time management quotes

don't lose interest when it's easy; don't lose hope when it's hard. just the right amount of stress and difficulty is what makes us improve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTugjssqOT0
randy pausch

most important point: in 7 habits 4 task quadrants, do 1. important/urgent, 2. important/not urgent, 3. unimportant/urgent, 4. unimportant/not urgent. that way, 2s don't become 1s and you don't get stressed.
many people do unimportant/urgent second, but that's wrong.

being successful doesn't make you manage your time well.
managing your time well makes you successful.

(me) time are money are related; so are time and stress.

don't do the wrong things beautifully; do the right things adequately.

why am i doing this? what will happen if i don't?

good judgement comes from experience.
experience comes from bad judgement.
there are no shortcuts to good judgement.

you can't change the plan unless you have one.

do the ugliest thing first.
if you have to eat a frog, don't look at it first.
if you have to eat 3 frogs, start with the big one.

only have 1 document on your desk at a time; that way you fight them one-on-one
touch each piece of paper (or email) only once.

use a speaker phone when you're, and tell them politely how long you've been on hold.
stand while talking on the phone.
start with giving an agenda for the call.
have something on your desk that you'd like to get back to.
'i'd love to keep talking but i have ___ waiting.'
group your calls and make them right before lunch and quitting time. then they will have something to get back to.
use a phone headset.

keep kleenex and thank you notes on your desk.
people will remember you if you send them a thank you note.

keep a paper recycle bin near your desk that is emptied infrequently. then you will not hesitate to throw it out since you have a grace period to get it back.

make your office comfortable for you, and optionally comfortable for others.
keep folding chairs to the side.

you don't 'find' time for important things. you 'make' time by neglecting something else. consider opportunity cost and learn to say gentle 'no's.

gentle no:
'i'm strapped, but i don't want you to be in a bind. i'll be your fallback if you can't find someone else.' then you will see how that person treats you, based on whether or not they keep looking.

find your creative time. defend it ruthlessly and spend it alone.
find your dead time. schedule meetings, phone calls, and exercise (when you don't need to be at your mental best.)

an interruption of 6-9 minutes takes 4-5 minutes to recover from.
when people interrupt you, say 'i'm in the middle of something' or 'i only have 5 minutes'. then they will want to handle it quickly and you can leave gracefully later.

if someone won't leave your office, go to the door, complement and thank them, and shake their hand. if they still won't leave, leave.

time journal
monitor yourself in 15min intervals, update every 30min, for 3days to 2weeks.
what am i doing that doesn't need to be done, what can i delegate to someone else, where am i wasting time, and where am i wasting other people's time?
time management is collaborative, not selfish; help other people be more efficient
remember the point is not to do more, it's to go home on time.

effective vs. efficient
do what will work better, even if it takes more time.

we don't procrastinate from laziness. identify why you are not enthusiastic. are you afraid of failure? are you avoiding the decision to prioritize?
doing things at the last minute is much more expensive than just before the last minute.
make up a fake deadline and pretend it's real.
sometimes you just have to ask and wonderful things happen.

delegation
don't treat it like dumping.
give responsibility and authority.
keep the ugliest part of the job yourself, so you and they know you are not dumping.
treat your people well.
you cannot be vague if you want something to get done. specific thing to do, specific date _and_ time. specific penalty or reward (for them).
challenge people; they usually yearn for an opportunity.
communication has to be clear. get it in writing, even if you've spoken.
give objectives, not procedures. let them surprise you with their solutions. you want to get people smarter than you, so let them prove it.
let them know which tasks are most important.
beware upward delegation; don't take it back.
praise and thank people. it's the best reward.
don't email more than one person to get something done, unless you are ccing their boss.
it's okay to nag if they haven't responded within 48 hours.

meetings
book: one minute manager
don't go to a meeting without an agenda.
don't let people be half-there. it's either worth the time or not.
only rarely have meetings > 1 hour.
1 minute for the minutes: who is responsible for what by when and email to everybody.

use technology that changes the workflow.

manage from beneath
when do we next meet?
what should i have done by then?
where else can i get help?
your boss wants results, not an excuse.

time off
2 options: alternate contact, or contact me when i get back. that way you don't have work piling up when you're gone.

kill your television.
turn money into time, especially with young children.
you always have time to sleep.

never break a promise, but renegotiate if necessary.
if you don't have time to do it right, you don't have time to do it wrong.
most things are pass/fail.
get feedback sleuths, and ask in confidence. the most valuable thing in the world is someone will tell you the truth about what you're doing right and wrong.

get important things done

completion of an unimportant task is not a success. prevent or punish it as the failure that it is.

there is a world of difference between staying busy and getting things done.

why is working on a task so much more comfortable than defining and prioritizing tasks?

when writing or presenting research: "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." the truth, only the important parts that guide the audience through the present narrative, and including simplifications that facilitate comprehension.

"you can waste a lot of time trying to do things quickly." i've seen this happen, but why does it happen? maybe because i try to build complex processes that will run very quickly once they finally start. but the facts on the ground change before my system is in place, and i can't adapt my process or the goal looses relevance and importance by the time i'm ready to use it. better to do something less efficient but starting sooner.

your home is not your head. remember to interact.

work and planning quotes

don't try to learn too much at once -- you'll get overwhelmed and discouraged.

you are paid to perform, so make sure you face the audience.

don't do any work that no one else will find out about.

--duhctaep

the scientific method

inductive formulate hypothesis apply for grant perform experiments or gather data to test hypothesis alter data to fit hypothesis publish deductive formulate hypothesis apply for grant perform experiments or gather data to test hypothesis revise hypothesis to fit data backdate revised hypothesis publish

stay focused

the woods are lovely, dark and deep. but i have promises to keep, and lines to code before i sleep, and lines to code before i sleep. ginac

teddy roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again. Because there is no effort without error and shortcomings, he who knows the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the high achievement of triumph and who at worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory nor defeat" -theodore roosevelt i find this quote very inspiring. here's one i'm working on: "the greatest failure is fear to try." -duhctaep