Here is a seminar talk I gave at a major marketing event earlier this year on Time Management and Getting More of the Right Things Done. There are four sections, each about 15 minutes long and loaded with performance improvement ideas.
Please post your comments and thoughts along with any new ideas you come up with.
[flv:http://mm.paullemberg.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Turbo-Time-Management-1.flv 440 331]
Pay close attention to figure out where your time goes. Develop the Time Management Mastery mindset and understand what “Context is Decisive” means. Take charge and become opportunity cost-conscious. Use the Ivy Lee 7 to make a lot more money from your time.
[flv:http://mm.paullemberg.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Turbo-Time-Management-2.flv 440 331]
Check out the sections on Chronotypes, larks and owls, time logging, energy maps, and taking charge of your awareness… Priceless.
[flv:http://mm.paullemberg.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Turbo-Time-Management-3.flv 440 331]
How working in time chunks will supercharge your ability to get more done, and if you want to guarantee incredible delegation, make sure to stay with it until the very end.
[flv:http://mm.paullemberg.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Turbo-Time-Management-4.flv 440 331]
Make sure to put your comments below and let us know what you think. And if you’ve got more ideas – make sure to share them.
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will eventually come back at
some point. I want to encourage continue your
great posts, have a nice morning!
Hello Paul, I’m a big fan. I’m working on launching some info products and I’ve been studying, taking notes and creating tools based on your articles (well over 30). I resonate with your message of vision and strategy.
Honestly, I heard most of the statistics before but they never kicked my butt in gear because I was unclear on my vision. The most significant thing for me in the videos was when you said “be fine with it”.
I’m a serious all or nothing perfectionist, so I only end up doing what I do really well and analyzing the rest for embarrassing amounts of time. Yes, it sucks for me and my lifestyle or lack there of, shows it.
I’ve been keeping my ‘Why’s” at the forefront of my mind and I’m building momentum, but the idea that I can be fine with what doesn’t get done and that good is good enough, directly target my primary problem. I will add them to my list of “Why’s”.
All of your info is great advice but some of it is so critical to problems I’ve been having my whole unsuccessful entrepreneurial life. I have faith that what I am learning from you for free will help me actually have a Christmas (which wasn’ on the horizon). I look forward to being able to purchase some of your products and services, not just for the awesome value I know they will provide, but to say thank you in a more substantial way.
Thank You, You are a Gift
Hey Echo, my advice (free) is get over the “all or nothing perfectionist” thing, and get your Christmas in gear. Best wishes -pl
Very outstanding website.
The information here is genuinely valuable.
I will invite my friends.
Cheers
Just wanted to tell you thanks for all the great info found on your blog, even helped me with my job recently 🙂 keep it up!
You’re welcome.
pl
I work on SEO for couple of months. I follow on every on-page and off-page SEO.But I really don’t know what works and what is not, because Google decide what will contribute to my website ranking and what will not.
So, how can I managed tasks where I can’t measure their effectiveness?
Ori – interesting problem. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to “trust” that the actions you take now will produce results in the future. Keep track over time… If at some point down the road, you have no results, then you’ve got to move on. I know that seems a bit simplistic, but that’s the name of the game. Gorbachev said it well, “Trust, but verify.” -pl
I’ve taken very detailed notes on these excellent time management training videos. I find that once I start to work on a task on the computer or otherwise, I will very easily complete the task… provided there is time, and I’m not distracted by ATTENTION GRABBERS. Focus hell or high water as you say Paul.
I’ve been feeling like an OWL in the past but Western society is geared towards LARKS. Hmmm once I can do online marketing full-time, I will probably revert back to an OWL. Using a timer to accomplish tasks is an excellent idea.
My Opinion Of Your Best Teachings
Mindset for Mastery
Know what you want to use time for.
Focus thought on your use of time in relation to your goals.
A well-developed sense of how much time is needed for the things you seek to do and achieve.
From “what”, to “how” and “why”.
Know how to outsmart your weaknesses.
Start to observe yourself and your use of time because that can really help you manage time.
