Randy Pausch Lecture: Time Management
Fun maximization , that must be the goal of life (fun of learning)
Start with Why? Why is something on your list to start with
GOALS
Doing the right things adequately is more important than doing the wrong things beautifully
Lou Holtz had a list of 100 things he wanted to do in life, used to ask himself, why I am not working on one of them, every time he felt distracted
80/20 rule: What goals will yield the biggest results
Have a plan (So you can change it)
LOGISTICS
Sort email inbox by priority
Have a clear filing system at home / work
Use multiple screens
Use phone headsets and make sure to keep calls short, chitchat is a time waster
Opportunity Cost
TIME
Find your creative time and defend it ruthlessly
Your creative time could be 10 PM
Turn off notifications, especially emails
Organize list for people to follow up , so that in one conversation you can discuss a bunch of things
Limit time at the start of the engagement: I only have 5 min, or 30 min
TIME LOG
Amazing what you learn, keep them in as detail as you can, you will be amazed at what you learn. Hopefully technology will progress to a point where this becomes automated
Monitor yourself in 15 minutes increments
Update every ½ hour , not at end of day
TIME JOURNAL
Anyone who did budgetary planning will tell you how you can be surprised by where the money went. Same thing about time journal
Good resources: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/time-management-worksheets/
You will be surprised at how time goes / spent differently than what you imagine
EFFECTIVE VS. EFFICIENT
Married PHD students finished sooner because they are more productive & Randy Pausch experienced the same efficiency after his marriage
Explanation: As a single man, you approach life as you have got all the time in the world, so your time is not precious.
DELEGATION
Ask people for things, you will be surprised how many are welling to help
Agree on broad guidelines, leave room for decision making
Delegate the what, let them decide on how
MEETINGS
Total focus, switch off phones off, give and expect concentration, half being there is a waste of time
Should not last more than an hour
MUST have an agenda , else cancel
ONE MINUTE minute, what decisions were made and who was assigned what by when
If you want something done, do not send it to multiple people
OTHER TRICKS
Get rid of your TV (YouTube)
Throw money at the problem: hire helpers
Renegotiate deadlines if needed, but always honor your word
Ask for honest feedback
