepreneurs.

JulieBusha(Twitter:@julesbusha)

www.slawsa.comBecauseIwearmanyhatsandamatype-Apersonality,Ifind

thatlistskeepmeorganizedthemost.Attheendoftheday,Ire-createmylist

forthefollowingday,prioritizingtasksandmakingsurethatIhandleany

delegationearlierintheday.Whentheplanisset,youcansleepalittleeasierat

night.Ialsopurposefullyaddsometaskstothelistthataren'turgentorrequired

thatdaybecausethepossibilityofdoingitearlykeepsmeaheadofthegame

knowingunanticipatedprojectscanandwillariseinthefuture.Therealityisthat

Iknowthatmylistwilllikelytriplebydaysendandthereisasenseof

satisfactionandaccomplishmenttophysicallycrossoffthatgrowinglistthat

keepsyouenergizedthroughthefinish.

JulieBushaistheCEOofNicoleFoods,creatorofSlawsa,whichhasemerged

asoneofthemostinnovativecondimentsinthegroceryindustry.

GrantCardone(Twitter:@grantcardone)

www.GrantCardone.comIdon’taddtimetoactivities.Hell,Iwearadifferent

watcheachdayandIdon’teventakethetimetosetthem.

Igetasmuchdoneas

IcanasquicklyasIcan,wastenotimeonthelittlethingsandifImessupIwill

gobackandcleanitup.Timeisthedrugofchoiceandthesideeffectisfear—

addtimeyoufeelfear.Myfirstbook,SellorBeSold,waswritteninthreehours

andhadtonsofgrammarissues.Bythetimewesoldoutthefirstrun,Ihad

peopletellingmeaboutthegrammarerrors.Itoldthem,“It’snotabestwritten

book,itsabestsellingbook.”Wecleanedthebookuponthenextrunandit

becameanaward-winningbookinbusiness.

Ileaveperfectionforothers.Anyonethattellsyoutogetitrightthefirsttime

isn’tdoingenough.Speedisthenewbig!Removethebrake,accelerateandget

yourideasoutaheadofeveryoneelse.Whileothersarefiguring,youcanbe

doing.Theoldfablesuggeststhatthetortoisewinsoverthehare.Therealityis,

intheneweconomyifyouwanttobeamillionaireyouhavetobethetortoise

andthehare.Ileaveperfectiontotheperfectionist;I,instead,haveelectedto

produce.

GrantCardoneistheNewYorkTimesbestsellingauthorofThe10XRuleand

otherbooks,arealestateinvestor,andfounderandCEOoffourcompanies.

CardoneregularlyappearsonCNBC,CNN,andBloombergTV.

BobbyCasey(Twitter:@GWPro)

www.GlobalWealthProtection.comMymorningritualisalwaysthesame.Wake

uparound9am(clearlynotanearlyriser),stretchandexercisefor10-15

minutes,drink600-1000mLofcoldwater,makeproteinbreakfast(usuallyeggs)

andmorningcoffee.Thenreadingfor30-60minutes.Ikeepweeklylistsof"to-

do"itemsandcheckthemoffuponcompletion.Thishelpskeepmefocusedand

goaloriented,allowingmetocheckoffminorsuccessesalongtheway.Irely

heavilyonmygooglecalendarsyncedwithmyemailclient(Thunderbird),my

phoneandmyassistant.Everythinggoesinmycalendar.Thatkeepsmeon

pointtokeepatightschedule.Iusetimetrade.comtogiveclientstheabilityto

scheduleappointmentswithmedirectly.Ourmembers(www.GWPInsiders)can

bookappointmentsdirectlywithmeusingatimetradelinkinthemembersarea.

Non-memberscanpurchaseaconsultationappointmentonourwebsitewhich

redirectsafterpurchasetoatimetradelinkallowingthemtobooktheirown

appointment.Thisintegrateswithmygooglecalendaraswell.My#1

productivitytipthoughistohaveapersonalassistantthatmanagesyournon-

incomeproducingtasks.MyPAbooksmytravel(whichisalot)andmanages

myappointmentsaswellasafewadministrativetasks.Peoplesometimestellme

theycannotaffordaPA,ItellthemIcannotaffordtonothaveone.Shesaves

memoreintravelcostsalonethanherwage.

BobbyCaseyisalifelongentrepreneurandstudentoflife.Hehasstarted,

bought,andsoldadozenorsobusinessesandcurrentlyownsthreecompanies

intheoffshorefinancespace.Hehaslivedinmultiplecountries,traveledto

nearly100countriesonfivecontinents,andisconsideredaperpetualtraveler

runninghisbusinessesfromjustalaptopandcellphone.

AntonioCenteno(Twitter:@rmrstyle)

www.realmenrealstyle.comI’mallaboutefficiency.Insteadoftaking30

minutestoansweraquestionviae-mail,IoftentimescreateanarticlewhichI

thenblogpostansweringthequestionandsharewiththemtheansweralong

withmakingitpublicsoitcanhelpthousandsofothermen.Checklistsarealso

veryimportanttomydaytodayroutine.IusethemsoIdon'thavetothink,

thereforeIconservemyenergyforthefewhoursadayIneedtofocusinon

somethingnewandbecreative.

AntonioCentenoisthefounderofwww.RealMenRealStyle.comand

www.ATailoredSuit.com.Hehascreatedover1000articles&videosonmen's

style,blogsoveratthewww.ArtofManliness.com,andisthecreatorofthe

internet'sbeststylecourseforprofessionals-AMan'sGuideToStyle.Antonio

hasstudiedclothingdesigninLondon,HongKong,andBangkok.Heisaformer

USMarinewithanMBAfromUTAustinandaBAfromCornellCollege.He

lovestohearfromoldfriendsandmakenewones.

MisaChien(Twitter:@misachien)

www.fosubo.comIrecommendkeepingacalendar,suchasGoogleCalendar,to

organizeyourself.Wheneveryouthinkofsomethingthatmustbedone,

immediatelyrecorditinyourcalendar.

MisaChienisaserialentrepreneur,speaker,andco-founderofFosubo,a

leaderinimprovingthecustomerexperienceforTelecomProviders.

DorieClark(Twitter:@dorieclark)

www.dorieclark.comMyinboxisaconstantsourceofstressforme.Here'show

Idealwithit.First,followingonaprincipleIfirstreadaboutinFrancesFreiand

AnneMorriss'UncommonService,I'vemadeaconsciouschoiceabout“whatto

bebadat”.Therearetradeoffsthatmustbemadeifyou'regoingtoexcelinany

area—andforme,partofbeinggoodatthemostimportantworkIdo(suchas

writingbooksorconsulting)iscomingtotermswiththefactthatI'llbealittle

bitbadatemailresponsetimes.Ihatemakingpeoplewaittohearfromme,but

thattradeoffenablesmetodomyhighestvaluework.Second,Iworkwitha

virtualassistant,andhavebeenabletodelegatesomerepetitiveemailstasksto

him(likerespondingtoLinkedInfriendrequests).Third,I'lloftenundertake

emailbingesonweekends,whenIreceivefarfewermessagesandcanrespond

tomanyinashortburstoffocus.

IalsouseTripItProtoorganizeallmybusinesstravelintooneeasy-to-reference

location.I'mconstantlyontheroadandcan'tkeeptrackofwhichrentalcar

agencyI'musingorwhatterminalmyflightisdepartingoutof.It'sgreatto

knowthateverythingiscompiledinoneplacesoIdon'thavetorememberitor

printitout.Additionally,IusetheSunrisecalendarapp,whichhasamagnificent

feature—whenyouenterameetinglocation,itlinksdirectlytoaGooglemap.

Withoneclick,youcangetdirectionstothesiteandanestimateoftraveltime.

Ittakestheguessworkoutofyourschedule.

DorieClarkisaconsultantwhoteachesforDukeUniversity'sFuquaSchoolof

BusinessandistheauthorofStandOutandReinventingYou.

IanCleary(Twitter:@iancleary)

www.razorsocial.comSetatimerforeverythingyoudo.Whenyouhavea

deadlineyouaremoreproductive.IusethePomodorotechniquewhereIworkin

25minutetimeslotsandthentakeacoupleofminutesbreak.It'samazinghow

muchmoreyoucangetdoneifyoutimeit!

IanClearyisfounderofRazorsocial,anawardwinningmarketingtechnology

blog.

AmyClover(Twitter:@StrongInsideOut)

www.StrongInsideOut.comTostayatmymostproductive,Ineedtomovemy

body.Withoutmovement,ourbodiesholdontostresswhichcanmuckupthe

creativeprocess!IfI'mtooslammedtogetafullworkoutin,Idospurtsof

activitythroughouttheday.I'llalternate20squats,10pushups,and15

supermansonthehourorhalfhourtokeepmycreativejuicesflowingandgive

mymindabreak.Whileyoumove,coordinateyourbreathingwiththe

movement,andyou'llampupthebenefits!

AmyCloverisacelebrityfitnesstrainer,writer,andtheforcebehindStrong

InsideOut.

DerekCoburn(Twitter:@cadredc)

www.derekcoburn.comDon'teverconfusebeingbusywithbeingproductive,

anddon'teverconfusebeingproductivewithbeingintentionalabouthowyou

arespendingyourtime(i.e.spendingtimewithyourkidswithoutcheckingyour

phone).My#1productivityhackisBulletproofCoffee.

DerekCoburnisthebestsellingauthorofNetworkingIsNotWorkingandthe

co-founderofCADRE,anun-networkingcommunityforCEOsand

EntrepreneursinWashington,DC.

TimConley(Twitter:@TimConley)

www.TimConley.coBatchbig.Thereareamany"productivityhacks"thattell

youtobatchyouremail,phonecalls,andothersimilartaskssothatyou'renot

usingupyourmentalenergyswitchingbackandforththroughavarietyoftasks.

Iagreewiththose,butI'vebatchedbigger.I'vebatchedallmyclient

–RandyGageistheauthorofninebooksincludingtheNewYorkTimesbestseller,RiskyIstheNew

Safe.

Mostpeoplesetgoalsforhealth,wealth,andrelationships.Othersaddthings

likespirituality,charity,andrecreation.

Regardlessofyourfocusareas,conventionalwisdomdictatesthatyourgoal

bespecificandmeasurable.Insteadofwritingagoalto“savemoney,”itshould

be something like “Save $5,000 by the end of the year.” Instead of “lose

weight,”youwouldspecify,“Losetenpoundsintenweeks.”

After identifying your most important goal, you need to identify which

activities will lead to goal achievement and which activity is most important

rightnow.

Don’tgetsidetrackedbythegoalsettingifyoudon’talreadyhaveidentified

goals.Infact,otherexperts,likeCEOcoachPeterBregman,suggestthatthereis

adownsidetogoals.Instead,Bregmansuggestspickingfocusareas.

Forexample,at thetimeI’mwritingthisbook,IknowthatIreallywantto

increasemypassiveincomethisyear.ButIdon’thaveaspecificdollaramount

inmind and because I have plenty ofmoney, I’m not feeling any pressure to

defineit.

But in order to growpassive income, I also know that I need tocreate all

kindsofthingslikebooks,assessments,andonlinetraining.Rightnow,whenI

askmyself:Whatisthesinglemostimportanttask(MIT)togetclosertomygoal

rightnow?

Iknowit’sworkingonthisbook.Oncethebookisdone,I’llcreatespin-off

content. And once I have more stuff to sell, my “one thing” will likely be

workingonmarketingmaterialorwebinars tospread theword.But fornow, I

knowthatmyMITiswritingthisbook.

YourownMITmaylookverydifferentbasedonyourjobandpersonalgoals.

Arookiesalesperson’sMITmightbecoldcallinginordertohitasalestarget.A

softwareengineer’sMITmightbetodebugaparticularmoduleinordertohita

launchdeadline.Asenior softwareexecutive’sMITmightbe recruitinganew

programmer inorder todevelopanewapp.AstartupCEO’sMITmightbe to

createaslidedeckinordertolandventurecapital.Astudent’sMITmightbeto

findatutorinordertodowellonanupcomingexam.Astay-at-homeparent’s

MIT might be to reserve a campground site at the state park to line up the

family’sfavoritesummervacation.

MarkPincusonHisMIT

Identifying your MIT makes your scheduling decisions much easier. Having

identifiedwhatismostimportanttoyou,you’llneedaverygoodreasonnotto

bespendingtimeonit.

The social gaming company Zynga is probably best known for its game

Farmville, which at its peak had over 265 million active users. Zynga CEO,

MarkPincus,clearlyhashisMITwelldefinedandbelievesinspendingatleast

halfofhistimeonit.

InTheirOwnWords…

Ifyouwanttobuildgreatproducts,devotemorethan50percentofyourworkhourstoproduct.Don't

acceptspeakingopportunitiesifyoucan'tjustifythemasbenefittingyourusersoryourcompany.

–MarkPincusistheco-founderandCEOofZynga.

TwoAwesomeHoursintheMorning

AfteridentifyingyourMIT,youneedtoturnitintoacalendaritemandbookit

asearlyinyourdayaspossible.

Dan Ariely, a Duke University professor of psychology and behavioral

economics,suggeststhatmostpeoplearemostproductiveandhavethehighest

cognitivefunctioninginthefirsttwohoursafterthey’refullyawake.InaReditt

Ask Me Anything, Ariely wrote: One of the saddest mistakes in time

managementisthepropensityofpeopletospendthetwomostproductivehours

of their day on things that don't require high cognitive capacity (like social

media). If we could salvage those precious hours, most of us would bemuch

moresuccessfulinaccomplishingwhatwetrulywant.

Whydowedothis?Whydowespendourbesthoursonourleastimportant

tasks?

Manyofus jump intoourday trying to takecareofall thequickandeasy

things. Responding to all those overnight emails, sorting our stack of mail,

signingoffonpurchaseorders…itallfeelssoproductive!Look,it’sonly11:00

inthemorning,andImusthavedoneatleast50things.

InTheirOwnWords…

Investthefirstpartofyourdayworkingonyournumberoneprioritythatwillhelpbuildyourbusiness.

Dothiswithoutinterruptions—noemailortext—andbeforetherestoftheworldisawake.

–TomZiglaristheCEOofZiglar,Inc.

Docreativeworkfirst.Reactiveworksecond.

–JonathanMilliganistheauthorofThe15SuccessTraitsofProBloggers.

Otherschoosetodothemostunpleasanttasksearlyinthemorninginwhat’s

known as the “eat the frog first” strategy. It’s a procrastination-fighting

techniquethatsaysifyouhavesomethingunpleasanttodo,justgetitoutofthe

wayfirstthing.Thisisgoodadviceifitdefeatsprocrastination,butitcanalsobe

counterproductiveifyouroutinelyuseupyourpeakhours.

InTheirOwnWords…

IprepareaMUSTDOlistthenightbefore…whenIgettomydesk,IdothoseitemsfirstbeforeIturnon

myemail.

–AndrewMcCauleyistheco-founderof

AutopilotYourBusiness.

Notonlyaremostpeopleattheircognitivebestearlierintheday,butit’sless

likely that unexpected items will jump onto the calendar or require urgent

attention.

InTheirOwnWords…

Itrytoreservethemorningfordoing"realwork."IfindIcanfocusmoreinthemorningwhereasit's

hardertogetfocusedafterhavingbeenbombardedbymeetings,soItrytosavemeetingsforlaterinthe

day.

–NathanBlecharczykistheco-founderofAirbnb.

Taking Dr. Ariely’s advice to heart, drink that first cup of coffee while

drivingintowork,butthenshutyourdoor,silenceyourphone,closeemailand

socialmedia,andworkonyourMIT.

InTheirOwnWords…

Ischeduleaseriesof90-minute"JamSessions"throughoutmyday/weekwhereIfocusexclusivelyon

onevitalpriorityandnothingelse.

–StephenWoessnerishostoftheOnwardNationpodcastandCEOofPredictiveROI.

IhavefoundthatIammostproductivefrom6:00a.m.tonoon.I'mup,fresh,creative,andthatisthe

timeImakecrazythingshappen.Idomoreinthosehoursthanpeopleprobablydoallweek.

–ChristinaDavesistheauthorofPRforAnyoneandtheCEOandfounderofPRforAnyone®.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur: Would it be helpful to identify the one thing that is most

importanttoachievingyourquarterlygoals?

Executive: Would it be helpful to be crystal clear on the number one

objective you’ll be evaluated against when it comes time for your annual

performancereview?

Freelancer:Would it be helpful to identify the one thing thatwill lead to

moreclients?

Student:Wouldithelptopicktheoneclassthatismostimportantforyouto

raiseyourgradein?

Stay-at-HomeParent:Would itbehelpful to identify theone thing that is

currently most important for your child’s health and development (e.g.,

organizingaplaygroup,choosingasummercamp,findingamusictutor)?

SECRET#2

IdentifyyourMostImportantTask(MIT)andworkoniteach

daybeforedoinganythingelse.

So,what’syouronething?What’syourMIT?

FREEBONUS

TodownloadthePriorities&MITworksheetandotherFREEbonuses,visit:

www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#3

StopMakingTo-DoLists—DoThis

Instead

Doyoureallythinkmillionairesandbillionaireswalkaroundwithato-do

list?

Do you really thinkBillGates,DonaldTrump andWarrenBuffettwrite a

longto-dolistandprioritizeitemsasA1,A2,B1,B2,C1,andonandon?

Do you really think Steve Jobs kept a to-do list and asked himself several

timesaday,“What’s

workintoa

totalofsixdayspermonth,mypromotionaleffortsintofivedayspermonthand

myvacationsintotwoone-monthsabbaticals.Bigbatchingcreatesa

frameworkofshortandintenseburstsofproductivityandalsogiveyou

significanttimetorecuperateandrechargeyourcreativity.

TimConleyhascoached,advised,andmentoredmorethan400entrepreneurs—

andcounting—helpingthemgainfinancialfreedomandlifefulfillmentwhile

becomingtheCEOoftheirownbusiness.Heisreleasinghisbook,Warofthe

Start,inthefallof2015.

CherylSnappConner(Twitter:@CherylSnapp)

www.snappconner.comThegreatestadviceI'vereceivedcomesfromfellow

CEOJasonGarner(nowalifebalanceandpersonalaccomplishmentcoach,

formerlyaCEOofLiveNation)istostarteverydaywiththetasksthatrepresent

myhighestpriority—healthandbalance.Exercise,alittlestretching,anda

healthybreakfast(hedrinksagreensmoothie;mychoiceisanoatbranpancake

withcoconutoilandherbaltea).Afterthat,therestofthedayisonagreattrack

andmyapproachtothechallengesofthedayismoreeffective.Ihavemyoffice

refrigeratorstockedwithhealthysnacks,mycalendarset,andIhavestopped

answeringcallsfromanynumberIdon'trecognizeuntilI(ormyassistant)have

determinedthatitisreallyacallthatrequiresme.Ialsoreadsomethingthat

enrichesmyspiritormypersonaldevelopmenteverysingleday.It'smadea

greatimpactonbothmeandmycompany,whichisgrowingrapidly.