If you set the direction and use it as a measure to decide what you are going to do literally on a day-by-day basis, everything changes on how your time gets spent. Shockingly the things you decide to work on get done. The clearer your goals are and the things you are trying to accomplish is, the more you will move towards your goals and get things done.
it is really yery helpful, thanks
Thank you Paul, i found this to be an wonderful lecture on time management.
I read many articles on time management but those weren’t so inspiring for me to work on my goals.
All those numbers were really awesome on time we are spending.
I thank you for keeping these lecture videos for free.
Hi Paul, thanks for another awesome article. I seem to like to chase shiny things… just when things get tough, I just so happen to find a new shiny thing. Maybe it’s fear, when it gets tough, I run along.
http:/www.prosperouschristian.com
Eddie, I call that “the way of the dilettante.” -pl
Near the end of part 3, I was very interested in the section on all the things that take away your attention. While I was listening, the bell in my computer rang saying I had new e-mail. Sure enough, I switched over to check it and lost track of what you were saying!
How did you arrange that real-life lesson? !!!!
Great stuff.
Brilliant. Now turn that email alert off forever. No good can come of it!
Paul,
LOVE your work and thanks for these gems!
I really agree with the area about “Taking Charge of Your Attention”.
I have been on a mission for about 3 months now, to stay focused for 40 to 50 minute chunks.
It is SO hard. I am constantly wanting to split focus and distract to the things around me.
Little by little it’s getting easier with the help of a timer (my iPhone), which was a crucial,
otherwise I’d always be checking the clock. (Am I done yet?)
Another thing that really helped is to completely clear out everything in my work/creative environment that was not fresh and current, because all the “stuff” pulled at my attention bringing me into the past or future.
Every day I start with a fresh canvas and have only the things I am working TODAY or this week around me.
It helps me drill deeper and steep into extreme focus on the task at hand, which always results in higher quality work.
I don’t know if this seems extreme, but I am very sensitive to things in my environment pulling on my energy and derailing me. Wanted to share that in case others are also and just not aware of it.
GREAT work as always Paul. I appreciate all that you share!
Susanne
Susanne – make your time chunks smaller until it gets easy. Start with 25 minutes and take a 10 minute break. Keep doing that for a while. It’ll be like a walk on the beach. -pl
Thanks Paul… you’re a powerful inspiration.
Tks for the presentations which I watched one ofter the other and not in chunks, wrong start?
I just want to mention that I appreciated the connection you made between the use of time and the goals, objectives, visions, etc that everybody should have. Once you have defined your ideal goals, not only you know what you should do, but more important you know what you can dump, freeing time!
Tks again for the videos
Eric
You are a very powerful speaker, and I am impressed with your advice. I am one of these people who wanders from one thing to another. I will try setting a timer now!
Thanks for these videos.
Karen
Thanks Paul this was great stuff.
Very helpful and some real eye openers.
I liked the way you confessed to being ‘normal’ and
even you with these systems can become super
human……lets face it you are, compared to the
average Joe.
I seem to be a mix between owl and lark…..hopefully
i will become enlightened soon.
Best Regards
Shaun
Dublin
Hi Paul,
This is truly awesome information, higly valuable and presented very good! I really enjoyed them and have a list of things I can do. So thank you for sharing them.
And a thank you in advance for bringing this all so clearly, I can start implementing them right away (actually just did one already 😉
I hope you will be sharing more of these!
Thanks again,
Roel
Thanks for sharing this Paul. Got a lot of value from the presentation.
You’re welcome. I thought a lot of people could use this info right now. – pl
Paul,
Your videos kicked my butt into high-gear.
It’s crazy, even working for TEN MINUTES
toward my highest-value activity is putting
money in my pocket. (big money too)
I just wanted to take a little break and say
Thanks.
I’ll be coming back to the videos every month
Matt H
Hi Paul,
More great stuff on the second two videos! What I love is that in a world full of books, courses, and presentations full of complex productivity tips, you walk your talk and focus on just the highest value strategies. Any “time management” program that doesn’t do this is actually wasting my time … by filling my head with stuff that’s interesting … but not essential. Your approach resonates with what I’ve learned from Rich Schefren and Jay Abraham. Great perspective.