CherylSnappConnerisanauthorandexpertinbusinessandcommunications

andthefounderofThoughtLeadershipandPRcompanySnappConnerPR.

CarrieContey,PhD(Twitter:@carrieconteyphd)

www.carriecontey.comI'mmostproductivewhenI'mfeelingtunedintoand

alignedwithmyhigherself/innerguidancesystem.IfindthatwhenItakethe

timeinthemorningtogettunedintoMEI'mfarmoreproductivetherestofthe

day.HowdoIdothis?ItrytocatchmyfirstthoughtsofthedayandIsteerthem

towardpositivity.AssoonasIcanthinkofitafterwakingupandwilltakea

minuteortwotoappreciatemycomfybed,myhealthyfamily,myamazing

friends,theteaIwilldrinkinafewminutes,etc.AfterthatIgoforawalkso

thatIcanbreatheinfreshairandmovemybody.UsuallywhenIgetbackI'm

readytositdownandgettowork.I'malsoahugefanoftheappHiFutureSelf.I

useittosendmyselfreminders,sometimeshourly,thatkeepmetunedinand

feelinggoodandintentional.

CarrieContey,PhDisainternationallyrecognizedcoach,author,speaker,and

educator.Currentlyshelives,works,andplaysinAustin,TX.Tolearnmore

pleasevisitcarriecontey.com.

BrantCooper(Twitter:@brantcooper)

www.movestheneedle.comFirstSundayeveningisthekeytotheweek.Without

alarmsringingandrandominterruptions,Icanfocusonwhatneedstobe

accomplished.Myformulaforprioritizingactivities:impact/time,whereimpact

meansmovingtheneedleofmybusinessandtimeisthelevelofeffortrequired.

Itrytofocusonremovingthenextbottleneckofgrowththatisundermy

control.

BrantCooperisaNYTbestsellingauthorandfounderofMovestheNeedle,

bringingLeanStartuppracticestocorporateinnovation.

PaulCopcutt(Twitter:@paulcopcutt)

www.paulcopcutt.comAlwayslooktotakethreeactionseachdaythatimpact

yourbusiness,youpersonally(canbeextendedtofamily),andsomeoneelse.

Impactmeansmakeadifferencethatwithoutyourinputitwouldnothave

happened.

PaulCopcuttisapersonalbrandarchitect,speaker,andcoachandhelpspeople

findtheirrebelvoice.

HonoréeCorder(Twitter:@Honoree)

www.honoreecorder.comIusetheBulletJournalasmygo-toorganization

system.Itkeepsideas,thoughts,andotherimportantagendaitemsatmy

fingertips.Ihighlyrecommendkeepingajournal,becausealifeworthlivingisa

lifeworthrecording.Evenbetterisusingasystemthatallowsyoutoaccess

whatyouneedand/orwantatexactlytherighttime.

HonoréeCorderisanauthor,speaker,andpersonaltransformationexpert.

ScottCramton(Twitter:@MurderMysteryCo)

www.grimprov.comIdentifyyourhighest-leveragetaskeachdayandconquerit

first.

ScottCramtonisthefounderandCEOofTheMurderMysteryCompany,the

mostpopularMurderMysteryEntertainmentCompanyinthenation.

DaveCrenshaw(Twitter:@DaveCrenshaw)

www.davecrenshaw.comYoushouldsetprioritiesandprioritizethosetasksthat

needimmediateattention.Thereareonly60minutesinanhour.Thereareonly

24hoursinaday.Thissimplisticstatementissomethingweknowacademically,

yetfightagainstinpractice.MosttrytofighttheTruthofTimeeveryday.Some

fightiteveryhour.Thesepeoplebecometimebankrupt,becausetheyare

constantlyoverspendingtimeandplayingacatch-upgame.Yetothershave

learnedtobeatpeacewiththeTruthofTime.Theyhavecometoacceptitasthe

immovabletruththatitis,andactuallyfeeltheyaretimewealthy.Thesepeople

haveputsystemsinplacethatallowthemtosmoothlymanageunexpected

emergencies.Allowmetoshareafewsystemstohelpyoubeatpeacewiththe

TruthofTime:1.Useacalendar.Thismayseemaridiculouslyobvious

suggestion.Thetruthismostpeopleattempttoscheduletasksandappointments

intheirmind.Thisresultsinmissedappointments,stress,confusion,andover-

scheduling.Notusingacalendarisabitliketryingtouseacreditcardforyour

time.2.Underspendtime.Makesurethatallofyourappointmentsarenotback

toback.Giveyourselfbreathingroomof15or30minutes;sometimesevenan

hour.Ifyoufindyourselfunabletoleavethesegapsinyourschedule,thenpush

thingsoff.Procrastinateasmuchaspossiblethethingsthatarenotnecessaryin

themoment.Doingthiswillleaveyoutheroomtohandletheunexpected.

Ultimately,beingatpeacewiththeTruthofTimeisamatterofyoubeing

truthfulwithyourself.Whileyouarelikelycapableofdoinganythingyouput

yourmindtodoing,youarenotcapableofdoingitallatonce.Finally,hereare

afewbrieftips:takecontrolovertechnology—yourcellphoneringer(evenon

vibrate)doesn’tneedtobeonallthetime.Youcanturnoffemailnotificationon

yourcomputeraswell.Becomemasteroverthenaggingbeepsandbuzzesby

creatingsomesilence.Schedulewhatyoucanschedule—setregulartimesinthe

dayandweektocheckyourvoicemailandemail.Letothersknowyouwillbe

usingthatschedulesotheyknowwhentoexpectareply.Focusontheperson—

whenyouswitchtaskwithacomputer,yousimplyloseefficiency.Butifyou

switchtaskonahumanbeing,youadditionallydamagearelationship.Be

present,listencarefully,andmakesureeverythinghasbeentakencareofbefore

movingon.

DaveCrenshawisthemasterofhelpingbusinessownerstriumphoverchaos.

Hisfirstbook,TheMythofMultitasking:How‘DoingItAll’GetsNothing

Done,hasbeenpublishedinsixlanguagesandisatimemanagementbestseller.

Hislatestbook,TheFocusedBusiness:HowEntrepreneursCanTriumphOver

Chaos,isalsoasmallbusinessbestseller.

HughCulver(Twitter:@hughculver)

www.hughculver.comEveryFridayIcreatemy"FlightPlan"forthefollowing

week.It'sashortlistofwhatImustgetdonebeforethenextFriday.Thevery

actofcreatingmyFlightPlanisagreatexerciseinprioritization,delegation,and

saying"no".ThenexttrickistokeepreturningtomyFlightPlanafterevery

interruption.AfterfiveyearsofusingandteachingthissystemI'mconvincedit's

themostpowerfuldisciplineforoverwhelmedhigh-achievers.

HughCulverresearches,writes,andspeaksabouthowtothinkbetter,plan

smarter,andactnowonwhatreallymatters.

LudwinaDautovic(Twitter:@LudwinaDautovic)

www.SwitchedOnMediaGroup.comIdon'tthinkaboutwhatneedstobedonein

thefuturetoday.Iblock

outtimeinmycalendaradayortwopriortoitbeing

completedandfocusonitthen.Thismeansthatmymindisn'tfilledwithwhat's

aheadofme,allowingmetobemoreproductiveinthenow.Italsoputsastopto

overwhelmasI'mconfidentthatmytimehasbeenallocatedadequatelyforeach

projectsoIcanputitoutofmymind.It'saveryfreeingdiscipline.Ialsodoit

formypersonallife.Iftherearemajordecisionsthatneedtobemade,I'llbook

insome“thinking”timeforit.

LudwinaDautovicisthehostofthe#1iTunespodcast'SwitchedOn'andthe

founderofTheSwitchedOnMediaGroupwhichspecialisesinonline,digital,

andnewmedia.

BarrieDavenport(Twitter:@coachbarrie)

www.workfromhomeduo.comBeforeyougotobedatnight,definethethree

mostimportanttasksforthenextday.Thesedon'thavetobeyouronlytasks—

justthethreethatarenon-negotiable.Defineyourmostproductivetimeofday,

andknockoutthosetasksduringthattimeifpossible.Whenyouareworkingon

thetasks,removeallpossibledistractionsinordertofocusintentlyonthework.

Ifnecessary,breakthetasksdowntosmallerchunks,andsetatimertoworkfor

30minutestoanhour.Allowyourselfabreak,andthensetthetimeragain.

Repeatuntilyou'vecompletedtheseprimarytasksforyourday.

BarrieDavenportistheco-founderofLiveBoldandBloom.com.

ChristinaDaves(Twitter:@prforanyone)

www.PRforAnyone.comMybesttipistodeterminewhattimeofdayyouare

mostproductiveandkickbuttduringthattime.IhavefoundthatIammost

productivefrom6:00a.m.tonoon.I'mup,fresh,creative,andthatisthetimeI

makecrazythingshappen.Idomoreinthosehoursthanpeopleprobablydoall

week.Harnessyourproductivitytimeandfocusonthattomakethebestuseof

yourtime.

ChristinaDavesistheauthorofthebestsellingbook,PRforAnyone:100+

AffordableWaystoEasilyCreateBuzzforYourBusinessandtheCEOand

founderofPRforAnyone®.

RyanDelk(Twitter:@delk)

www.gumroad.comThedefaultlengthofameetingorcall—bothinternallyand

externally—shouldbe20minutes,anythinglongershouldbeanexception.It's

remarkablehowmuchyoucanaccomplishin20minutes,especiallyifallparties

gointothemeetingwiththeunderstandingthatyouonlyhave20minutes.Even

ifyou'rejustmovingfrom30-minutemeetingsto20-minutemeetings,youcan

fitinfourtosixmoremeetings,calls,orappointmentsinaday.Overthecourse

ofayear,that'smorethan1,000moreopportunitiesyouarebuyingyourself.

Huge!

RyanDelkleadsGrowthatGumroad,wherehehelpsempowercreatorsofall

shapesandsizes—fromEminemtoColdplaytoBonJovi—toselltheirwork

directlytotheiraudience,hewaspreviouslyatSquare,theiHubNairobi,and

SavannahFund.

DesireeDoubrox

www.AnEmpoweredWoman.comRemember,nomatterhowrichorhowpoor,

howsmartorhowdumb,whatreligion,color,creed,orsexyouare.Weall

ONLYhave24hoursinaday!Theonlydifferenceishowweusethatnon-

recurringassetcalledtime.Useitwiselyanditwillrewardyouhandsomely.

Founder,publisher,andproducerofAnEmpoweredWomanandLet'sTalk

Successmagazine.Speaker,author,radioandTVshowhost.Entrepreneurfor

life!

ElisaDoucette(Twitter:@elisadoucette)

www.craftyourcontent.comNoNightScreens—otherthanmyKindle,Itryto

instituteasternruleinmyhousehold,thatscreensshouldbeoffby9PM.No

games,noTV,nolaptops,nowork...everyoneeitherhastositthereandtalkto

eachotherorcurlupwithagoodbookandstartdecompressingtheirday.

Amazinghoweasyitistogettobedatareasonablehourwhenyourstart

relaxingearlyenoughatnight.Italsogivesyouadeadlinetofinishtheday's

tasks,forthoseofusnotbeingclockedforourtoo-manyhoursspentonwork.

ElisaDoucetteisaninternationallypublishedwriter,editortoacollectionofthe

internet'stopcreators,andfounderofCraftYourContent.

ChrisDucker(Twitter:@chrisducker)

www.chrisducker.comIhaveoneveryeasytofollowtimemanagementstrategy.

Itcouldalsobeclassedasaproductivitytip.Isimplyputeverythingonmy

schedule.That'sit.EverythingIdoonaday-to-daybasisgetsputonmy

schedule.30-minutesofsocialmedia—ontheschedule.45-minutesofemail

management—ontheschedule.Catchingupwithmyvirtualteam—onthe

schedule.Quiettimetocontemplateandplan—ontheschedule.Bottomline,ifit

doesn'tgetscheduleditdoesn'tgetdone.

ChrisDuckerisaserialentrepreneur,internationalkeynotespeaker,bestselling

author,aswellasapopularbusinessbloggerandpodcaster.

JohnLeeDumas(Twitter:@JohnLeeDumas)

www.EOFire.comThemorningritualthathasbecomesacredtomeisa35

minutepowerwalkfirstthing.Gettingoutside,breathingthefreshair,clearing

mymind,andresettingmyfocusallresultsinapowerfulstarttoanamazing

day.Also,thePomodoromethodhasbeenessentialinmyproductivityin2015.

Parkinson'slawexplainshow'workexpandssoastofillthetimeavailableforits

completion'andIhavefoundthat100%thetruth.BylimitingthetimeIhaveto

workonprojectsusingthePomodorotimer,Ihaveseenmyfocusandefficiency

skyrocket!

JohnLeeDumasisthefounderandhostofEntrepreneurOnFire,anaward

winningpodcastrevealingthejourneyoftoday'smostinspiringentrepreneurs

sevendaysaweek.EntrepreneurOnFiregeneratesover$250,000amonthin

revenue&offersafree15-daycourseonpodcastingat

FreePodcastCourse.com.

JessEkstrom(Twitter:@HeadbandsOfHope)

www.JessEkstrom.comAsanentrepreneur,it'ssoeasytogetoutofbedinthe

morningandgostraightintoyourlengthyto-dolist.ButI'vefoundthedaysI

jumpstraightintowork,I'mnotasproductiveandmyenergyburnsquickly.

InsteadIgetinsomekindofmorningworkout,evenifit'sonly30minutes.

DuringthedayIfeelmoreenergizedandthereforegetmoredone.IfIeverstart

tofeeltiredorunmotivated,insteadofpouringanothercupofcoffee,I'lltakea

shortwalkoutsideandgetsomefreshair.

JessEkstromisthefounderandCEOofHeadbandsofHope,acompanythat

givesheadbandstogirlsundergoingchemotherapyandalsofundschildhood

cancerresearch.She'salsotheauthorofTheFreshmanFabulous:TheGirl's

GuidetoCollegeandkeynotespeakeratcampusesandcompanies.

SeanEllis(Twitter:@seanellis)

www.growthhackers.comI'vealwaysworkedinstartupswherethereisnever

enoughtimetodoeverythingIwanttodo.Somyapproachtoproductivityisto

spendaboutahalfanhoureachmorningcreatinganewlistofthreekeyitemsto

completethatdaythatarebasedontheobjectivesthatareimportanttomeatthat

moment.IthenworkontheseitemsinadditiontoanycommitmentsI'vealready

madefortheday.Thisapproachcanbeabithaphazard,butkeepsmeadaptable

tonewlearningsthathappeneverydayinastartup.

Founder/CEOofGrowthHackers.com.WasfirstmarketeratDropbox,LogMeIn,

andLookout.

HalElrod(Twitter:@HalElrod)

www.MiracleMorningBook.comMy#1keytosimplifyingtimemanagement

andcreatingextraordinaryproductivity(intheareasthatmattermost)isstarting

eachdaywiththeultimatemorningsuccessritual(knownasTheMiracle

Morning).Thissimpledailyritualismadeupofthesixmosteffectiveand

provenpersonaldevelopmentpractices,memorablyorganizedintotheLife

S.A.V.E.R.S.(Silence,Affirmations,Visualization,Exercise,Reading,

Scribing).ThepremiseofTheMiracleMorningistowakeupandstarteachday

withthedisciplineofdedicatingtimetopersonaldevelopment,sothatyoucan

becomethepersonyouneedtobetocreatethemostextraordinarylifeyoucan

imagine,anddosofasterthanyoumaycurrentlybelieveispossible.Whilemost

peoplefocuson"doing"moretoachievemore,TheMiracleMorningisabout

focusingon"becoming"more

sothatyoucanstartdoingless,toachievemore.

HalElrodisthe#1bestsellingauthorofwhat'sbeingwidelyregardedasoneof

themostlife-changingbookseverwritten,TheMiracleMorning:TheNot-So-

ObviousSecretGuaranteedtoTransformYourLife...Before8AM.

KyleEschenroeder(Twitter:@kyleschen)

www.StartupBros.comI'vetriedallthe"strategies",onlyonehasworked.My

philosophyisthatbeingproductiveforthesakeofbeingproductiveis

ridiculous.Icareaboutmovingmylifeforward,notmaximizingsomeabstract

levelofproductivity.SothefirstthingIdoisgetoutofbedandgoworkout.

WhileworkingoutIidentifythetwomostimportantthingsIcandothatday.I

writethemdownonanindexcard.Thatindexcardisusedtowritedownother

thingsIneedtoaccomplishduringtheday.Ican'tusemorespacethanthatone

card.Sotwothings:1.Getenergytoputintothething(workout).2.Identify

thething(s).Thissetsyouuptobeproactive.Andbeingproactivemakesyouthe

bestkindofproductive.

KyleEschenroeder,founderofStartupBros.com.

JasonFalls(Twitter:@JasonFalls)

www.jasonfalls.comThesingle-smartestthingI'veeverdonetomanagetimeis

actuallyput"Work"inmycalendarasameeting.Thattimeisbooked,itis

preciousandnoonegetstohijackit.WhetherIneedtowriteablogpost,a

strategyforaclient,orresearchatopicI'mwritingapresentationabout,itgoes

onthecalendarsoIhaveuninterruptedtimetodevotetothattask.

JasonFallsisstrategist,author,andspeakerwhoistheSVPofDigitalStrategy

atElasticity,amarketingagency.

JonFerrara(Twitter:@Jon_Ferrara)

www.nimble.comYoucanachiveanythingyouwantifyourememberthethree

P'sofSuccess.Passion,PlanandPurpose.FindyourPassion,CreateaPlanto

Achieveit,MakeitYourPurposeEveryday.

JonFerraraisthepioneerandcreatorof#CRMsolutions,CEO-Nimble,

FounderofGoldMine.Interests:#SocialSelling,SocialBusiness,Customer

Lifecycle,Acquisition&Retention.

EzraFirestone(Twitter:@ezrafirestone)

www.smartmarketer.comTimeisaconcept.Youhaveasmuchofitasyouneed

forthethingsyoudecideareimportantenoughtospendyourtimeon.Take

completeaction.Onceyoudecidetotakeaction,fullycommittothatactionand

don'tsecondguessyourselfduringtheprocess.

EzraisaneCommerceentrepreneur,businesseducator,andaloveroflife.

PatFlynn(Twitter:@PatFlynn)

www.smartpassiveincome.comIbatchprocessasmuchasIcan.Fromblog

poststopodcastepisodes,creatingvideostoansweringemails,Ifocuson

stayingproductivebymaximizingmyoutputononeparticulartypeofcontentin

longstretchesoftime.Thisreducestransitiontimebetweenvariousactivities

anditallowsmetocontinuetodripfeedcontentovertimetomyaudiencewhile

I'mbusycreatingnewcontent.

PatFlynnisaserialentrepreneurwhoismostwellknownforhisworkon

SmartPassiveIncome.com,awebsiteheusestodocumenthisvariousincome

generationexperimentsonlinesothatotherscanlearnfrombothhiswins,and

hisfailures.He'sfullytransparentwitheverything,includinghowmuchmoney

he'smakingfromeachofhisonlineventures.

AdamFranklin(Twitter:@Franklin_Adam)

www.bluewiremedia.com.auMybestadviceistoscheduletimeinyourdayfor

exercisingandthinking,ideallyatthesametime.Running,orwalking,isperfect

forthis.Listentopodcastsoraudiobookswhilstjoggingandmakesureyou've

gotEvernotesoyoucanstopandtakenoteswhenideasandinspirationstrike!

AdamFranklinistheco-authorofWebMarketingThatWorksandsocialmedia

speaker.

MattFrazier(Twitter:@NoMeatAthlete)

www.NoMeatAthlete.comWhenitcomestocontent,beaproducer,nota

consumer.IfyoucanquitwatchingTV,stopspendingtimeonnewssites,and

quitwasting"justafewseconds"20timesadayonFacebookandTwitter,you'll

beamazedathowmuchtimeyoufreeup.Nottomentionallthenegativityand

fear-mongeringyoumissouton.

MattFrazierisaveganultramarathonerandfounderoftheNoMeatAthlete

movement.

RandyGage(Twitter:@Randy_Gage)

www.randygage.comIalwaysstartwiththemostimportantthingonmypriority

list.Ifyoudidn'tspendyourweekworkingonthemostimportantthing,itwasa

weekwasted.

RandyGageistheauthorofninebooksonsuccess,includingtheNewYork

Timesbestseller,RiskyIstheNewSafe.

ToddGarland(Twitter:@toddo)

www.buysellads.comIhavetwofilesonmydesktop:today.txtandthis-

month.txt.Everyday,whileridinghomeonthetrain,Iupdatethecontentsof

bothfiles.WhenIstartworkthenextday,Ihaveanimmediatelyactionablelist

ofthingsIwouldliketoaccomplishforthedaywaitingformeintoday.txt.

ToddGarlandisthefounderofBuySellAds,themonetizationsolutionofchoice

forhigh-qualitycontentcreatorsVictoriaGibson(Twitter:

@VictoriaGibson1)

www.victoriagibson.comScheduleeverythingandaddalarmstoyourphone.If

it'snotscheduleditain'treal!Also,startwiththosethingsyouleastwanttodo,

butwillmakethemostdifference.GoogleCalendarismyappforthis.

VictoriaGibsonisasuccessmentortowomenwhowantcreatemassiveresults

online.

ErinGiles(Twitter:@erinmgiles)

www.eringiles.comIrecentlylearnedthebestwayformetoremainproductive

(andsane)asaworkfromhomemomoftwoistogivemyselfanhourofalone

timeeverymorning.It'sthebestgiftIcangivemyself,mywork,andmyfamily.

ErinGilesisthefounderofEndSexTraffickingDay,apublishedauthor,andan

entrepreneurialcoachthathelpswomenwithbigideasmakerealprogress.

CharlieGilkey(Twitter:@CharlieGilkey)

www.ProductiveFlourishing.comDefineyourprioritiesandtakeconsistent

actiononthem.Toomanypeoplehave17"priorities"(whichmeanstheyreally

havenone)thattheyerraticallytakeactionon,withtheendresultthattheyfeel

likethey'redoingalotbutgettingnowhere.Bettertodefinethethingsthattruly

matterandcommittotakingactiononthemregularlyandconsistentlythantobe

stuckinthebinge-crash-regret-recommitcycle.

CharlieGilkeyisabestsellingauthor,businessadvisor,andthefounderof

ProductiveFlourishing,oneofthetopwebsitesonplanning,productivity,and

strategyforcreativepeople.

DouglasGoldstein,CFP®(Twitter:@RichAsAKing)

www.RichAsAKing.comOnlyDoitTwice:Asanentrepreneur,investor,parent,

boss,orsomeonewhojustwantstosucceed,keepyoureyesoutfornewideas

andapproaches.Onceyoufindsomethingyoulike,stickwithit–

metaphorically,notliterally.Thekeytosuccessisnotforyoutodothesame

thing(nomatterhowsuccessfulitis)againandagain.Truesuccessiscreatinga

systemanddelegatingtheworktosomeoneelse,leavingyouthetimetofind

othergreatideas.Here’showitworks:Step1.Findanewidea.That’sall.Step

2.Onceyou’velatchedontosomethingnew,buildasystemtoallowsomeone

(orsomething)elsetodoit.Thesecond…andLASTtime…thatyouwilldo

thatprocesswillbewhenyouaremakingitintoasystemthateitherastaff

member,virtualassistant,orcomputercandofromthenon.

DouglasGoldstein,CFP®istheco-authorofthebestsellingbookRichAsA

King:HowtheWisdomofChessCanMakeYouaGrandmasterofInvesting,

andhe’sapersonalfinancialadvisorspecializinginpeoplelivingoutsidethe

UnitedStateswhowanttohaveU.S.brokerageaccounts.

MitchGordon(Twitter:@MitchGordonGo)

www.GoOverseas.com1)Onlycheckemailonce,twiceadaymaximum.You

needslowtimetothink,reflectandcomeupwithnewideas.Theswitchingcosts

ofgoingbackandforthbetweenemailandothertaskscanaffectfocusinvery

negativeways.Focusononethingatatime.Studiesshowthatmulti-taskingis

actuallycounterproductive.2)OnlydowhatonlyYOUcando.Everythingelse?

Delegate!

It'stheonlywayyou'lltrulybeabletogrowyourbusiness.3)

Automateandcomeupwithsystemsasmuchasyoucan.Alwaysthink:Isthere

awaytoautomatewhatI'mdoingrightnow?4)HaveaDigitalDetox,techfree

day.Itwillhelpyoubemoreproductiveineverypossibleway.Youneedtimeto

recharge.

MitchGordonistheCEO/co-founderofGoOverseasandtheEntrepreneurin

ResidenceattheUCBerkeleyHaasSchoolofBusiness.Hismostrecent

company,GoOverseas,hasbecomethemosttrustedresourceforresearching

internationaleducationprogramsaroundtheworld.

CorrinaGordon-Barnes(Twitter:@CorrinaGB)

www.youinspireme.co.ukIdentifythestubborntaskonyourToDolist—theone

youkeepprocrastinatingabout.Now,identifytheBELIEFSthatareblocking

youfrommovingforward.Forexample,let'ssayyourtaskis"writenewAbout

page"youmightidentifyblockingbeliefslike"they'llthinkI'mboring"or"I

don'tknowwhattosay".Then,imagineyoucannotbelievethosethoughts.It's

likeyourbrainisnowwireddifferentlyanditwouldn'tevenoccurtoyouto

thinkthosethoughts.Whatwouldbeyournextactionstep,ifyouwerefreefrom

thosethoughts?Ifyournextactionseemscomplex,breakitdowninto10or30

minutechunksandnoticewhatit'sliketomoveaheadwithoutthestressful

thoughtsintheway.

CorrinaGordon-Barnessupportsself-employedmenandwomen.

JasonGracia(Twitter:)

www.TheExpertAgency.comMyproductivityphilosophyissimple:Dowhat

matters.Peopleareincrediblygiftedatstayingbusyallhoursofthedaydoing

thetrivial,doingthethingsthatkeepthemawayfromthethingstheyknowtruly

matter.Theproblem?Whatmattersisoftenwhatscaresus.It'sthoseideasthat

pushusbeyondourcomfortzonesthataresoimportant,ideasmostofusavoid

atallcosts.Butourbusinesseschange,ourliveschange,whenwestopavoiding

thediscomfortofprogressandbegintodowhatmatters.

JasonGraciaistheauthorofShiftingtheBalanceandfounderofTheExpert

Agency,theonlyfull-serviceagencyofitskindtoofferthetoolsandtraining

expertsneededtobuildprofitableonlinebusinessesaroundtheirunique

experienceandexpertise.

TimGrahl(Twitter:@timgrahl)

www.timgrahl.comIalwaysstartwiththe"why"fortheprojectI'mworkingon.

Ihavetohaveasolid,deeplyfeltreasonforwhythisprojectisimportanttome

andtotheworld.OnceIhavethat,alloftheothertimemanagementstuffIdo—

gettingupat4am,turningoffemail,avoidingsocialmedia,planningmyday,etc

—becomesmuch,mucheasier.

TimGrahlistheauthorofYourFirst1000Copies:TheStep-by-StepGuideto

MarketingYourBook.

DanGranger

www.OxfordRoad.comNozbeandEvernotehavebeengreattoolsforme.But

thesheeractofplacingthoughts,ideas,andplansinsomethingexternalhasbeen

critical.Evenifjustonpaper.Notjustbecauseitallowsmetoordermysteps,

butalsobecauseitservesasaventilationsystemformymind.Withbacktoback

meetingsallday,itisimpossibletokeepeverythinginmyheadandstillbe

strategic.Gettingoutallowsmetomakesureeverythingisdealtwith

appropriately.

DanGrangeristheCEOandfounderofOxfordRoad,aLosAngelesbasedAd

Agencyhelpingonlinetechcompaniesscaletheircustomeracquisitionefforts

throughadvertisingonchannelslikePodcast,Radio,andNationalTelevision.

JenGroover(Twitter:@jengroover)

www.jengroover.comThisisprobablycomingatadifferentanglethanmost,but

energymanagementismyfocusonhowIapproachtimemanagementand

productivity.Mymentalclarityismymostvaluableassettoincreasemy

productivity,IdothisbybeingmindfulofthefoodsthatIeat,thethoughtsI

think,thehoursIsleep,andhowIspendtimeoutsideoftheworkspace.I

consciouslychoosetosurroundmyselfbyotherpositiveandproductivepeople,I

refusetoallowdramainmylife(orpeoplethatcreateit).Iwatchverylittle

television,butwhenIdo,itispositiveandinspiringcontent.Iamalsoconscious

ofwhatIreadandlistento.Mostpeopleareoblivioustohowcritically

importanttheirhealthandemotionalwellnessistotheirproductivityand

efficiency.Yourbodyisamachine.Fuelitproperly(physically,mentally,

emotionallyandspiritually)andyouwillnaturallybemoreefficient.

JenGrooverisaserialentrepreneur,author,motivationalspeaker,TVhost,and

UNdelegate.

GarrettB.Gunderson(Twitter:@wealthfactory)

www.WealthFactory.comStartyourdaywiththethree“E”s:exercise,education

andenlightenment.Exercising,forfiveminutesor50minutes,willjumpstart

yourday.Next,readorlistentosomethinginyourareaofexpertise.Thencreate

spaceinyourmindthroughmeditation,gratitude,prayer,orwhateverwillhelp

youfocusandgivepurposetoyourday.Thisroutinewillhelpyoustayabundant

intimesthatfeelscarce,andcreativeintimesthatfeelconstrained.

GarrettGunderson,NYTimesBestsellingauthor,isachampionforfinding

cashforentrepreneurswithouthavingtoworkharder,takeanyadditionalrisk

orsacrificebyspendingless.

ChadHamzeh

www.dsv2.comMyfatherpassedawayattheageof64,backin2011,aftera

battlewithcancer.InhisfinaltwoyearsIhelpedhimwithagreatdealofwhat

hewasgoingthrough.However,Iwasalsoworkingabout12-14hoursperday

atthetime.Thedaysleadingup,thedayof,andthedaysafterhepassed,Iwas

answeringsupportemailsanddoingothertasksthat,really,someoneelsecould

havebeendoing.AndalthoughIwasbyhisside,thiswasawakeupcallthat

somethingneededtochange.So,theonetipIcangive,isapromiseImadeto

myselfatthattime.IpromisedtoneverdoanothertaskthatIdidn'tenjoy,and

thatsomeoneelsecoulddo.Whenyouputthosetwofiltersonyourto-dolist,

andyou'rehonestanddisciplinedaboutit,you'llrealizethatalmosteveryactual

taskcanbedonebysomeoneelse,andforcheaperthanwhatyourtimeand

energyareworth.Andthisisn'tjustreservedfor"$20/hourtasks".Ifindthatthe

morevaluabletasks,the"triple-digit-per-hour"things,oftengiveyouthebiggest

ROIwhenyouhirearealprotohandlethem.Doingthisfreesyourtimeand

energytoworkontheREALLYtrulyimportantthingsinyourbusiness,andof

course,yourlife.

ChadHamzehisfounderofDSV2Media,wherehemanagesover$20Millionin

onlineadspendperyear.Heisconsideredbymanyasthe"gotoguy"foronline

trafficgeneration.

CraigA.Handley(Twitter:@CraigAHandley)

www.ListenUpEspanol.comIreadalotofbooksand/orarticles,andI'mpartof

manyMastermindgroupswhereideasandinformationaresharedprettyfreely

amongstpeoplewhoalreadyaresuccessful.Ibelievetobetrulysuccessfulyou

cannotbeonthehamsterwheel.Youneedtimetothinkandexplore.Thisleads

toamultitudeofprojects.Weplanuptofourprojectsperquarterperproject

managertoselectivelyinvestinandplanastrategyaroundthoseprojects.This

meansthatnoonepersoncanbeinvolvedinmorethanfourprojectssowemay

beabletohavesixorsevengoinginasinglequarter.Otherideasmightbegreat

butaredelayed.Soonekeytobeingproductiveistofocus.Wethenpractice

committedactiontohittimelinesandgoalsoftheprojectandIcheckonthe

progressofthoseprojectswitha15minutecalleachdaywhereweshare

progress,challenges,areasweneedhelp,orareaswe'reavailabletogivehelp.

CraigHandleyisanentrepreneur,publicspeaker,andphilanthropist.Anexpert

inmarketing,sales,andbrandexpansion,HandleyistheCEOandfounderof

thehugelysuccessful“ListenUpEspanol,”whichwasnamed#1inBusiness

ProductsandService(#27overall)onInc.Magazine’s500/5000list.

JordanHarbinger(Twitter:@theartofcharm)

www.theartofcharm.comUseacalendarandscheduleyourentiredayinto15-

minute

blocks.Itsoundslikeapain,butthiswillsetyouupinthe95th

percentileasfarasorganizationgoes.Ifit'snotonthecalendar,itdoesn'tget

done.Ifit'sonthecalendar,itgetsdonenomatterwhat.Usethisnotjustfor

appointments,butworkouts,calls,emailblocks,etc.Thisisthedifference

betweenpeoplewhoworkforeighthoursandgeteighthoursofworkdone,and

peoplewhoworkfor20hoursandgeteighthoursofworkdone.

JordanHarbingeristheco-founderofTheArtofCharmandhostofTheArtof

CharmPodcast,aschoolthatteachesnetworkingandrelationship-development

skills.

VerneHarnish(Twitter:@theGrowthGuy)

www.scalingup.com"Routinesetsyoufree"isthemantraunderpinningour

toolsandapproachinScalingUpcompanies,includingthe15minutedaily

huddlewithyourteam(andspouse!)thatwillsaveeveryonecollectivelyoveran

houreachdayandallowyoutoavoidminortrainwrecks(thatgrowintobigger

problems)andtakeadvantageofimmediateopportunities."Ifyouwanttomove

faster,pulsefaster".

VerneHarnishisfounderofEO;CEOofGazelles;andauthorofScalingUp

(RockefellerHabits2.0).

KevinHarrington(Twitter:@theGrowthGuy)

www.kevinharrington.tvBeforeIdecidetotakeonanewproject,Ianalyzeit…

Howmuchofmytimewillthistake,andwhatismyfinancialupsidepotential.I

createa“dollarperminute”analysis,hopefullyaMillionDollarperweek

upside.

KevinHarrington,theinventoroftheInfomercial,bestsellingauthor,original

investoronSharkTankandfounderandchairmanofAsSeenOnTV,Inc.

SherisseHawkins(Twitter:@gobeneaththeink)

www.beneaththeink.comDeterminethemostimportantthingagainstclear

criteriaofwhatyouwanttomeasure,thenmakesureyoufocusonthose

activitiesfirst.Favoriteapp:Assistant.to.Philosophy:"Ifyoucan'tbepositive

aboutit*tartover."Personalritual:findtimefor10minute"mini"meditation

everyday.Exercisingmakesyou50%moreproductive.Notexercisingis-75%

(negative75%).

SherisseisaformerWaltDisneyImagineerandengineeringexecwhoseloveof

technologyandcreativityspurredhertobecomeanentrepreneurinthedigital

publishingspace.

DeaconHayes(Twitter:@deaconhayes)

www.WellKeptWallet.comIhavelearnedthatthebestwaytogetsomething

doneistohaveitonmyGoogleCalendar.IfIgetataskthatistimesensitive,I

assignittoafreeslotonmycalendar.Whenthattimeapproaches,Igeta

reminderonmysmartwatch(moto360),10minutesbeforeIneedtostartthe

task.IfIamdoingsomethingthatican’tbreakawayfrom,Ithenreassignthat

tasktoalatertime.Thishashelpedmebewaymoreproductiveaswellasithas

ensuredthattasksdon'tslipthroughthecracks.

DeaconHayesisthefounderandCEOofWellKeptWalletwhichprovides

financialcoachingandpersonalfinancecurriculum.

CarlDanielHeaton(Twitter:@webcoursesbkk)

www.webcoursesbangkok.comHavingalotofpeoplewantingmeetings,

consulting,orjusttomeetupputsalotofstrainonmyassistanttojugglemy

time.OneofthemostusefulpagesIhaveonmywebsiteisalivefeedtomy

schedule.Ithenaskpeoplewantingmytimetorecommendtwotothreetimes

thatsuitthemandwecanthenscheduletheminaccordingly.Asforproductivity

toolslooknofurtherthanTrello,itisanexcellentserviceandworkswellwith

anyindustryforprojectmanagement.

CarlisthefounderofWebCoursesInternationalDesignSchool,aUX

consultant,speaker,andauthor.

ToddHenry(Twitter:@toddhenry)

www.toddhenry.comNeversacrificelongtermeffectivenessonthealtarof

short-termefficiency.Dosomethingeverydaythatwillreaprewardsdownthe

road.

ToddHenryistheauthorofDieEmptyandTheAccidentalCreativeandthe

founderofAccidentalCreative.

GregHickman(Twitter:@gjhickman)

www.greghickman.meIlivebythephilosophythatifit'snotonthecalendar,it

doesn'texist.IplanmydaystheeveningbeforeandIwakeupandbeginmy

MiracleMorningwhichIlearnedfromHalElrod.TheMiracleMorninghas

beencriticaltostartingmydayonmyowntermsbutmycalendarissacred.I

makesuretoblockatleasttwotofourhoursperdaytospendonmyhighest

priorityfortheday.Ihavescheduledbreaksandtimeforemailandmeetings.