My favorite takeaway is scheduling creative time etc. and then sticking to the schedule. It’s not just about keeping the appointment … the light went off for me when you mentioned how you’d never talk to mom during a meeting with someone else. How can we expect to succeed in business and in life if we don’t give ourselves AT LEAST as much respect as we give others? This is huge.
If leadership is “the art of getting things done through the medium of other people,” then SELF-LEADERSHIP is “the art of getting things done through the medium of YOU.” Sounds weird, but I think that pondering this is extremely valuable. Once you “get it” (it took a few minutes, but I just did), the true value and importance of what you’re sharing in these videos becomes crystal clear.
“Self-leadership” in this context is a new concept to me. I suspect it will be among the biggest paradigm shifts I ever make, since it will allow me to more effectively act on all the other ones. Thanks!
Mike
Mike –
Power measures the speed with which you transform your goals into reality. Leadership is a tool to do that. And Self-leadership is a variation on that. Good idea. (BTW, I really like your “No Map, No Guide, No Limits” site. Incredible title. Cool posts. (http://www.nomapnoguidenolimits.com)
Hi Paul,
Fantastic videos, thank you. I’ve had this page open for around a week trying to schedule time to watch the videos. Today, (Sunday morning), I’ve made that time and learned much. I’ve taken pages of notes too and will use some of these to start my long overdue business journal.
Part of this afternoon will be spent in setting up my calendars and spreadsheets.
The part of delegation and feedback gave me further ideas. I can’t afford to outsource as I’m not breaking even yet and I don’t have kids in the right age group to do the boring stuff for me.
But it started me thinking about the unfinished house we’ve lived in for the past 14 years and how my darling hubby forgets to do the necessary things like door handles on the kid’s bedrooms and painting. I’ve never actually written these things down for him, given him a milestone or deadline etc. I’ve stopped giving feedback as he says the normal stuff men are so good at – it’ll get it done, don’t worry). We both just ‘don’t see’ these things as they’ve been like that for too long.
I think the rest of my Sunday will be taken up with delegating, deadlines and rewards.
Kathy
Kathy, What a riot. I’ve never heard of time being taken up with “delegating.” What a powerful idea. pl
Hi Paul,
This videos have been a wonderful reminder that F5 has been FOR SURE one of the 3 top investments I’ve made this year.
Staying focused has been one of my biggest struggles, and this videos are full of gold.
Thanks again,
Emilio
Hi Paul –
You have such a clear, focused way of unscrambling the detours that derail progress. Thanks for giving timely specific steps. This was definitely a GREAT use of an hour!
I’ll pass it along to my weekly Simple Success audience!
Carole
Hi Paul!
I saw you do this video live and like you said, entropy has set in and seeing these numbers and concepts again are lighting a new fire…..Maybe I need to set a monthly checkup on my calendar to come and review these once a month in order to slow down the entropy process?!?!? 🙂
Thanks for putting it out here – was great! And you are always so great to listen to –
All the best –
Bobbi
Bobbi,
You know – and not like I’m a perfect example of these things – I still learn things when I listen to myself! (And I’ve done THAT more than a few times.) Weird, huh?
Paul
Hi Paul,
Third part of the story is really great. Thanks for sharing insight.
Thanks for sharing, Paul. The feedback loop you mention bears a close relationship to ‘continuous improvement’ as generally expressed in quality management literature. Dr. Deming, one of the highest regarded among the gurus, taught what he called the PDSA (Plan Do Study Act) Cycle in conjunction with the concept of “constant and never ending improvement.” While PDSA was targeted [though not limited] to manufacturing processes and the focus of your ‘feedback loop’ is people, they share a feature of ‘interruption’ so as to facilitate analysis that enables ‘corrective action’ to be taken as deemed necessary.
Compliments on the series of 4 videos. This was time well spent.
Glenn,
Agreed that Deming was surely highly regarded.
My only problem with him is that one has to be a dedicated academic – and appreciate the style – to read his work. While the ideas are really pretty simple, he seemed to go out of his way to couch them astoundingly unclear language. I’m sure that’s not the case with you, but I assert that most folks who recommend Demming have never read him. Of course, all of us can learn a ton from his ideas, but those usually have to be digested second hand.
In my work, I try to separate the jargonic names given things from the things themselves. I find that knowing something is called continuous improvement helps very little. Knowing how to apply and profit from the concepts can help a great deal.
Thanks for your post.
PL
PS. More to come.
Hey Paul,
I’ve heard a few other time management deals and your’s, by far, was the most concise system. It’s not like you’re throwing a ton of doo dads for organization that takes an engineer to figure out.
I really appreciate how you teach and how simple you make things. One of the best teachers out there … by far.
Thanks again,
Mark
Hey Mark – you know, I’ve got this mantra : if it’s simple, it has a chance of working, mostly because you have a chance of executing. Too complicated? Most people give up right from the start.
The stuff in this talk works – if you put it into play. That’s why it’s all simple – give people a good shot at taking action.
Simple = Possible.
PL
Excellent reminders…going to share your videos with our membership…thank you for a great overview of effective time management.
Gail – please do. The more people who see these, the better for all of us. Imagine if all the people you worked with were really effective.
Great info and insights, Paul – thanks.
Your welcome, Des. Hey – if you have any of your own to add here, please go ahead.
Hey Paul, great video but very frustrating with waiting for them to load. Funny, here you are talking about being more time aware and productive but the video you have me watch was actually cutting into my productive day 🙂 But I get your message and thank you. I remember the story of Ivy Lee from the Earl Nightingale “lead the field series” It was great to have that reminder. As I was watching your video I realized I had a list in front of me of bills that were outstanding numbered from the most important to the least important, I guess Ivy Lees lesson stuck, very cool!
PS. do you load your videos through amazon? s13 or what ever its called? I know my computer is slow but most other videos are fine. Ask Frank kern and Andy, they have the video thing sorted.
Hey Scott,
Not sure about your loading problem. They are hosted on S3 and seem to go pretty quickly. – pl
Hi Paul,
Great videos! After years of struggling with GTD, I recently took a look at those times I AM super productive, and examined what I was doing. It turns out that I’m most productive when there’s a deadline, crisis, etc. and I move into “just do it” mode. I abandon all my fancy systems and just make a list of what needs to get done on a piece of paper.
I find that during these short periods of intense productivity, my mindset is VERY different. It’s as if I’m in “doing” mode and just use the list as a tool to assist. Contrast this with the reality that if I’m honest with myself, I’m usually “planning” mode, looking to my many GTD lists to provide the motivation to start doing things. I often refer to the system as “Getting Things Written Down” as a result.
I’m actually a big fan of David Allen’s approach … I just think (and I’ve heard him say this too) that most people focus on the lists and systems instead of starting with the mindset. Any system is useful, provided you’re in a state that motivates you to use it. You need to change the state first.
Ultimately, I think getting things done is really just a matter of getting things done. That’s much harder to stomach than a fancy system taught in a book or a two-day seminar. But it’s why simple systems used by pre-computer age folks like Benjamin Franklin and Ivy Lee work so well. Technology has changed, but the human mind hasn’t. Ultimately, being productive comes down to somehow finding the motivation to actually do one task, then another, then another. Motivation comes from higher-level thinking: purpose, vision, goals, etc.–not from a list of tasks.
For some people, crossing items off a list is motivating enough. Personally, I find that I need to first connect to a reason why, change my state, and then use a simple list to get stuff accomplished. This is much easier said than done, of course (especially if there’s no objective external “crisis” to light the fire). How to light our own fires … and use the heat without burning down the business in the process … that’s the challenge!
Mike
Mike –
Context is Decisive.
I find that the “reason why” approach has more impact on overall effectiveness than anything else. Couple that with your ability to prioritize and sort for highest valued contribution to your goals and you’ll have a pretty good system. All those lists drive me crazy – that’s why I like Ivy Lee.