Managingyourcalendarandnotlettingitmanageyouallowsmetobeproactive

insteadofreactive.Ifyou'realwaysreactingyou'relikelynevertogetthemain

prioritiesaccomplished.

GregHickmanisthefounderofMobileMarketingEngine,amobilemarketing

agencyandeducationcompanyforsmallbusinesses.HeistheauthorofThe

SMSMarketingHandbookandwritesaboutentrepreneurshipandbuildingstuff

onhisblog.

RyanHolmes(Twitter:@invoker)

www.hootsuite.comKeepemailsshortandsweet.Overtheyears,I’vetrained

myselftowritethree-sentenceemails(aconceptexpoundedhere),leavingout

thefluffandkeepingonlythemostessentialpoints.Itsavesmytimeanditsaves

thereader’stime.WheneverIgetalongemailfromanewemployee,Iask

myselfifthingscouldhavebeenexpressedmoreconcisely.Heorshehasspent

alotoftheirowntimecomposingitandnowit’sconsumingalotofmytime,as

well,sinceIhavetoreadit.Andtimeisoftenaboss’smostvaluable

commodity.Ratherthansendlongemails,savemoresubstantialcommunication

foraphonecallormeeting.

RyanHolmesisthefounderandCEOofHootSuite,asocialmediamanagement

toolforbusinesses.

LewisHowes(Twitter:@lewishowes)

www.lewishowes.comFocusonwhatyouaregreatatandhireeveryoneelseto

dotherest.

LewisHowesisabestsellingauthor,entrepreneur,andformerprofessional

ArenaLeaguefootballplayer.HeisthehostofTheSchoolofGreatness,atalk

showdistributedasapodcast.

DannyIny(Twitter:@DannyIny)

www.FirepoleMarketing.comThebiglieoftimemanagementisthatyoucan't

managetime,butyoucanmanagefocusandenergy.Inotherwords,anhourwill

neverbeaminutelongerorshorterthananhour,butwhatyoucanaccomplishin

thathourisdependentonyourenergyandinspiration.Sohowdoyoucreatean

effectiveworkroutine?Simple:bychoosingwhatyouwantittobe,ratherthan

lettingothersdictateitforyou.Exceptthatmostpeopledoexactlytheopposite,

throughonesimple(terrible)habit:theychecktheiremailfirstthinginthe

morning,oftenbeforetheyevengetoutofbed.Thismeansthattheirfocusand

energyaregoingwhereothersaredirectingit,ratherthanwheretheystandto

makethegreatestimpact.Themuchbetterapproachistostayawayfromemail

untilyou'veaccomplishedatleastonethingthatyoufeelisworthwhile,andonly

thenturnyourattentiontowhateveryoneelseneedsfromyou.Ican'tsaythat

I'malways100%successfulatthis,butIdoitmostdays,andthosearethedays

whenIaccomplishthemost.

DannyIny,founderofmarketingeducationfirmFirepoleMarketing,isthe

bestsellingauthorofEngagementfromScratch!andTheAudienceRevolution.

JaredKleinert(Twitter:@jaredkleinert)

www.2billionunder20.comToomanypeoplesearchforquickfixes,timehacks,

andotherwaystosaveafewminuteshereandshaveoffameetingthere.

However,perhapsthebiggest"hack"ofthemallistoreallybeconsciousabout

allofyourdecisions,atamacrolevelandatamicrolevel.Personally,Idon't

watchTV,gotothemoviesmorethanonceaquarternormally,useSnapchator

Instagram,haveNetflix,andthere'sprobablyahalfdozenotherthingsmost

peoplewoulddothatIdon't.Intermsoftimemanagementspecifically,Isave

twotothreehourseasily,andmostlikelymore,perdayfromnotengagingin

theseactivities.Therefore,atamicrolevel,ifameetingrunsover,orIcheck

emailtoomuch(whichIdo),orgetlazyanddecidetotakeahalfdayoffevery

onceinawhile,althoughIfeelguiltyatthetime,

IknowI'vealreadysavedaton

oftime.Thesameprincipleappliesinmydecisionsofwhetherornottogoto

university.Lastyear,Idecidedtotakeagapyearbetweenhighschooland

college,and"saved"40+hoursaweekthatwouldhavebeenallocatedto

studyingandclasses,andinsteadappliedittowardsgrowingmybusinesses.

WhenIgotintoNYUthisyear,IdecidedthatI'dtakeanothergapyearthis

upcomingyearbecause,atamacrolevel,Iwantedtobeefficientwithmytime

inscalingmywork.Icouldtrytobalanceschoolandgrowingmultiple

companies,butbytakinganothergapyear,I'vesavedthousandsofhoursmy

peerswon'tintermsofapplyingittomycareer.Forsome,thatinvestmentof

timemaybeagreatproductivity"hack"longtermbecausetheymaysaveyears

ofcorporateladderclimbingwithbetterdegrees,connections,andskillssome

universitiesprovide.However,formepersonally(andthismaychange...it'sall

aboutbeingdeliberateeachandeveryyear,andwitheverydecision),it'smore

productivetopostponeschool,savinglotsoftime(nottomentionmoney)for

measayoungentrepreneurspecifically.

JaredKleinertistheco-authorof2BillionUnder20,andco-founderofthenon-

profitofthesamename.

LukeLorio(Twitter:@lukeiorio)

www.iPECcoaching.comYoucan'tmanagetime—meaningminutesare60

secondslongandhoursare60minuteslong.That'snotgoingtochange.Butyou

canmanagechoices.Whenyou'reclearonyourchoices—prioritiesandstepsto

achievethosepriorities,thenyoubecomehighlyproductiveandsatisfiedwith

howyouspendyourtime.Topthreethings/scheduleblocking—everydayI

beginbylookingatthetopthreethingsIwanttoaccomplishthatday,inpriority

order.Foranythingthatisnonnegotiable,youneedtopracticeschedule

blocking—meaning,evenbeforeyoubeginyourweekreally,youshouldblock

offchunksoftimewhereyoucangetworkdone.Youshouldneverinterrupt

thoseblocksformeetingsordistractionsofanykindunlessit'sanurgentAND

importantissue,andeventhen,youshouldconsiderwhetheritcanreallywait

untilafteryoucomeupforair.HeadStart—atleastthreetimesaweek,think

aboutyournextday,thinkaboutwhatyouwilldofirst,andwhat'syourstarting

pointforthatactivity/task.Writethatstartingpointdown.Thefollowing

morning,insteadofwastingtimeonhowtobegin,youcanjustdivein.Youstart

thedaywithalittlemomentum.

LukeIorioisaperformancecoach,speaker,andtheCEOandpresidentofthe

InstituteforProfessionalExcellenceinCoaching(iPEC),thenation'sleading

coachtrainingorganization.

DaveJackson(Twitter:@learntopodcast)

www.schoolofpodcasting.comIuseanofficeawayfrommyhome.Thishelps

mefocuswhenI'mtheretodowork.Iuseasana.comtocreatea"todo"listandI

knowwhenI'minmyofficewhatIneedtodo.Iamlaserfocused.Thisalso

allowsmetofocusmoreonmyfamilywhenI'mhome.Iactuallyworkless

hours,butbecauseI'mmorefocused,Igetmoredone.

DaveJacksonhasbeenpodcastingsince2005whenhefoundedtheSchoolof

Podcasting.HeistheauthorofthebookMorePodcastMoney,aregular

contributortoPodertainmentmagazine.Youcanfindhimat

schoolofpodcasting.com.

AbelJames(Twitter:@fatburnman)

www.fatburningman.comGetyourbloodpumpingforatleastaminuteortwo

everyday.Quickworkoutsgiveahugeboosttoenergyandfeedthebrainwith

theoxygenyouneedtotakeovertheworld.

AbelJamesisabestsellingauthor,musician,andhostofthe#1-ratedhealth

podcast,FatBurningMan.

MitchJoel(Twitter:@mitchjoel)

www.mitchjoel.comYourmobiledevice?TurnoffALLnotifications.Onlylook

whenyouhavetimeorwhenyouhavescheduledtimetodealwithit.Granted,I

haveauniquetoneformywife,butthat'saboutit.Don'tlettechnologycontrol

you...youcontrolyourtechnology.

MitchJoelispresidentofMirum—aglobaldigitalmarketingagencyoperating

incloseto20countries.Hisfirstbook,SixPixelsofSeparation,namedafterhis

successfulblogandpodcastisabusinessandmarketingbestseller.Hissecond

book,CTRLALTDelete,wasnamedoneofthebestbusinessbooksof2013by

Amazon.com.

NicoleJolie(Twitter:@SkinByRadiance)

www.loveradianceskincare.comIchunkmyday,usingAsanaandEvernoteto

keepincontactwithmyassistantandkeeptrackofwhatI'maccomplishing.I

writedowneverythingI'vedonesothatI'mabletokeeptrackofmytime.Idon't

"plan"mydayunlessIhavesomethingthatisscheduled,butrather,Ilookatthe

endresultofwhatIwanttohappenfortheweek,month,quarter,andyearandI

focusoncompletingthatmilestone.I'mfindingtheless"todo"superfluous

blingblingIhavetodealwith,theeasiermybusinessruns.Ihavetogetoutof

myownwayandthewayofmybusinessforittorunefficientlyandeffectively.

IstayproductivebyhiringoutforprojectsIknowcangetdonefasterandwith

moreeasesothatIamabletocontinuallyfocusongrowingmybusiness.

Morningritual?Peefirst.Thendrinkwater.Peeagain.Drinkcoffee.Walk

FantasticScraptasic.Pee.:)Favoritemobileapp?LifetimeFitnessbecauseIcan

schedulemyworkoutsbasedontheinstructor.Verycoolapp.Forscheduling

thingstodo?AsanaandEvernote.Recommendedresource?Fiverr.Caffeine.

Meditation.Breathing.:)NicoleJolie,anentrepreneursincetheageof13when

shedecidedtobecomelegallyemancipatedandstartherowncookiecompany

calledCoupdeGracenowownsRadianceNaturallyAdvancedSkinCareher

ownlineofskincareforathletes.

ColbyB.Jubenville,Ph.D.(Twitter:@drjubenville)

www.redherringinc.comIworkwithCEO’s,COO’sandCFO’s,CMO’s,and

salespeoplethroughoutthecountry.ThefirstquestionIaskis,“Whatisthe

highestvalueofyourtime?”Mostofthetimetheypauseandsitbackintheir

chairandsay,“Idon’tknowifIcananswerthat.”Andit’swhatevery

entrepreneurshouldbeaskingthemselves.That’swhenthecoachingstarts.To

knowwhatthehighestvalueofyourtimeis,onemustfirstknowtheirdominant

focusortheonethingtheywanttoaccomplishinthebusinessorlife.Ithenask

iftheycandothreethingsaday,fiveaweek,60amonthtowardsadominant

focusintheirbusinessorlife.Whatyouwillfindisifyouknowyourdominant

focusandthehighestvalueofyourtimeandthenbuildasystemtobringthatto

action—itcanandwillhappen.

ColbyB.Jubenville,Ph.D.isprincipalofRedHerringInnovationandDesign

andanaccomplishedauthor,speaker,professor,entrepreneur,andinventor.

AuniaKahn(Twitter:@auniakahn)

www.auniakahn.comTimemanagementisaveryimportantaspectinhowour

livesarelivedeachday.Withsomanytransformationsintheworldtoday,such

astherelianceontechnologyadvancementsandhowquickeverythingmoves,

weneedtoworkdiligentlyinmanagingtimeeffectively,efficiently,andjoyfully

togetthemostoutoflife.Asapersonwho’sfast-pacedandenjoysherjob,I

finditessentialtoscheduletimetorecuperateandrelaxbecauseitmakesthe

wholecycleofworkandplaysomuchmoreproductive.Istartmydayswith

exercise,agoodhealthybreakfast,andIwalkmythreerescuedogstohelpme

wakeup,clearmymind,andprepareforthelongdayahead.Ischedulemyweek

onSundaysandcreateaplanfortheweekaheadbasedindeadlines,personal

interests,andwhilealsoleavingroomforchanges,andthingsthatmightcome

upunexpectedly.IalwaysgetoutofthewaythethingsIdon’tenjoydoing

beforeIjumpheadlongintothethingsIfindmorejoyful.Ibreakupmydayby

headingoutdoorsforafewmomentstotakeinsomefreshair—evenifrainingor

cold(butnotifwearehavingtornadoeswink).

AuniaKahnisinternallyawareandanexhibitedfigurativeartist,photographer,

publishedauthor,creativeentrepreneur,andinspirational

speaker.Sheisthe

ownerofAuniaKahnLLC,AlexiEraGallery,LokreignPublishing,andthe

Create&InspirePodcast/Blog.

BradenKelley(Twitter:@innovate)

www.bradenkelley.comIachievemaximumproductivitybyutilizingasingle

input,multipleoutputcontentcreationapproach,andbyfocusingonexertingthe

minimaleffortpossibleformaximumeffectonthetasksbeforeme.Over-

deliveryononetaskusuallyleadstounder-deliveryonanotherwhenyou're

superbusy,andsoover-deliveryistobeavoided.

BradenKelleyisapopularauthor,innovationandchangemanagementkeynote

speaker,andco-founderofInnovationExcellence.com.

DaveKerpen(Twitter:@DaveKerpen)

www.LikeableLocal.comIfit'snotinmycalendar,itwon'tgetdone.Butifitis

inmycalendar,itwillgetdone.Ischeduleoutevery15minutesofeverydayto

conductmeetings,reviewmaterials,write,anddoanyactivitiesIneedtoget

done.AndwhileItakemeetingswithjustaboutanyonewhowantstomeetwith

me,Ireservejustonehouraweekforthese“officehours”.Peoplecanschedule

timeathttp://ScheduleDave.com,andIcangettheimportantthingsdone—the

restofmycalendar.

DaveKerpenistheNYTimesbestsellingauthorofthreebooks,theco-founder

&chairmanofLikeableMedia,andthefounder&CEOofLikeableLocal.

TravisKetchum(Twitter:@TravisKetchum)

www.ContestDomination.comIleveragemarketingautomationtools,aswellas

afewkeyphilosophiestomaximizemyproductivity.Tools:Infusionsoftand

ScheduleOnce.Beingabletocommunicatewithourcustomersandprospects

basedontheiractionsandthepaththeychoosetotakethroughourproductsand

servicesishuge.Bydesigningafunnelthataccountsforcontingencies,our

offersaresimultaneouslymorehumanandmoreeffective.Byusingascheduling

service,myhigherprofilecallsandmeetingsslotintomyavailabletimebased

onafewsimplebusinessrulesandtheavailabilityonmycalendar.Nomore

endless"whenareyouavailable?"emailloops.Tokeepmyselfsharp,I'vefound

thatbeingmorefocusedandactuallyspendinglesstimeinfrontofthecomputer

makesmemoreeffectivethanpouringendlesshoursintoemailetc.I'vefound

theretobediminishingreturnstorawscreentime,sobreakingupthattimeinto

smallersprintsandhavingaregularworkoutregimendoeswonderstoboost

productivity.

TravisKetchumisthefounder&CEOofContestDomination™,themost

powerfulandprovenleadgeneratorforsales.

PhyllisKhare(Twitter:@PhyllisKhare)

www.TimeBliss.MeIjusthadnochoice,yousee:Iwassimplyforcedinto

findingabetterwayofmanagingmyself,mytasks,andmytime.Itwaseither

thatorgocrazy,orcompletelygiveuponmycareer—orquitwritingmybooks.

Noneofthosewereanoption,soIwasforcedtoinventanewapproach,onethat

actuallyenabledmetotakecontrolovermyschedule,insteadofconstantly

beingcontrolledbyit.Youknowhowtheysay:evolveordie?Luckily,I

evolved.Withnootheroptionsandwithmybackagainstthewall,Idevelopeda

newwaytouseGoogleCalendartoschedulemyday…anditendedup

transformingmylife.

PhyllisKhareisco-founderofSocialMediaManagerSchool,creatorof

TimeBliss.ME,andauthorofSocialMediaMarketingeLearningKitfor

Dummiesandco-authorofFacebookMarketingAll-In-OneforDummies.

ShannonKinney(Twitter:@shannonkin)

www.dreamlocal.comRatherthanbeingdauntedbythesheervolumeofitems

onmy“todo”list,Ifocusonbite-sizedelements.Itracktasksinbiggroups(i.e.

ClientWork,CompanyNeeds,etc),andthenforeachIrevieweachweek

"What'sthenextaction?".Soratherthansay:"Buildnewtrainingdepartment"it

willsaysomethingmorelike"Interviewthreetopcandidatesfortrainingrole

Friday".ThiswayI'mabletoseewhereIcanhavethebestimpactandkeepall

ofmyprojectsmoving.Ialsospenttimeandthoughttocreatemysystemof

lists,taskassignments,andtrustthatitwillwork.Idon'tlosesleepwonderingif

I'verememberedeverything,becauseItrustmysystem.Focusingonthenext

actionhashelpedmegetmoredone,faster,andIbelievemyqualityofworkis

higherbecauseI'mnotdaunted.I'minspiredtotakethatstep!

FounderandClientSuccessOfficeratDreamLocalDigital,digitalmarketing

strategydevelopment,management,andimplementationforthousandsof

companies.

JakeKloberdanz(Twitter:@jakekloberdanz)

www.onehopewine.comFollowwhereyourenergytakesyouandputonefootin

frontoftheother.Beforeyouknowityou'llbelookingattheviewfromthetop

ofthemountain.It’slessabouthowbigthestepsarealongthewayandmore

aboutcontinuingtotakestepsintherightdirection.Toknowtherightdirection

youmustcontinuetolookuptowardthelongtermvisonandnotalwaysbeheads

downlookingattheshorttermsteps.Othershavemadethequestbeforeyou,so

benotafraid,butrespectwhatitwilltakeandbehumblealongtheway.

JakeKloberdanz,CEOandfounderofONEHOPE,creatorofandexpertin

Cause-entricCommerce.

DonnaKozik(Twitter:@DonnaKozik)

www.FreeBookPlanner.comPracticeputtinginthebigrocksfirst.Inother

words,doyourmostimportantandrevenue-generatingitemsassoonasyoucan.

Mybestpracticeistowritefor20minutesusingtheEvernoteapponmyiPadas

soonasIgetupwhenenergyandideasarefresh.ThesetoolsmakeitsoeasyI

don'tevenhavetogetoutofbedtobeproductive.

DonnaKozikisanaward-winningauthor,speaker,andcreatorofWriteaBook

inaWeekend.

VasaviKumar,LMSW(Twitter:@askvasavi)

www.vasavikumar.comGetclearonyourpriorities.Therestwillfollow.

VasaviKumarisanadvocateofliberty.Shecanbecontactedat

www.vasavikumar.com.

JessicaKupferman(Twitter:@jesskupferman)

www.ladybusiness.bizIdon'tthinkonetoolistheanswer.Ithinkthekeyto

stayingproductive,ontask,andorganizedisbeingDIGITAL.Whatevertool

youtendtouse,whateveryougravitateto,makesureit'sonlinesoyoucannever

loseit,soyoucanshareitwithothers,andsoyoucanreceivenotifications.

Digitalisthewaytogo.Anotebookcan'tremindyouofanythingandit'seasily

lost.IuseavarietyofthingsbutmostlyGoogleCalendarandaniPhone,andI

wouldbewanderingaroundlostwithoutboth.

JessicaKupfermanisthefounderofthepopularpodcastsLadyBusinessRadio

andShePodcasts,andthefounderofPodcastingSchoolforWomen.Shehas

beenadigitalbusinessconsultanthelpingotherentrepreneurswiththeironline

businessesforover15years.

BrianKurtz(Twitter:)

www.briankurtz.meFirst,IwritedownthreethingsIamgratefulforevery

morningandIalsowritedownthreethingsthatwillmakethedaygreat.Plus

twoorthreeaffirmations.Second,everypieceofpaperhasaplace...andmy

goalistoabletoputmyhandsonanypieceofpaper,idea,followupitemwithin

oneminute.Third,Iwritedown"threewins"everydaybeforeIgotobed...no

matterhowgoodorhowbadanydayis,therearealwaysthreewinsinevery

day.Toolsused:1)"FiveMinuteJournal"(bookorapp).2)Workflowy,

SwiftfileandIfollowtheprinciplesofBarbaraHemphill(keybooks:Taming

ThePaperTigeratWorkandLessClutter,MoreLife).3)"WinStreak"(app).

BrianKurtzisaserialdirectmarketerwhonevermetamediumhedidn'tlike.

Hespent34yearsbuildingoneoftheleadingdirectmarketing/publishing

companiesever(BoardroomInc.)andisnowdedicatedtodirectmarketing

education,teachingtheeternaltruthsofdirectresponsemarketingtomarketers

past,presentandfuture.

RogerLee(Twitter:@RogerLeap)

www.rogerleearts.comIequateproductivitywithvisioning.Ialwayslivebythe

motto"Ifyoucanseeit,youcanachieveit!".Istarteachdaywithaprayer

beforestartingmywork.Iprayforfocus,strength,andvision.Thevisionhelps

meseemygoals

inreallifeform.Itmakesmygoalstangible.Iworkhardto

turnmyvisionsintospecificactionsteps.ThesestepsturnintotasksandTo-Do

Lists.Theselistshelpmestayproductiveeachday.Ialwayshavesomething

newandexcitingtoworktowards.Theultimatepayoffisseeingmyinitial

visionsturnintorealities.

RogerLeeisanaward-winningartist,educator,speaker,andentrepreneur.He

istheowneranddirectorofRogerLeeArtsAcademy,RogerLeeArts&

EntrepreneurshipConference,andRogerLeeDanceCompany.

LeeLeFever(Twitter:@leelefever)

www.commoncraft.comWe'vespentyearsatCommonCraftcreatingabusiness

thatscaleslikeastartup,butwithonlytwoemployees.Timemanagementand

planningarekey.Ourphilosophycomesdowntotheideathatyouplantthe

gardenyouwanttotend.Weareveryintentionalabouttheseedsweplant

becausesomeplantsmaysuckupallofyourtimewithoutprovidingany

nutrition.

LeeLeFeverisakeynotespeaker,founderofCommonCraft,andauthorofThe

ArtofExplanation.

TammyLevent(Twitter:@TammyLevent)

www.tammylevent.comAsCEOofEliteTravelmydaysarefilledwithseveral

thingsthatIneedtodo.AtthesametimeIalsohaveseveralprojectsontheside

suchastrainingtravelagentsthroughmyTravelAgentSuccessKit,speakingat

conferencesworldwideandcontributingtoanumberofpublications.Needless

tosay,it’sneveradullmoment.I’malwaysaskedhowIdoitallanditboils

downtotwosimplethings—First,ItextmyselfadailylistoftasksImust

completebeforemyworkdayisdoneandthenasIcompletethemIdeletethem

frommylist.Second,ifIdon’thavetimetofitsomethinginI’lleither

rescheduleitforthenextdayorifIcanI’lloutsourceit.Infact,outsourcing

freesupalotoftimeforme.Ihaveawriter,awebdesigner,agraphicartist,

otheragents,andmorethatIcancallontohandletasksforme.Ifyouneedto

freeuptimeinyourscheduleIwouldhighlyrecommendoutsourcing.Itdoesn’t

costasmuchasyoumightthinkanditwillopenupaworldofpossibilitiesfor

you.

Publicspeaker,renownedbusinesswoman,philanthropist,andmentor.Wantto

knowmore?GoogleMe!

DanielJ.Lewis(Twitter:@theRamenNoodle)

www.TheAudacitytoPodcast.comMakeappointmentswithyourself.Ioften

strugglewithgettingaroundtodothings.Igetwrappedupinoneprojectand

forgettheotherthingsIneedtodo.That'swheremakingandfollowingmyown

calendarhelps.Scheduletimetoworkonnothingbutthattaskthatneedstobe

done.Ievenhave"emailprocessing"and"social-networkparticipation"

scheduledintomyaveragedays.Thisgivesmededicatedtimetofocusonthese

tasks.Italsogivesmefreedomintherestofthedaytoavoidbeingdistractedby

thosetasksbecauseIknowIhaveasettimeforhandlingthem.

Danielcreatestrainingresourcesandpodcastingtools(likeMyPodcast

Reviews);offersone-on-oneconsultingandgrouptraining;isakeynotespeaker

onpodcastingandsocialmedia;andDanielhostsanetworkofaward-

nominatedshowscoveringhowtopodcast(TheAudacitytoPodcast),clean-

comedy(theRamenNoodle),andthe#1unofficialpodcastforABC'sh*tdrama

OnceUponaTime(ONCEpodcast).

TerryLin(Twitter:@itsmeterrylin)

www.buildmyonlinestore.comAnti-SocialisatoolI'vebeenusingsince2012to

blocksocialmediawebsitestoincreaseproductivity.Onceblocked,youmust

restartyourcomputerorwaitforthetimertoexpirebeforeyoucanaccessthe

sites.Youcanalsoincludecustomdomainslikenews,gossip,orforumsthatyou

frequentandknowareadistraction.

TerryLinisthefounderofBuildMyOnlineStore,apodcastdedicatedtohelp

E-Commerceentrepreneursgrowtheirsalesandtraffic.

RebeccaLivermore(Twitter:@rlivermore)

www.professionalcontentcreation.comIdesignedmyidealdayandweighout

commitmentsagainstit.Forexample,myprimewritingtimeisinthemornings,

soIavoidmakingappointmentsinthemorning,sincetheywouldcreatean"un-

ideal"dayforme.Ialsohaveathemeforthedayratherthandoingmultiple

thingseachday.Forinstance,todaythethememaybeclientwork,andthe

themetomorrowmaybewritingcontentformyownsite.Thiskeepsmefocused

andhelpsmegetmoredoneeachday.

RebeccaLivermoreisabestsellingauthor,contentmarketingconsultant,and

founderofProfessionalContentCreation.

JoshLondon(Twitter:@JoshLondonPPC)

www.ClickConvertProfit.comIhaveadedicatedTo-DolistthatIprintevery

morningwithjusttheessentialtasksIhavetocomplete(sortemails,complete

emails,completereminders,etc.).IalsouseanappcalledTeuxDeuxto

organizemyprojects.

JoshLondonisanonlineentrepreneurwhohelpsorganizationscreateand

manageremarkableSEOandPaidAdvertisingcampaigns.

DavidLong(Twitter:@Top10Manager)

www.MyEmployees.comGetupearly,andreadasmuchasyoucaneveryday.I

readthreetofourhourseveryday,andhaveforyears.Iattributethattomy

becomingamultimillionaire.Ifyoufailtolearnnewthings,youwillbecome

"roadkill"inthepathofyourcompetitors.

Founder/CEOofMyEmployees,a25year-oldfirmintheTop1%Worldwidein

theEmployeeEngagementandRecognitionindustry.Hisfirmspecializesin

helpingmanagersbuildstronger,moreengagingrelationshipswiththeirteam

members,whilelinkingtherewardsandrecognitionprogramtothedesired

goalsofthecompany.

GaryLoper(Twitter:@GaryLoper)

www.GaryLoper.comThemostimportantTimeManagementstrategyIhave

discoveredisinvesting1%ofyourdayinschedulingthenextday'sactivities.

Thatisonly14minutesaday.Surelyinvesting14minutesbeforebedisavery

beneficialhabit.Schedulingthenextday,justbeforegoingtobed,hasacouple

oftimesavingbenefits.1.Yournextday'sactivitieswillbeprioritized,knowing

whatneedstobeaccomplished.2.Yourmindisrelaxed,andyouaremuchless

apttotossandturntryingtogotosleep,thinkingaboutallthestuffyouneedto

do.3.Yoursubconsciousmindisworkingwhileyousleeponthebestmethods

toachievecompletionofyourtasks.4.It'sbeensaidthatinvesting14minutesin

scheduling,createsanextra56minutesofproductivityinyourday.Extra

productivity,extraandbettersleep,peaceofmind,andfocusedattentionareall

availableininvesting1%ofyourdayinprioritizingthenextday'srevenueand

goalaccomplishingactivities.

GaryLoperisarecognizedTwitterexpert,life,business,mindsetcoach,

motivationalspeaker,trainer,radiohost,andhighlyrespectedentrepreneur,

helpingpeoplemasterthebusinessoflifebyBuildingBetterRelationships.

NathalieLussier(Twitter:@NathLussier)

www.AmbitionAlly.comIsetfiveoverarchinggoalsperquarterformyselfand

myteam.Iwritethesedownonanotecardandkeepitbymycomputeror

workstationatalltimes.WheneverIfindmyselfwonderingwhattodonext,or

ifthethingI'mworkingonistherightthing...Ilookovermyfivegoalsand

priorities,andifit'snotcontributingtotheseprioritiesthenitdoesn'tneedto

happen.Thishelpsmeeliminatealotofthe"coolbutnotimportant"thingsthat

mightcomeupinthecourseofthedayorweek.

NathalieLussierisanaward-winningentrepreneur,keynotespeaker,andco-

founderofbusinesssoftwarecompanyAmbitionAlly.

NatalieMacNeil(Twitter:@nataliemacneil)

www.SheTakesOnTheWorld.comWhileappscanbewonderfulandhelpus

increaseproductivity,IprefertoplaninmyMoleskineExecutiveDaily.Ibreak

mydayintofourparts:Be,Do,Learn,Play.BE.Wespendsomuchtimebeing

busy,andverylittletimejustbeing.Istarteverydaygettingintoastateofflow,

movingmybodythroughyogaorexercise,journalingorreflectingonwhatI'm

gratefulfor,anddoingameditation.Iwilluseamudra(likeyogaforyour

hands)tosetanintentionforthe

nextpartoftheday.DO.Thesearethetasks

thatmustbedonetomovemeforwardtowardsmyfivebiggoalsfortheyear.I

planmyyearina5x5,Isetfivemajorgoalsandcreatefivemilestonesforeach,

givingme25mainthingstofocusonfortheyear.Usuallytherearethreetofive

majorthingsIneedtodoeachdaytostayontopofdeadlinesforthose

milestones.Keepingmyeyeonthebiggerpictureinthiswayallowsmetostay

superproductiveandlaserfocused.Ionlyspendtimeonwhatmattersmost.

LEARN.Withthemajortasksoutoftheway,Ilovedivingintolearningnew

things.It'sourresponsibilityasleaderstocontinuallylearnandexpandour

knowledge.Ikeepontopofmyindustry,butIalsopicktopicstostudythattake

meoutofmyworkandintroducemetosomethingnew.Forexample,I've

studiedherbologyandhowtomakeherbaltonicsandmedicines.I'vealsotaken

Thaicookingclasses,Frenchlessons,andmeditationteachertraining.Even

whenwe'regrownup,weshouldneverstoplearningandtryingsomethingnew

mightintroduceyoutoapartofyourselfyouneverknewbefore.Andeveryday

wehavetoPLAY.Manyofusspendalotoftimeatadeskandworking.Ithink

stayingconnectedtoyourinneradventurerandfreespiritcanhelploweryour

stresslevels,increaseproductivity,andpreventburnout.

NatalieMacNeilisanEmmyaward-winningmediaentrepreneur,creatorof

SheTakesOnTheWorld.com,andauthorofTheConquerKit(Perigee2015).

AubreyMarcus(Twitter:@aubreymarcus)

www.AubreyMarcus.comThewayIbestutilizemytimeistoacknowledgeand

cultivatestretcheswhereIaminflow.WhenIaminthoseheightenedstates,itis

anall-outsprint.

AubreyMarcusisthefounderandCEOofOnnit.comandthehostofseveraltop

podcasts.

PhilipMasiello(Twitter:@philipmasiello)

www.800razors.comEverydayIorganizemyworkdaybytasksthatwillimpact

growthinrevenueandcustomersfirst.Nextareitemsthatwillimpactcostthen

itemsthatwillimpactourpeopleandfinallyitemsthatwillimpactthefutureof

ourbusiness.

PhilipMasielloistheco-founder,CEOof800razors.com.Priortoco-founding

800razors.com,Mr.Masiellowasco-founderandpresidentofRawEssentialsby

CarolAlt,apioneerintherawandnaturalskincareindustry.Asan

entrepreneur,Mr.Masiellohasbeendisruptingbusinesssupplychainstocreate

consumervalueinthefood,fashion,andpersonalcarechannels,foundingover

10businessessincetheearly1980’s.Mr.MasielloholdsanMBAinFinance

andMarketingfromtheUniversityofMaryland.

TracyMatthews(Twitter:@tracymatthewsny)

www.FlourishThriveAcademy.comandwww.TracyMatthews.comMybeliefis

thatcreativepeopleoftenstrugglewithstructure,eventhoughstructureisthe

keytoproductivityandcreativity.Itwasn’tuntilIstartedmappingoutmydays,

thatIwasabletoreachthelevelsofcreativityandthebusinesssuccessIcraved.

Mydaysstartwithtwohoursofselfcare(journaling,meditationandexercise)

followedbytime-blockedsectionswhicharefocusedonmymainobjectivesfor

theweekandmonth.Inadditiontotimeblocking,weareimplementing“Scrum”

inmybusinessesandIencouragemyteamtosingle-task(asIdomyself).Asa

resultsorientedpersonbutacreativeatthecore,time-blockingandefficiency

toolslike“Scrum”havechangedmylife!

TracyMatthewsisaFineJewelryDesignersandthefounderofFlourish&

ThriveAcademy,thepremiereresourceforjewelrybusinesseducation.

CarlMattiola(Twitter:@cmattiola)

www.carlmattiola.comWorkontheonemostimpactfulthingonyourbusiness,

firstthinginthemorning.Spendtimethinkingandanalyzingwhatismost

importanteachweek.

CarlMattiolaisanentrepreneurandthefounderofClinicMetrics,ClinicRise,

andBreakthroughPhysicalTherapyMarketing.

AndrewMcCauley(Twitter:@andymac71)

www.autopilotyourbusiness.comIprepareaMUSTDOlistthenightbefore…

whenIgettomydesk,IdothoseitemsfirstbeforeIturnonmyemail.Iuse

Trellotokeepmyinlinewithmyday'stasksandcelebrateallthatIachieveina

day.Ikeepoffsocialmediamostoftheday,unlessit'srelatedtomyspecific

work.

AndrewMcCauleyistheco-founderofAutopilotYourBusiness.Speaker,

author,podcaster,andrankedtop100mostInfluentialTwitterusersworldwide.

JohnMcGinn(Twitter:@builtbysouth)

www.south.ioHowdoyoustayproductive?Truthfully,beingcreativeand

productiveisaveryrareoccurrenceforme.Itrytofocusonasingleimportant

taskperday.Completingthisoneimportanttasklet'smefeelmoresuccessfulin

themidstofeverythingelsegoingon.Beingoverwhelmedcrushesmycreative

spark.Ialsogetupandwalkaroundfrequentlyduringtheday.Jokingwithour

teamandaskingabouttheirlives.Theselittlediversionsalmostalwaystrigger

mybestideas.Howdoyouplanyourday?MostweeksmywifeandIrun

throughtheweekaheadonSundaynight,sincewehaveasharedcalendarand

sheaddsthingsonherphone,it'smoreofacasualthing.Mondaysafterlunch

ourteamgetstogetherfora'speedread'whereeveryonesayswhatthey're

workingon,andiftheyneedanyhelponanything.Ourprojectmanagerwill

takenotesandupdateeveryone’scalendar(mywifecanseethisaswell).One

companypolicythatthathasreallyhelpedus—noclientmeetingsonMondays

orFridays(thereisaneternalrecurringblock).Thisreallyhelpspreventpeople

fromworkingontheirweekendsforaMondaydeadline,orstaylateonFriday

tryingtowrapupsomethingafterameetingateuptheirday.Doyouhaveany

morningrituals?Withthreekids,myritualisfrequentchaos.Myidealmorning

iscoffeewithmywifebeforekidswakeup,controlledchaosforthemtogetout

toschool,twomilewalkonthebeach,BEFOREIcheckmyemailforthelatest

overnightblowup.Favoritemobileapp?WeallusetheSlackmobileappfor

communicationbetweenourentireteam(fourtimezones).ThissavesSOmuch

timediggingthroughemailthreads.IalsorelyonFlipboardtokeeptrackof

newsrelatedwhatI'minterestedin.Recommendedresource?Ourprimary

applicationstackis:BaseProposifyBasecampLastpassAsanaAdobeCC

GithubVagrantDeployHQSlackGoogleApps.

JohnMcGinnisanaward-winningcreativedirectorandfoundingpartnerof

SOUTH,afullservicedigitalagencybasedinCharleston,SC.

JohnMcIntyre(Twitter:@johnmcintyre_)

www.themcmethod.comUsehttp://simplynoise.com/toblockoutnoises.Music

istoodisruptive,andtheambientsoundsofanofficeorcoffeeshopdistractme,

especiallywhenI'mwriting.http://simplynoise.com/createsawallofwhite

noisethatblocksoutalldistractingsounds,withoutbeingdistracting,soIcan

getintoaflowstatewhileworking.

JohnMcIntyreisabehaviouralreengagementspecialist,marketingstrategist,

andfounderofTheMcMethod.