And touch it once? Give me a break. I’m just not that disciplined. My system is try to touch it never.
pl
Paul,
Thanks for sharing a valueable moment to let us know about the bit and pieces of our time, where it goes and how we should use it.
It is easy and simple but to follow it looks diffucult.
Hope and try to follow the same. Hoping to find the other two videoes as well to see what is missing to do more.
Thanks
Aamir Rasool, ASQ-CHA
Paul,
Thank you for tapping down into which really matters to think about bit and pieces of our time and periorities.
Its so simple, but so difficult to takeover by myself.
I look forward to the other two parts and will do my best to put what I learned into practice from your videos.
Thanks
Aamir Rasool, ASQ-CHA
Paul
Thanks for the excellent advice on how valuable time is.
Looking forward to the next parts
By the way, I watched these while I was uploading to my server, usually I just go for a smoke 🙂
Ron
Ron, Great use of time…
Paul,
Thank you for boiling what really matters down to bite sized pieces and sharing your insight.
Its so simple, but so difficult to come by myself.
I look forward to the other two parts and will do my best to put what I learned into practice from your videos.
~Hoo
Hoo! I like things which are simple. It makes it them so much easier for people to actually use. ~pl
Good Presentation!! For more time management tips, check this article out
http://www.businesspathfinders.co.uk/time-management/ – It makes good use of Covey’s teachings
Gary,
The “quadrant II” thinking is, in my opinion, the best part of all of Covey’s work.
pl
Thanks for sharing the insights.
Those numbers are crazy. Thanks for bringing us back to the basics- they are so easy to forget.
Looking forward to parts 3 & 4
Loved the last few nuggets on the second video…that’s the gold!
Good videos, really inspire me so much.
Oh gee – I wish I could attain even half of that time. My ability to keep going totally sucks to the point of despair… 🙁
Colin,
The gains are really available. The issue is – more than anything – how motivated you are to take action. Make sure to check out the next two videos. They’ll be up Saturday. Could change your life.
pl
Paul,
I’ve heard several different points you’ve mentioned in your presentation, but not all put together like this … looking forward to the rest of your presentation.
thanks for sharing
mike
Great information – Another tip for staying focused is to set a digital timer for around 50 minutes and let it go. This frees your mind to NOT think about how much time you are spending on an activity. It is amazing to see what you can get done in 50 minute increments. If the activity you are involved with is not completed in 50 minutes, then take a 10 minute break and restart the clock.
Hey Doug,
50 minutes is way too long for most people. Research shows that most people focus best in the 20-45 minute range and you’ve got to figure out what works for you. I’ll discuss that in part 3 of the videos. (Out on Saturday.)
pl
Paul,
You never cease to amaze me. Words that come to mind as I watched the first 2 parts, “Insightful, brilliant”… and on and on.
You have a unique way of drilling down to the most important elements, stripping away al of the mumbo jumbo BS, and telling it just like it is.
You definitely got my attention. And I am looking forward to the conclusion.
Thanks for sharing this presentation!
Jay
Jay – I find the mumbo jumbo part is either a deliberate attempt to obfuscate, or it just means the guru doesn’t really understand. In any case, simple makes it easy to implement. I strive for simple – pl
Awesome shocking numbers!
Great presentation!
I am pretty sure this helps 🙂
I am looking forward to the next 2 videos
thanks
Paul
Paul –
Scary, shocking numbers – if I wasn’t motivated to do something about this before I definitely am now.
Great presentation. Thanks,
Simon
Simon,
Those scary numbers are what got me going in the first place.
pl
Thank you, Paul. Those numbers help convince me to set goals and focus on the most important things. We can’t wait until the important things are done to work on the things that build our business.
I raised both of my hands when you asked the question about time at the beginning. I struggle with it a lot. Really looking forward to the next videos.
Thank you,
Lavern
Hi Lavern,
Recognition is the first step on the road to recovery! (I love quoting myself.) It might be important for you to reframe “the things that build our business” as among the IMPORTANT things.
Make sure to view the last parts of the talk (due out tonight.)
pl