BeckyMcKinnell(Twitter:@iBecCreative)

www.iBecCreative.comCreateathemeforeachdayoftheweeksoyoucansort

andfocusonyourprioritieseachday.Youwearalotofhatsasanentrepreneur

—breakingupyourweekwillhelpyoufindtimetomakeprogresstogrowand

improveeachkeypartofyourbusiness.

BeckyMcKinnell,presidentofiBecCreative,helpstraditionalbusinesseswho

areembarrassedandfrustratedabouttheirwebsitefeelproudanddiscover

whatapowerfultoolitcanbefortheirbusiness.

MattMcWilliams(Twitter:@MattMcWilliams2)

www.mattmcwilliams.comForme,therearethreekeystogettingmoredonein

lesstime.First,IdividemydayintosegmentswhereImustintenselyfocusand

thosewhereIcanbelessfocused.Checkingemaildoesnotgenerallyrequirea

lotoffocus,soIcandothatwhilelisteningtoapodcastoreatingasnack.

Writingablogpostorwritingcopyforaproductlaunchrequiresabsolutefocus,

though.Duringthosetimes,Iremovealldistractions,closeallwindows,

puton

theheadphonesandlistentosomemeditationmusic.Second,meditation.

Speakingofmeditationmusic,meditationisnewtome,buthashelped

tremendouslyinhelpingmetofocus.Ihaveatendencytohaveanideaaminute

andbeeasilydistracted.Sincestartingmeditation,Icanmoreeasilyfocusfor

longerstretchesoftime.Third,Isetdeadlinesthroughoutthedayandseta

definitiveendtimetoeachday.Iworkbetteronadeadline,soIsetthem

throughouttheday.ImustcompleteprojectXbynoon,projectYbeforeIeat,

andImustfinishallworkby6:00pm.Thattimevariesasmyschedulevariesbut

thoseself-imposeddeadlineskeepmemovingquickly.Mygoalistogetthe

mostdone,doitaswellasIcan,butbecontentwithitbeing95%right,moving

tothenextthing,andspendingmybesttimewithmyfamily,notgivingthem

myleftovers.

MattMcWilliamsisthefounderandCEOofMattMcWilliamsConsulting,Inc.,

anaward-winningproviderofproductlaunchesandaffiliatemanagement.

AriMeisel(Twitter:@arimeisel)

www.lessdoing.comTheentiresystemofLessDoingwascreatedoutofmygoal

tohelppeoplefreeuptime,stressless,andreclaimtheirminds.Thenine

fundamentalsinclude,the80/20Rule,CreatinganExternalBrain,

Customization,StopRunningErrands,ChooseYourOwnWorkweek,Batching,

Organization,Finances,andWellness.Mynumberonetipisregardingemail.I

thinkthatthestateofyourinboxsaysalotaboutthebiggerpicturethatisyour

life.InboxZeromeansthatyouaretakingadvantageofthewonderfultoolthat

isemailsoyoucangetmoredone.Youshouldprocessallemailusingthethree

D's(youcanapplythistomostaspectsofyourlifewhereyouarereceiving

inputswhetherit'spaperorrequestsofyourtime).Onlydealwiththingsone

time.Delete—ifitdoesn'trequirearesponse,doesn'tneedfurtheraction,orisn't

relevanttoyou,deleteit.Dealwithit—ifyoucandoitinthenextfiveminutes,

DOITNOW,you'llaccomplishsomethingandjusttheactofaccomplishing

somethingwillmakeyoumotivatedtodomoreandgetmoredone.Thesubset

4thDisdelegate.Dealingwithitcouldmeanforwardingittoanassistant,a

teammember,oraspousetogetitdone.Defer—themostinteresting,youhave

torealizethattherearebettertimesandworsetimesforyoutodoeverything

andbeabletodealwithsomethingattherightteammeanyou'lldoitthemost

efficiently.ThebesttoolforthisisFollowUp.cc.Allyoudoisforwardanemail

tooraddanaddresstothebccfieldofemaillike3days@followup.ccor

Monday@followup.ccorApril15@followup.ccandtheemailwillcomebackto

yourinboxatthattimeandwillincludeasnoozefunctionalitysoifyouwere

wrongaboutthetiming,youcantryagain,butnowyou'llbefurtheralongand

havemoreinformation.

AriMeiselistheauthorofLessDoing,MoreLivingandthecreatoroftheLess

Doingsystemofproductivityandwellness.Ariisahumanperformancecoach,

speaker,andconsultant.

BryanMiles(Twitter:@bryanmiles)

www.eaHELP.comHireavirtualassistantfromeaHELPandstartdelegating

RESULTSnottasks.Giveyourvirtualassistantthe"why"behindtheresultand

empowerthemtoexecuteonyourbehalf.Thebestassistantsbecomean

extensionoftheleaderandmultiplytheresultoftheleader.Thisisdonethrough

thespeedoftrust.Whenthishappens—yourproductivityandresultswillgo

throughtheroof!

CEOandfounderofeaHELPVirtualAssistants.

DanMiller(Twitter:@48DaysTeam)

www.48Days.comTreatthe168hourswehaveeachweekasyouwould

carefullyearneddollars.Decideinadvancehowyouwillinvest,save,andspend

thosehours.

MybiggestproductivitytipisthatIworkinuninterrupted,focusedblocksof

time.Notgrabbing10minuteshereandtherebutdedicatingthreetofourhours

tooneimportanttaskinmyofficewherethereisnophone,noemailortext

messages,andnoopportunityforsomeonetopopintoseeme.

Ihavenotusedanalarmclockforthelast25years,becauseIgotobedata

reasonabletimeandhaveclearlyinmymindwhenIwanttostartthenextday.I

wakeupfullyrested,spend30minutesinmeditation,andthengotomyworkout

area.Whileworkingoutphysically,Itakeadvantageoftherichaudioprograms

availablesothatIfillthat45minuteswithphysicalexertioncombinedwith

mentalinputandexpansion.InevercheckthenewsorlookatmyiPhonefirst

thinginthemorning,nomatterhowimportantitmayseemtoknowthelatest

news.Thenewsisfilledwithrape,murder,pestilence,andheartache,andthatis

nottheinputIwantinmybrain.Laterintheday,Icanscanthenewsfor

anythingrelatedtomyareasofinterestandquicklysortthroughwhatIneed.

ButIcarefullyprotectthatfirsthouroftheday,makingsurethatallinputis

positive,clean,pure,creative,andinspirational.Manyofmymostcreativeideas

havecomefromthisprotectedtimeoftheday,oftenwhenIaminafullsweat.

By9:00AMIaminvigorated,motivated,andreadytofaceanythingtheday

maybring.

DanMilleristheauthoroftheNewYorkTimesbestselling48DaysToThe

WorkYouLove,NoMoreDreadedMondaysandWisdomMeetsPassion.Over

130,000peoplehavesubscribedtohisweeklynewsletter,his48DaysPodcast

consistentlyranksinthetop3underCareersoniTunes,andthe48Days.net

businesscommunityisviewedasanexamplearoundtheworldforthoseseeking

tofind—orcreate—worktheylove.

JonathanMilligan(Twitter:@JonMilligan)

www.BloggingYourPassion.comDocreativeworkfirst.Reactiveworksecond.

Asanentrepreneur,yougetpulledinamilliondifferentdirections.Inorderto

dowhatmattersmost,youmustbegineachdayinyourcreativegeniuszone.

Thisrequiresdiscipline.Forexample,it'seasytowanttostartyourdaychecking

email.MostofthetimewhenIcheckemailfirstthinginthemorning,Iendup

spendingmymorningsinreactivework.Mymostcreativework,whereIaddthe

mostvalue,isleftundone.Bystartingeachdaywitha60-90minutefocus

session,I'mabletodomymostcreativeworkfirst.Thisiswhatbuildsmy

business.

JonathanMilliganisanauthor,blogger,speaker,andonlinebusinesscoach.

Since2009,Jonathanhasbeenbuildingaportable,lifestylebusinessthrough

blogging.Today,heteachesotherstheroadmaptodoingthesame.

ChristieMims(Twitter:@revolutionsclub)

www.therevolutionaryclub.comIbelievethatIcangetanytaskcompleted(even

hatedones)in25minutes.ThisisactuallycompletelyUNtrue,butthatbelief

getsmetoopentomato-timer.com(it'safreewebsite),hitstartonatomato,and

thendiveintowhatevertaskIfindmyselfprocrastinatingon.After25minutes,I

endupsoabsorbedIdoanother25,andeventuallythingswindupfinished.:)

It'samazinghowlazyIamthatIcannotsetatimermyself,buttomatotimer

works!Asformorningrituals,I'mabigbelieverinstartingyourdayoffright—

soIdotwothings:1.Ireadinthemorningbecausethatfeelsgoodtome—I

oftenreadbusinessrelatedbooks,butIalsoreadterribletrashynovels.Either

onewakesmeupandgetsmegoinginanicewayand2.Iopenupmycalender

whenI'mdonereading,lookatwhatIcommittedtogettingaccomplishedthat

week(Icommittothreebigthingsaweek),andfigureoutwhatIabsolutely

needtodoTHATday.IputitonthecalendarandnothingelsegetsdoneuntilI

dothat.Voila!Productivity.

ChristieMimsisaprofessionalcareercoachandthefounderoftheForbesTop

100WebsiteforCareers,TheRevolutionaryClub.

JustinMitchel(Twitter:@justinmitchel)

www.codingforentrepreneurs.comIfanyonecandoit,socanyou.Itmighttake

youlongeranditmightcomeatgreaterpersonalsacrificebutit'strue.Ifanother

humancandoit,socanyou."Ifyouthinkyoucanorifyouthinkyoucan't,

you'reright."-HenryFordJustin

mynextaction?”

TheProblemwithTo-DoLists

To-do lists should be called naggingwish-lists.A series of tasks you hope to

accomplish,without a specific plan as towhenyou’ll get themall done.How

manyitemsonyourcurrentto-dolisthavebeenonthereforseveraldays?For

weeks?Months?

The first problem with recording tasks on a to-do list is that it doesn’t

distinguishbetweenitemsthattakeonlyafewminutesanditemsthatrequirean

hour ormore. Sowhen you randomly look at your list and ask, “Hmm,what

shouldItacklenext?”Youareverylikelygoingtopickthequicktasks,theeasy

items,notnecessarilythethingthatismostimportant.

ResearchSays…

41%ofto-dolistitemsarenevercompleted.

(Source:TheBusyPerson’sGuidetotheDoneList,iDoneThis)

Second, and similar to the first problem, to-do listsmake it really easy to

work on the urgent instead of the important. That’s why I still have “Create

annual family photo album for 2013” still on my to-do list (from two years

ago!).Doyouknowhowmanymenhavehad“colonoscopy”ontheirto-dolist

yearafteryear?!

ResearchSays…

50%ofto-dolistitemsarecompletedwithinaday,manywithinthefirsthourofbeingwrittendown.

(Source:TheBusyPerson’sGuidetotheDoneList,iDoneThis)

Third, to-do listscauseunnecessarystress. Indeed,whenwecarryarounda

longlistofundoneitemsit’sonewaytorememberthem.Butit’salsoaconstant

reminder, a constant nagging, that there aremany thingswe still need to deal

with. No wonder we feel overwhelmed. No wonder at night we collapse

exhausted,butfightinsomniaasourbrainprocessesallthatstillhastogetdone.

Nowonderourbodiesarebreakingdownfromstress.

ResearchSays…

TheZeigarnikeffectisapsychologicaltermbasedonstudiedthatshowunfinishedgoalscauseintrusive,

uncontrolledthoughts.

LiveLifefromYourCalendar

Highlysuccessfulpeopledon’thavea to-dolist,but theydohaveaverywell-

keptcalendar.OneofthemostconsistentmessagesIgotfromalltheinterviews

andresearchIdidforthisbookwasthatnomatterwhatitis,ifyoutrulywantto

getitdone,scheduletimeforit.

InTheirOwnWords…

Useacalendarandscheduleyourentiredayinto15-minuteblocks.Itsoundslikeapain,butthiswillset

youupinthe95thpercentileasfarasorganizationgoes.Ifit'snotonthecalendar,itdoesn'tgetdone.If

it'sonthecalendar,itgetsdonenomatterwhat.Usethisnotjustforappointments,butworkouts,calls,

emailblocks,etc.

–JordanHarbingeristheco-founderofTheArtofCharmandhostofTheArtofCharmPodcast,a

schoolthatteachesnetworkingandrelationship-developmentskills

Thisiswhyhyper-busypoliticians,executivesandcelebritieshavefull-time

schedulers. This is why—as pretentious as it sounds—successful people are

pronetosayingthingslike,“Haveyourpeoplecallmypeopletosetsomething

up.”

InTheirOwnWords…

Isimplyputeverythingonmyschedule.That'sit.EverythingIdoonaday-to-daybasisgetsputonmy

schedule.Thirtyminutesofsocialmedia–ontheschedule.Forty-fiveminutesofemailmanagement–on

theschedule.Catchingupwithmyvirtualteam–ontheschedule.Quiettimetocontemplateandplan–on

theschedule.Bottomline,ifitdoesn'tgetscheduled,itdoesn'tgetdone.

–ChrisDuckerisaserialentrepreneur,keynotespeaker,andbestsellingauthoraswellasapopular

businessbloggerandpodcaster.

Surprisingly,thesimpleactofschedulingtasksonyourcalendar—insteadof

writing them on a to-do list—will free yourmind, reduce stress, and increase

cognitive performance. Florida State University Researchers showed that the

Zeigarnik effect—the stressful conscious and unconscious thoughts caused by

unfinishedtasks—couldbeovercomesimplybymakingaplantoaccomplisha

task—youdidn’tactuallyhavetocompletethetaskitself.

ResearchSays…

“Aplanincreasesone’soddsofattainingagoalandsimultaneouslyreducescognitiveactivities…”

(Source:ConsiderItDone!,JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,2011)

There are several key concepts to managing your life using your calendar

insteadofato-dolist.

First,scheduleachunkoftimeforeverythingthatis importanttoyou;

this is called “time blocking” or “time boxing.” If you truly value being

healthyandhavedecidedthata30-minutedailyworkoutisyourenablinggoal,

then don’t put it on your to-do list—put it on your calendar. Schedule it as a

recurringappointment.Ifyouvaluecustomerintimacyasabusinessstrategyand

haveanenablinggoaloftalkingtoatleasttwocustomersaday,thenschedulea

dailyappointmentfor“customercalls.”

InTheirOwnWords…

Duringtraining,Ibalancedfamilytime,chores,schoolwork,Olympictraining,appearances,andother

obligationsbyoutliningaveryspecificschedule.Iwasforcedtoprioritize…Tothisday,Ikeepa

schedulethatisalmostminutebyminute.Focusonthosethingsthatbringyoufurthertoyourgoaleach

andeveryday.Everymomentcounts!

–ShannonMiller,amemberofthe1992and1996U.S.Olympicgymnasticsteamwhowonacombined

sevenOlympicmedals.

Second, important items should be scheduled as early in the day as

possible.Nomatterhowmuchwetrytocontrolourtimeandcalendars,weall

havethingsthat“comeup”thatmightneedourattention.Itcouldbeameeting

requestfromourboss,anangryclientcall,ortheschoolnursecallingtosaywe

needtopickupJohnniefromschool.Naturally,asmoretimeticksawayineach

day,themorelikelyitisthatsomethingunexpectedwillhappen.

I personally struggle with this immensely. If I have my daily workout

scheduled for the late afternoonor night, the odds are high that I’ll feel some

other priority is in need of extra attention by the time I actually get to my

exercise time block. I basically know that if I don’t hit the treadmill in the

morning,theoddsofhittingitatallgowaydown.

Third,don’t cancelgoals; reschedule them ifnecessary.For example, if

younormallyworkouteverydayfrom12:00 to1:00p.m.—duringyour lunch

hour—butyouhavetobeonanairplaneonMondaytravelingforworkatnoon,

youwouldrescheduletheexerciseappointmentforearlierorlaterintheday.

InTheirOwnWords…

Getoneofthosebigbluecalendars.Planningyourlifeonyourphoneisfine,butitdoesn'tgiveyouthe

sameperspective.

–WillDeanisanOlympicrowerforCanadaandcompetedintheLondon2012Olympics.Heis

currentlytrainingforRio2016.

Fourth, treat your time-blocked calendar entries as if they were

appointmentswithyourdoctor;theyarethatimportant.Mostofuscavein

on our self-scheduled appointments too easily. If we time block 4:00 to 5:00

p.m.toworkonanimportantreportattheoffice,andthenacolleagueasksfor

15minutesoftimebecause“somethinghascomeupIneedtorunbyyou,”we

reflexively say “sure,” thinking we’ll finish the report in only 45minutes, or

we’llstay15minuteslateroradjustinsomeotherway.

But imagineif insteadofworkingonareportyouhadanappointmentwith

yourdoctorordentist.Wouldyoustillagreetogiveawaythattimeandshowup

foryourdoctor15minuteslate?Ofcoursenot.

InTheirOwnWords…

WhatIfoundtobethemosteffectivewaytomanagemytimewastobuyanagendawithabigcalendar.I

handwritewhattopicsIneedtocoverandhowlongIneedtobestudyingthattopiceachnight.

–CaitlinHalewasastraight-AstudentincollegeandcurrentlyattendstheUniversityofMedicineand

DentistryofNewJersey.

Ifit'snotinmycalendar,itwon'tgetdone.But

Mitchelisanentrepreneur,programmer,

teacher,andfounderofCodingForEntrepreneurs.

JeffMoore(Twitter:@wildthingscfood)

www.InternationalPacific.com,www.ThursdayNightBoardroom.comPower

mornings:makeeverythingyoudoforthefirst120minutesaritual,including30

minutesforlightexercise,stretchingandmeditation...twoorthree90-minute

focusblocksperday,includingapersonalblock...

www.Asana.com...www.Followup.cc...FancyHands...Advice,seeyourdayfrom

ahigherperspective.Dothemathonyouractivities.Avoidleveragingyourtime

formoney,insteadleverageyourexpertiseanddelegatetherest.Youwillfind

thatyouhaveseeminglymoredowntimethanusual.Youwillwanttofillthe

timewith"stuff",butavoidthis.Takethetimeforpeacefulthoughtand

reflection.Cloisteringfor90to120minuteblocksperdaywillreinvigorateyou

inawaythatveryfewthingscan...coupleitwithexerciselikeabriskwalkand

youwillbefullychargedandreadytogo.Morningandnightaregreatforthis.

Relationshipsgotothenextlevelduringlongwalks.BestthingmywifeandI

haveeverdonein26yearsofmarriage.

JeffMooreispresidentoftwoseafoodcompaniesandthefounderofa*global

mastermindgroupcalledThursdayNightBoardroomwithover485members

from24differentcountries.Heisapassionatemarketer,entrepreneur,andisa

worldclassexpertinfoodsupplychaindynamics,solutionsandprofitability.

TomMorkes(Twitter:@tmorkes)

www.insurgentpublishing.comThebestwayto10xyourproductivityisto

removeeverythingbuttheessentialfromyourto-dolist.Doyouneedtocheck

emailrightnow?Doyouneedtosendthatmessage?Doyouneedtotakethat

call?Unlessit'spartofyourcriticalpath,ditchit.

TomMorkesisaWestPointgradandIraqWarveteran,andthefounderand

CEOofInsurgentPublishing,afullservicebookmarketingandpublishing

companythatlaunchesbookstobestseller.

AndyMurphy(Twitter:@AndyMurphytv)

www.andymurphy.bizUnderstandingwhy,what,andhowtoleverageyourpeak

mentalstateistrulythedifferencebetweenfailureandsuccess.Youcancreate

laserfocus,belief,flow,andmassivemotivationsimplybyunderstandingthat

youarethinking,feeling,andperformingusingneurologythatrunsonautopilot

inthebackgroundofyourmind.Justlikesoftwarerunsinthebackgroundof

yourcomputer,yourneurologyalsobecomesoutdated.Byexercisingyour

mentalmuscles,meaningthethoughtsandfeelingsthattheworld-classversion

ofyouwouldhave,youcreatenewneuralpathways.Thisdeepensand

intensivelyconnectsyoutowhateverandwhomeveryoufocusonthemost.

EXTRA:“Whenyoucontrolyourmind,youcontrolyouremotions.Thisleads

toacontrolledpeakmentalstateandtheabilitytoachieveanyresult.”

AndyMurphyisaMasterPractitionerofNeuroLinguisticsandMental

PerformanceCoachtoroyalty,worldchampions,and8figureentrepreneurs.

ChrisMyers(Twitter:@chris_myers_)

www.chris-myers.netMybestproductivitytipistowakeupearly.Anearlystart

tothedayprovidestimeforintrospectionandpreparation.Igenerallytrytoget

intotheofficeby6:30am.

ChrisMyersistheco-founderandCEOofBodeTreeandafrequentcontributor

totheWallStreetJournal,Forbes,EntrepreneurMagazine,andMSNBC.

AkshayNanavati(Twitter:@existing2living)

www.existing2living.comAtit*core,thesecrettotimemanagementand

productivityistoremovethinkingfromtheprocessasmuchaspossible.

Psychologistshaverepeatedlystatedthenormalstateofthemindischaosand

thebrainislazy,sowithoutdirectionitwillnaturallyguideitselftotheeasiest

courseofaction.Inorderformetomanagemultipleprojectsliketrainingtorun

acrosseverycountryintheworld,startinganon-profit,findingsponsorsforand

planningmyrun,workingonmycoachingandspeakingbusiness,writinga

book,buildingabrand,managingarealestateinvestmentfirm,andcontracting

forthegovernment,Ineedclearinstructionstoguidemybraindaily.Assuch,I

havecreatedveryclearfiveyeargoals,threeyeargoals,oneyeargoals,andthen

brokenthosedownintomonths,weeksanddays.SoIstaypresenttothelarger

visionbutfocusonlyonthesmallertasksathand.Tomaintainfocus,Iplanmy

weekeverySundaywiththelargergoalsinmindandIrelentlesslychunkmy

timeintosmallerblockswhereIfocusononlyoneprojectandonetaskinthat

projectatatime.Ialsotrackalmosteveryhourofmydayandthencomparethe

trackedtimetotheplannedtimeattheendoftheweek.SowhenIstartachunk,

Ihitgoonmytimer.Thatactionhasbecomelikeananchorthattellsmybrain

"itsgotime,"immediatelysendingmeintolaserfocusmode.Thismakesit

playfulaswellsoIdon'ttakethelaundrylistoftasksIhavetodososeriously

andgetoverwhelmedbythem.Iusethetodoistapptotrackthelistofvery

specificnextactionsineachproject,IuseAsanaforthelongertermgoal

planning,andIuseatimeloggertotrackmytime.Thesemultiplesystemsensure

thatmybraincanactoutthetasksitneedstoinordertoaccomplishmygoals

whileonautopilotwithouthavingtothinkaboutwhatactiontotakenext.Ithink

duringtheplanningphasetoremovethinkingfromtheactionphase.

AkshayNanavatiisanauthor,trainerandexploreronamissiontorunacross

everycountryintheworldtobuildaglobalcommunitythatworkstogetheras

oneforthecommongood.

AliNeely(Twitter:@alexisneely)

www.eyeswideopenlife.comIusedtobecalledthehardestworkingwomanin

thebusiness.Butitwasn'tsustainableandI'mamomoftwokids,soI'vehadto

discoverhowIcancomeintorightrelationshipwithtime,money,andhowIget

paid.ThatstartedwithgettingreallyclearabouthowmuchIactuallyneededto

makesoIcouldstopchasingmoreandgetclearaboutenough,orsufficiency.

Then,IwentthroughameticulousprocessofclarifyinghowmuchtimeIwanted

tospendactuallydeliveringmyservices(afterallocatingtimeforselfcare,

family,andallofthenon-servicedeliverypartsofmybusiness).Finally,Iwas

abletousethatdatatostructuremyfeesintopackageswithhighvalueoutcomes

thatwouldpaymeexactlywhatIneededtohavethelifeIwantandplentyof

timetoenjoyit.Icreatedatooltohelpothersdothesameat

http://tool.moneymaptofreedom.com.Oh,andnothinggetsdoneunlessit'son

myGoogleCalendar.Evencompletingthisrequestfromyougotcalendaredon

myGoogleCalendarsothatwhenitpoppedup,Icoulddoitanduntilthen,I

didn'tthinkaboutit.Hopethisallhelps!:)AliNeelybuiltafewmilliondollar

businessesandnowguidespeopletodiscovertheirowntruesuccessinthenew

economy.

BenNewman(Twitter:@ContinuedFight)

www.BenNewman.netWeallhavethePOWERtochooseourdailyhabitsand

tofocusonthePROCESS(actionsteps)ratherthanonresultswecan'tcontrol.

HereisaprovenmentaltrainingtoolweuseinourcoachingcalledYOUR

PrizefighterDay.ThishasdrivenperformancewithathletesintheNFL,PGA,

MLB,Boxing,NCAAaswellasdrivinggrowthwithbusinessprofessionalsand

entrepreneursaroundtheworld.Thekey:Eachdayidentifythreeactivity-driven

goals(apersonalgoal,abusinessgoal,aservicegoal)that,ifaccomplished,will

makethedayvictorious,regardlessofanyotherobstaclesthatcomeyourway.

Remember,youarefocusingonactivitieswhichyoucancontrol,andnotresults

thatareultimatelyoutofyourcontrol.

BenNewmanisabestsellingauthor,internationalspeaker,andperformance

coachforbusinessexecutivesandprofessionalathletes.

DanNorris(Twitter:@thedannorris)

www.wpcurve.comThebestwaytoeffectivelymanageyourtimeisnotspend

anyofitonthingsyoudon'twanttodoandyouaren'tgoodat.It'samazinghow

time-efficientyoucanbewhen

ifitisinmycalendar,itwillgetdone.Ischeduleout

every15minutesofeverydaytoconductmeetings,reviewmaterials,write,anddoanyactivitiesIneed

togetdone.AndwhileItakemeetingswithjustaboutanyonewhowantstomeetwithme,Ireservejust

onehouraweekforthese"officehours."Peoplecanscheduletimeathttp://ScheduleDave.com.

–DaveKerpenistheNYTimesbestsellingauthorofthreebooks,theco-founder&chairmanofLikeable

Media,andthefounder&CEOofLikeableLocal.

The best habit is to automatically respond to unanticipated requests that

conflict with your calendar by saying something like, “I have an important

appointmentonmycalendarfrom4:00to5:00.Isthereanychancewecantalk

after5:00,orcanitwaituntilthemorning?”

You’ll be surprised at how frequently the unanticipated item can then be

scheduledinanopenblock.Suretherewillbetimeswhenanimportantperson

—a boss or spouse, for example—needs our attention, and it really is more

important than our time block activity. But we can always ask to fit it in

elsewhereasafirstreaction.

JeffWeinerTimeBlocksBufferTime

TheCEOofLinkedIn, JeffWeiner,wroteablogpostdescribinghowhe time

blocks“donothing”timeonhiscalendar.Hewrote:

If you were to see my calendar, you'd probably notice a host of time slots

greyedoutbutwithnoindicationofwhat'sgoingon.Thereisnoproblemwith

myOutlookorprinter.Thegreysectionsreflect"buffers,"ortimeperiodsI've

purposelykeptclearofmeetings.

In aggregate, I schedule between90minutes and twohours of these buffers

everyday(brokendowninto30-to90-minuteblocks).It'sasystemIdeveloped

over the last several years in response to a schedule that was becoming so

jammedwithback-to-backmeetingsthatIhadlittletimeleft toprocesswhat

wasgoingonaroundmeorjustthink.

Atfirst,thesebuffersfeltlikeindulgences.Icouldhavebeenusingthetimeto

catchuponmeetingsIhadpushedoutorsaid"no"to.ButovertimeIrealized

notonlywerethesebreaksimportant,theywereabsolutelynecessaryinorder

formetodomyjob.

DesignYourIdealWeekwithTimeBlocks

Anotherwayyourcalendarcanbecomeapowerfullife-guidingtoolisbyusing

ittodesignyouridealweek.

Thinkaboutwhatyouridealworkweekwouldlooklike.

Ifyou’reafreelancer,consultant,orcoach,itmightincludefocusedtimeto

work on client projects, but also time to learn new skills or to be inspired by

others’work,ortoworkonyourownmarketinginitiatives.

If you’re amid-level executive, your idealweekmight include one-on-one

coaching timewith some of your teammembers, time for a teammeeting, as

wellastimetositalonetothinkstrategicallyabouttheyearahead.

Regardlessofyourprofessionalrole,youmayalsofindthatyouridealweek

—andeven idealday—hassomerecurringpersonal things:exercise, timewith

yourfamily,timetorelaxortopursuehobbies.

Mappingallof these itemsontoyourcalendar—andmakingthemrecurring

appointments—istherightwaytodesignyour life.It’sapowerfulwaytostay

consistenttothoseactivitiesthatgiveyouthemostreturn,andthemostjoy.

Myowncalendarreflectsmanyofmyvalues:

• Ivaluehealth, so I timeblock60minuteseachmorningfor

exercise.

•Ivaluecoachingmyteammembers,soItimeblockone-on-one

meetingswitheachdirectreportonMondaysasawaytokickoffthe

week.

•Ivalueteamalignmentandbreakingdownsilos,soItimeblock

aweeklyfull-teammeeting.

• IvaluewritingsoIhavetwotothreeblocksoftimescheduled

eachweektowriteuninterrupted.

• Ivaluemychildren’seducation,soItimeblockeveningsafter

dinnertohelpthemwiththeirhomework.

• Ivalue rechargingandnewexperiences, so Iblockoff long

weekends or entire weeks—sometimes a year in advance—for

vacations,evenifIdon’tknowyetwhereI’mgoingyet.

Remember that thekeypoint isnot tousea to-dolistasyourprimarytime

management tool. Itemsona to-do listcansit there forever,constantlygetting

bumpedbythingsthatseemurgentinthemoment.Andhavingthislistofthings

thatstillneedtogetdoneistherootcauseofourunderlyingstress.

When you master the practice of time blocking—using your calendar

instead of your to-do-list—you can literally see your life’s priorities by

lookingatyourweeklycalendar.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur:Woulditbehelpful toblocktimeeachweektotalkdirectlyto

customers,reviewmetricsagainstgoals,orcoachyourdirectreports?

Executive:Woulditbehelpfultoblocktimeforyourtopobjectives?

Freelancer:Would it be helpful to set up time blocks each week to read

industryblogsorlearnhowtousenewtools?

Student:Would it help to time block study group time and your teachers’

officehours?

Stay-at-HomeParent:Would it behelpful to timeblock trips to thegym,

weeklyerrands,andbillpaying?

SECRET#3

Workfromyourcalendar,notato-dolist.

Howmuchlessstresswouldyoufeelifyoucouldripupyourto-dolistand

workfromyourcalendar?

FREEBONUS

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bonuses,visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#4

TheProcrastinationCure

Imagineifyoucoulduseamentalexercisetofinallydefeatprocrastination.

Howdifferentmightyourlifebe?

ProcrastinationIsn’taboutLaziness

It’s ironic, but I’m procrastinating right now as I write this chapter. I’m

supposed tobedoing research andcustomization for a speakingengagement I

landedwith agiant energycompany.But instead I’mwriting this chapter. It’s

not like themotivation isn’t there.They’repayingme$54,425 todeliver three

talks in threedays.So I shouldbe jumpingup anddown for joy andeager to

divein.Butalas,writingabookontimeandproductivityiseasierandmorefun

for me than spending a half day poking around Google Scholar, reading dry

academic papers, and creating compelling new slides. Besides, I can get to it

tomorrow….

Procrastinationisthehabitofputtingoffimportant,lesspleasurabletasksby

doingeasier,morepleasurabletasks.Thingslikeemail,Twitter,Facebook,food,

andTVareexcellentwaystoprocrastinate.

InaninterviewwiththeAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,JosephFerrari,

PhD,sharedsomeofhisresearchfindings:Weallputtasksoff,butmyresearch

hasfoundthat20percentofU.S.menandwomenarechronicprocrastinators.

Theydelayathome,work,school,andinrelationships.These20percentmake

procrastination their way of life…Let’s place the 20 percent in perspective—

that’shigher than thenumberofpeoplediagnosedwith clinicaldepressionor

phobias,twotendenciesmanypeopleknowabout.

Tobeatprocrastinationonceandforall,youhavetounderstandit.Youdon’t

procrastinatebecauseyou’relazy.Youprocrastinatebecause:

1. Youlackenoughmotivation,and/or

2. You underestimate the power of present emotions versus future

emotionswhenyousetyourgoalsormakeyourtasklist.

We tend to procrastinate awide variety of things.Youmight procrastinate

doing that school report, or making those cold calls, or firing someone who

clearlyhastogo,orcleaningoutthegarage.

For me, my weak spot is exercise. In every other area of life, once I’ve

decidedonthegoal,I’mabletoexecuteitwithoutprocrastination.Butworking

out? That’s a whole other

story. So let me use exercise and fitness as our

exampleinthefollowingprocrastinationbusters.

ResearchSays…

Peoplewhorarelyprocrastinatereporthigherlevelsofproductivity,happiness,andenergy.

(Source:TheKruseGroup,2015)

ProcrastinationBuster#1:TimeTravel

This is a big one. The underlying problem we all have is that we are what

psychologistscalltime-inconsistent.

Thismeanswe think we’ll eat salads during theweek, sowe stock up on

lettuceat thegrocerystore,but inevitablyweendupwithslimyrottinglettuce

twoweekslateratthebottomofourrefrigerator.

Beingtime-inconsistentalsomeansweadddocumentariesandindiefilmsto

ourNetflixqueuebecausecertainlywe’llwatchtheminthefuture,andyetthey

nevermoveto#1becausewekeepchoosingWillFerrellmovies.

And it’swhy Ikeepbuyingnewworkoutequipmentanda fancy scaleand

healthyfoodcookbooks,andyetI’mstillnotseeingmysix-packabs.

Despitewhatwethinkwearegoingtowantinthefuture,wehave“present

bias.”Whenthepresentactuallygetshere—andyes,thepresentisalwayshere

—wechoosecandy,sitcoms,Facebook,andcatvideos.They’reeasierandmore

fun. And hey, we can always get to that other thing in the afternoon, or on

Monday,ordotheresolutionagaininJanuary,right?

Wealwaysunderestimatehowharditistobeourbestselfinthepresent

moment.

Toovercomethistimeinconsistency,wemustdobattlewithourfutureself

—theonewho, in thepresentmoment,will sabotageus.Our futureself is the

enemyofourbestself.

Iliketothinkofthisbattleastimetravelingtodefeatmyfutureself.Using

thehealthexample, Istartby thinking,howwill Isabotagemyhealthgoals in

thefuture?HowcanIovercomethatnow?

•Myfutureselfisgoingtosabotagemebyeatingjunkfoodinthe

kitchen duringmy breaks. To beat him,my present self is going to

throwout all the junk foodandnotkeepany in thehouse. I’malso

goingtobuybabycarrotsandhummustoreachforasareplacement.

• Myfutureselfisgoingtosabotagemyworkoutbysayingit’s

toobusyofadaytofititin.Mypresentselfwilldefeathimbytime

blocking exercise first thing in themorning, and Iwill immediately

putworkoutclothesonassoonasIgetoutofbed,andIwillrefuseto

lookatemailuntilafterIworkout.

• My future self is also going to sabotagemyworkouts by

thinkingI’mactuallyprettyhealthy,Idon’tlookthatbadcomparedto

most people who go to the mall, and my blood pressure and

cholesterolare fine.Mypresentself isgoing to tellmygirlfriend to

pinchmylovehandleflabonanydayIdon’thitthetreadmill…dang,

thatwillbeembarrassingandgross!

Onefriendofminegoestoextrememeasurestobattleherfive-minutefuture

self!Inpursuitofherhealthgoals,wheneversheeatsoutatarestaurantandthey

bring her a side of French fries, she immediately opens the salt shaker and

dumpstheentirethingontopofthefries.Shehaslearnednottotrustregularold

willpowertonoteatthefries.Herfive-minutes-in-the-futureselfislikelytosay,

“I’lljusthaveone.”Andweallknowhowthatgoes.

Howareyougoingtodobattlewithyourfutureself?

ProcrastinationBuster#2:Pain&Pleasure

Ultimately,ifwearen’tjumpingoutofbedinthemorningexcitedtotackleour

project, it’s because our dreams aren’t big enough. They aren’t motivating

enough.Andmotivationcomesdowntopainandpleasure.Forthetoughtasks

you always tend to procrastinate, think about and even visualize the “why”

behindthem.

WhatpleasurewillIgetbydoingthisthing?

WhatpainwillIfeelifIdon’tdoit?

Oneofmyenablinggoalsistoworkouteveryday.Yogastretches,resistance

training,andthetreadmill.Ineedtoreallypileonthepainandpleasureinmy

mindtoactuallydomyworkouts.WhydoIwanttoworkout?BecauseIwantto

lookgood,Iwantdefinitioninmyabs(comeon,whatguydoesn’t?),Iwanthigh

energy,andIbelievecardiovascularexercisekeepsthebrainhealthy.

What’sthepainI’llfeelifIdon’tworkout?Ivisualizelookingflabbywitha

beerbelly (sometimes Idon’tneed to “visualize” it!). I thinkabout thatweird

painabovemykneethatIgetwhenIdon’tdothepigeonposeinyoga.Ithink

aboutfeelinglikealoser,acouchpotato,withnoenergy.Ieventhinkaboutthe

factthatnotworkingoutisdisrespectfultomygirlfriend.

Doesthismentalroutinesoundextreme?Idefinitelygothroughthispainand

pleasure thoughtcycle if I’mnot feelingmotivated,but it’sactuallyhelpful to

justrunthroughitroutinelytoburnitintomymindset.

ProcrastinationBuster#3:AccountabilityPartner

MychildhoodfriendCurtgrewupandbecameasportspsychologist.Hetellsme

that the number one predictor of whether someone will stick to an exercise

routineornotiswhethertheyaredoingitwithsomeoneelse.

Thiscanbeaneighborwhomeetsyoueverymorningat6a.m.forajog.It

canbeaprofessionaltrainerwhomyoupay$50anhourtocometoyourhouse

tokickyourbutt.Itcanbeyourbosswholikestoplaybasketballeverydayat

lunch.ItcanbeaWeightWatchersclubwhereyouweighineveryweek.Andof

course, itcanbeastudybuddyatschoolor justagoodfriendwhoisgoingto

checkinwithyouandkeepyouaccountable.

The reason why this is so powerful is that when we procrastinate, we are

merely breaking a promise to ourselves; we feel far worse when we break a

promisetosomebodyelse.

ProcrastinationBuster#4:RewardandPunishment

SomepeopleIknowrespondverywelltobribes—eventhoughtheyaretheone

incontrolofthebribe!

Onefriendtoldherselfshecouldbuyanewpairofexpensiveshoes,butonly

aftershepaidoffhercreditcards.Anotherfriendboughtanexcellentbottleof

winebutwouldn’tdrinkituntilhegotdowntoacertainpercentageofbodyfat.

Butinadditiontothe“carrot,”don’tforgetaboutthestickapproach.Human

psychology is such that we actually fear loss more than we want a gain. So

insteadofrewardingyourselfforgoalachievement,youcanalsopunishyourself

forgoalfailure.

Onecompany,StickK(http://www.stickk.com/),hasmadeawebsitethatlets

you set up a “commitment contract.” You pick the goal, the penalty, and a

http://www.stickk.com/

charityofyourchoicewillreceiveyourmoneyifyoudon’thit thegoal.Asof

thiswriting,over$14millionhasbeenputupasstakesagainstgoals.

MyfriendJohnrecentlysetupateamweightlossgoalwithhiscolleaguesin

theoffice.Liberalintheirpoliticalviews,theyeachchippedin$100andhaveto

donate it to theNationalRifleAssociation if theydon’t shed the agreed upon

pounds.

Ofcourse,youdon’tneedfancysoftwaretoexecuteonthisstrategy.Youcan

always just set up a commitment contract with friends. Give them $100, or

whatever amount will “hurt” you, and share your goal. If you don’t follow

through,theycankeepthemoneyorgiveittoacharity.

ProcrastinationBuster#5:ActAsIf…

Be.That’sit.Be.

Admittedly, this one is a little deep. It has to dowith our identity.We all

workreallyhardtostayconsistentwithwhowethinkweare.

Muchoftheproblembehindtaskavoidanceisthatwearen’tyettheperson

wearetryingtobecome.Wecanvisualizeouridealfuturestate,butsometimes

thepresentstate—sittinghereonthecouchwatchingTV—feelsalotbetter.One

unusual but very effective strategy is to self-talkyourself (out loudor inyour

head)asifyoualreadywereyouridealself.

Iamahealthyeater.Iamajogger.Iam

the#1salesrepinmycompany.I

amaneatperson.Iamabestsellingauthor.Iamanentrepreneur.

What this self-talk is doing is anchoring your values. If you are already a

jogger, itwill feelbadandunnaturalnot togoout jogging today. Ifyouarea

writer,ofcourseyouaregoingtositandwriteatthecomputertoday—it’swhat

writersdo.Ifyouareahealthyperson,ofcourseyou’llgetato-gosaladatthe

airportinsteadofasliceofpizza.

Justbewhoyouwanttobecome.Itwillthenfeelbad—itwillbeincongruent

—nottodothetaskyoumightbetemptedtoprocrastinate.

ProcrastinationBuster#6:SettleForGoodEnough

Sometimeswefind iteasy tostart things,butweprocrastinate finishing them.

Onetricktouseistojustplanonsettlingforlessthanperfect.

Procrastinating that three mile jog?Well, just suit up and go outside and

agree to run around the block once…thatwill be good enough.Andmaybe it

willbe,ormaybeonceyou’redonewiththeblockyou’llkeepgoing.

Procrastinatingfinishingthatbookyou’vebeenworkingon?Well,justagree

topush through it sloppily to completedraft one…youcan always comeback

latertoreviseit.

Procrastinatingfinishingthatnewproduct?Justlaunchittothemarketplace

even if it isn’t perfect, andget it closer to perfection eachquarterwith a new

release.

Onceyoustartsomething,onceyouagreethatimperfectisOK,you’llfeela

strongermotivationtofinish*tup.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur: Would overcoming procrastination help you to work on the

thingsthatfeeloutsideofyourcomfortzone?

Executive:Would overcoming procrastinationmake youmore effective at

having those difficult constructive feedback conversations with your direct

reports?

Freelancer: Would overcoming procrastination help you to achieve more

billablehourseachday?

Student: Would overcoming procrastination help you to complete class

projectssooner?

Stay-at-Home Parent: Would overcoming procrastination help you to

finally organize the rooms in your house—thus making your mind more

peaceful?

SECRET#4

Procrastinationcanbeovercomewhenyoufigureouthowto

beatyourfutureself,whocannotbetrustedtodotherightthing.

Youknowwhatneedstogetdonethisweek;howwillyouensurethatyou

don’tputitoff?

FREEBONUS

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CHAPTER#5

HowtoLeavetheOfficeat

5:00—WithoutGuilt

How can the world’s most important people always seem so calm, stress

free,andfullypresentinthemoment?

Republican political strategist Karl Rove wrote a fascinating op-ed in the

WallStreetJournal.

ItallstartedonNewYear'sEvein2005.PresidentBushaskedwhatmyNew

Year'sresolutionswere.Itoldhimthatasaregularreaderwho'dgottenoutof

thehabit,mygoalwas toreadabookaweek in2006.Threedays later,we

were in theOvalOfficewhenhe fixedme inhissightsandsaid,"I'monmy

second.Whereareyou?"Mr.Bushhadturnedmyresolutionintoacontest.

Andtheoutcomeofthebet?

At year's end, I defeated the president, 110 books to 95. My trophy looks

suspiciouslylikethosegivenoutatjuniorbowlingfinals.Thepresidentlamely

insistedhe'dlostbecausehe'dbeenbusyasleaderofthefreeworld.

Theleaderofthefreeworldhastimetoread95booksinoneyear?

SherylSandbergMakesItHomeforDinner

Lookatthehabitsofthesehighlysuccessfulbusinessleaders:• Facebook

COO Sheryl Sandberg leaves work at 5:30 p.m. every day so she can have

dinnerwithherkidsat6:00p.m.

• FormerIntelpresidentAndyGrovewouldarriveat8:00a.m.

andleaveworkat6:00p.m.consistently.

•VirginGroupfounderRichardBransonhasover400companies

in his conglomerate, yet he always seems to be hanging out on his

privateislandorbreakingsomecrazyworldrecordasanadventurer.

Don’tyoufindthisshocking?Howcantheydothat?

WhenIfirstreadaboutPresidentBush,Iwasblownaway.Youjustknowthe

presidentof theUnitedStatesofAmericahasamillion things todo, right?At

theendoftheday,therearestillmoreforeignleaderstocallandinfluence,more

CIAbriefingstoread,morecampaigncontributorstosuckupto,morewounded

veteranstovisit,morevoterstorally,more,more,more—andtimeuntiltheend

of his termwas ticking away.He had a limited number of days to create his

legacy!AndyetPresidentBush“found”timetoread95booksinoneyear.

DougConant,whowas theCEOofCampbell’sSoupforadecade,used to

send out 20 handwritten thank you notes a day. Can you imagine all the

responsibilitiesofbeingtheCEOofaFortune500company?Therearealways

moreemailstoread,morecallstoreturn,morereportstoscan,moremeetingsto

attend,morethinkingaboutthefuture,andyet…Dougwouldcalmlyendhisday

byhandwriting20notes.

BackwhenIwasyounganddumb,Iwasrunningacompanythatwaspartof

alargerconglomerate.Mycompanywasdoublinginsizeeveryyear,andthere

werenever enoughhours in theday. I can remember literally jogging through

thehallwaystryingtogetbacktomyofficeasquicklyaspossible.

Yetmybusinesspartner andboss,Neil,whooversawmycompanyand11

otherdivisions,alwaysmovedataleisurelypace,alwayshadtimetotellafunny

jokeorstory,andspentlotsoftimeatthelocalgolfclub.

Whohastimetoplaygolf?Iusedtowonder.

TheSecrettoGuilt-FreeBalance

AndyGroverevealedthisultimatesecretinhisbookHighOutputManagement.

MydayendswhenI’mtiredandreadytogohome,notwhenI’mdone.I

am never done. Like a housewife’s, a manager’s work is never done.

Thereisalwaysmoretobedone,morethatshouldbedone,alwaysmore

thancanbedone.

Andthatisthesecret.

Therewillalwaysbemoretodo,andalwaysmorethancanbedone.

Thisisanotheroneofthosesimpleconceptsthat,onceit trulysinksin,can

dramaticallychangeyourlife.

IcanremembertheverymomentIreadGrove’sbook.Ithitmelikeatonof

bricks.

Fortoolong,Iletmyto-dolistmasterme.“Sorry,Ican’tmakeithomefor

dinnerbecauseIstillhavethatreporttodo.”

Ineverexercised,Iskippedmostmeals,andthenIwouldgorgeonfastfood.

Mylifewasonedimensional,andeveninthatdimension(business),myaround-

the-clockpacekeptmedownintheweedsinsteadofabovethetrees.

Supersuccessfulpeopledon’tjustburnhourafterhourtryingtocrossmore

itemsofftheirtasklist.Instead,theythinkthroughtheirpriorities,scheduletime

foreach,andthenenoughisenough.

GeorgeBush probably valued reading two books aweek because it was a

way torelievestress,getsmarter,orwas justplainfun.Heknewthat learning

andrechargingarevaluable tasks,andhewasn’tgoingto let themgetblocked

outby“urgent”items.

Sheryl Sandberg clearly puts a high value on dinner with the family and

keepsitscheduled.Yes,shewantstomaximizethesuccessofFacebook,butthe

“success”ofherrelationshipwithherchildrenisevenmoreimportant.

RichardBransonplacesahighvalueon funandadventureandcalendars it

accordingly.AndhesmartlycraftshisadventuresintobrandbuildingforVirgin.

ResearchSays…

Peoplewholeaveworkataconsistenttimearelesslikelytofeel“wired”lateratnight.

(Source:TheKruseGroup,2015)

DoYouNeedtoBeEverythingforEveryone?

JessicaTurner,theauthorofTheFringeHours:MakingTimeforYou,surveyed

over2,000womenforherbookand,among

otherthings,askedthemtodescribe

the hardest part of being awoman.The common theme:Being everything to

everyone.

ThisissomethingTurnerrelatestoherself.Inadditiontobeingawriter,she

runs thehighlypopularMomCreative(www.themomcreative.com)blog,hasa

husband,hasthreechildrenundertheageofsix,andtrieshardtomaintainher

friendships.Shedescribeshowthesemultiplerolescanbecomeunhealthy.

http://www.themomcreative.com

Forwomen, this“disease toplease”canwreakhavoconeveryareaof

our lives. We are nurturers by nature. We want to help and love on

others. But sometimes our actions are not an outpouring of love but a

resultofwantingtopleasesomeoneelse.

This phenomenon is closely related to the disease of perfectionism. It’s

dangeroustobaseourself-worthonwhatothersthinkofus.

Manypeople are surprised that I, aman, can relate a lot towhatTurner is

describinginherbook.Perhapsit’sbecauseI’masingledadandaccustomedto

maintainingahousehold.Regardlessofthereason,Istillspendtoomuchtime—

andmoreimportantly,toomuchstress—onlittlethingsthatreallydon’tmatter.

Recently, my financial advisor told me he was going to be in my

neighborhood andwanted to stop bymy home and giveme an update onmy

money.Itwasasignofhighservice,andIwasgrateful.

Butmymindimmediatelytookoff—betterbrewapotofcoffee;isthefridge

stockedwithco*ke?WhatifhedrinksDietco*ke,doIhaveanyofthat?We’llbe

meetinginthekitchen—needtocleanthekitchencounter.Isheallergictocats?

Ishouldlocktheminthebasem*nt...

It’scompletelyridiculoustothinkthiswayaboutmyadvisormakingahouse

call.Amongthenumerousreasons:

1. Heworksforme;he’llkeepworkingformeifIkeeppayinghim.

2. Heknowsfarmoreimportantthingsaboutme—likemynetworth

—thanmykitchen.

3. He’saguyandisprobablyinawethatanotherguyisabletokeep

thehouseascleanasIdo!

4. HeknowsmepersonallyandI’msurejudgesmebymyvaluesand

kindness,notmyhospitalityskills.

It is one thing to have goodmanners and towant to treat friendswell and

anothertofeellikeyouhavetobeperfect.Insteadofrunningaroundforhalfan

hour preparing for a visitor, I could have just greeted him with a smile and

asked,“CanIgetyousomewater?”

AsTurner says inherbook:Youarenever toobusy tomake time forwhat

youlove.It’sjustamatterofprioritizing—evaluatinghowyouspendyourdays

anddedicatingtimeforwhatyouvalue.Ifsomethingisreallyimportanttoyou,

youwillfindawaytofititintoyourlife.

ThereWillAlwaysBeMoretoDo

Therewillalwaysbemoretodoineveryarea:• Youcanalwaysdomore

stuffatwork.

• You can always straighten upmore rooms and cleanmore

closets.

•Youcanalwaysdomoreyardwork.

•More,more,more!

Soyouneedtomasterthepracticeoflettinggoofthemore,sincetherewill

alwaysbemoretodo.

Onceyoumasterthis,you’llfinditeasiertogetthoseworkoutsin,easierto

gethometothefamilyatareasonablehour,andeasiertospendtimeonyourself

withoutfeelingguilty.

HowDoesThisApplyIfYou’reA(n)...

Entrepreneur:Wouldrealizingtherewillalwaysbemoretodoenableyouto

spendmoretimewithyourfamilyandfriends?

Executive:Wouldrealizingtherewillalwaysbemoretodoenableyoutohit

thegymonamoreconsistentbasis?

Freelancer:Wouldrealizingtherewillalwaysbemoretodoenableyouto

spend more time learning new skills and thinking strategically about your

future?

Student:Wouldrealizingtherewillalwaysbemoretodoenableyoutobe

satisfiedwithagoodgradeinsteadofaperfectgrade?

Stay-at-Home Parent:Would realizing there will always be more to do

enable you to give yourself an hour a day—for reading, exercising, or

scrapbooking?

SECRET#5

Acceptthefactthattherewillalwaysbemoretodoandmore

thatcanbedone.

Howmuch better will you feel when you finally accept the fact that you

can’tdoitall,becausetherewillalwaysbemorethatcanbedone?

FREEBONUS

TodownloadallyourFREEbonuses,visit:www.MasterYourMinutes.com

http://www.MasterYourMinutes.com

CHAPTER#6

RichardBranson’sSecretProductivityTool

Howcanyougetyourbraintoquietdown?Howcanyoualwaysremember

yourgreatideas?

Branson’sMostImportantPossession

Sir Richard Branson. Arguably the most celebrated entrepreneur of our time.

Founder of the Virgin Group, which now comprises over 400 companies,

Bransonisreportedlyworth$4.8billion.

Whenaskedaboutitemshetakeswhereverhegoes,Bransonsingledoutone

itemasbeingmostimportant.InaMay5,2006,interviewhesaid:Itmaysound

ridiculous, butmymost important is to always carry a little notebook in your

backpocket.IthinkthenumberonethingthatItakewithmewhenI'mtraveling

is the notebook…I could never have built the VirginGroup into the size it is

withoutthosefewbitsofpaper.

Branson,writingonhisblog, elaboratedonhisnote-takinghabits.He said,

“Ifyouhavea thoughtbutdon’twrite itdown,bythenextmorningitmaybe

goneforever.”Onetime,whenBransonhadanideaforabusinessmetaphor,he

didn’t have a notebook nearby. So he just scribbled the thought down in his

passport!

AdvicefromBillionaireAristotleOnassis

GreekshippingmagnateAristotleOnassisoncegavean interview inwhichhe

sharedhis“milliondollarlesson.”

Alwayscarryanotebook.Writeeverythingdown.Whenyouhaveanidea,

write itdown.Whenyoumeetsomeonenew,writedowneverythingyou

knowaboutthem.Thatwayyouwillknowhowmuchtimetheyareworth.

Whenyouhearsomethinginteresting,writeitdown.Writingitdownwill

makeyouactuponit.Ifyoudon’twriteitdownyouwillforgetit.THAT

isamilliondollarlessontheydon’tteachyouinbusinessschool!

JimRohn’sThreeTreasures

Self-mademillionaireand legendary successcoach JimRohnwroteand spoke

frequentlyaboutthepowerofjournaling.

Ifyou'reseriousaboutbecomingawealthy,powerful, sophisticated,healthy,

influential,cultured,anduniqueindividual,keepajournal.

Keepingajournalissoimportant.Icallitoneofthethreetreasurestoleave

behindforthenextgeneration…

Thefirsttreasureisyourpictures.Takealotofpictures...

The second treasure is your library.This is the library that taught you, that

instructed you, that helped you defend your ideals. It helped you develop a

philosophy. It helped you become wealthy, powerful, healthy, sophisticated,

andunique…

The third treasure is your journals: the ideas that you picked up, the

informationthatyoumeticulouslygathered.Butofthethree,journalwritingis

oneofthegreatestindicationsthatyou'reaseriousstudent.

Notebooksof20FamousPeople

The blog The Art of Manliness has a great article

(http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/09/13/the-pocket-notebooks-of-20-

famous-men/)thatshowspicturesofthenotebooksof20famousmenincluding

Mark Twain, George Patton, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, George

Lucas,ErnestHemingway,LudwigvanBeethoven,BenFranklin,Thomas

Edison,LeonardodaVinci,FrankCapra,andJohnRockefeller.

Althoughyoucanseeawide rangeofnotebookstylesandpenmanship,all

show how these great thinkers were never without a means to jot down an

observation,anidea,orinMarkTwain’scase,dirtyjokes.

WhatTypeofNotebookIstheBest?

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/09/13/the-pocket-notebooks-of-20-famous-men/

Therearedifferent

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management - Inglês (2024)