No matter who you are, time management will always be a significant factor in your success. Life is busy, and when tasks pile up, it can be difficult to make sure they’re done well and done on time.
So whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or a team leader, mastering time management skills will pay you back in spades. If you’re looking for ways to do that, you’re in luck. Many top business leaders have shared their time management wisdom with the world. Here are some of their best tips.
1. Tony Robbins on The Purpose Behind It All
Tony Robbins is an American philanthropist and motivational speaker who has helped millions of people get their lives on track. And time management is a huge aspect of that. After all, if you can’t lead yourself, how can you effectively lead others?
Robbins says, “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power.” According to Robbins, the outcome of one’s effort is in relationship with the direction of one’s focus. A lack of focus, or concentration of power, leads to scattered and often disappointing results.
To find your focus again, brainstorm a list of your five most important values and desired outcomes. Once your goals are clear, focus all your efforts on achieving them. Evaluate every action by asking, “Is this bringing me closer to my goals or taking me further away from them?”
With your mind focused on your objectives, you’ll be able to view each part of your work as taking steps. These steps can move you forward or backward — the choice is yours.
2. John Rampton on Smart Schedules
Scheduling may seem like an obvious element of productive time management, and that’s because it is! But because it’s so obvious, it’s easy to forget how powerful it can be. Basic scheduling is a fundamentally effective way to break up your day into contained and easily identifiable chucks. Checking off the to-do list of your schedule psychologically rewards and subsequently motivates your brain.
Serial entrepreneur John Rampton takes scheduling to the next level. One of his greatest recommendations is to schedule time for distractions. It may seem counterintuitive at first, but it actually increases the robustness of your schedule and, thus, your output. Why?
Imagine a co-worker comes to you asking for help with something. Suddenly, you’ve got to take the time and energy to weigh your priorities. If you decide to help them, then you’ve lost focus and productivity on your own project.
Now imagine you’ve blocked time out of your day for distractions. You can immediately tell your co-worker that you’d love to help and can do so during that chunk of time.
Schedule your day wisely, and you’ll be able to keep up personal productivity while still flexing for unexpected surprises.
3. James Clear on the Power of Environment
We often believe ourselves to be in control of our habits. But habit-formation expert James Clear asserts that much of our decision-making is a product of our environment. In Clear’s view, “Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.” This may be a tough pill to swallow at first, as it makes the human condition appear slightly frail. However, it also means that you can use the power of your environment to your advantage.
All offices are products of environmental design. And now that many people use their homes as their offices, it’s important to channel similar design values. Just like scheduling time for distractions, it’s important to design space for them, too. Or more accurately, it’s important to design your workspace such that it’s relatively free of them. So locate the TV elsewhere, choose a space with a door, and use noise-canceling headphones if necessary.
By eliminating distractions from your workspace, you program your mind to associate your workspace with, well, work. If your environment naturally encourages you to focus on your tasks, the hours you spend working will be more productive.
4. Tim Ferriss on Getting More Out Of Your Work
Life-hacker and work guru Tim Ferriss achieved his initial fame from his 2007 breakout book “The 4-Hour Work Week.” Since then, he’s gone on to help millions of people optimize their decision-making and productivity, among many other life hacks.
In “The 4-Hour Work Week,” Ferriss seeks to implant in the reader the idea that less is more. One of the ways he does this is by introducing the 80/20 principle. The 80/20 principle asserts that 80% of something’s value comes from just 20% of the actual work done. The nuances, the finer details, are what make up the remaining 20% of the value and 80% of the work.
This idea hearkens back to Tony Robbins’ advice to keep your purpose and motivation at the forefront of your attention. The 80/20 principle asks you to discern what task will give you the most value for the least amount of work. Focus on accomplishing this most valuable 20%, and you will increase your productivity dramatically. Less truly is more .
Putting It All Together
So to recap: Concentrate on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Make sure to create a smart and robust schedule that can flex for unexpected surprises. Keep your environment free of unnecessary distractions that would deter you from your goals. Discover and do the work that will give you the greatest amount of value for the least amount of effort.
By using the time management wisdom of top business leaders, you may find yourself more productive than ever before.
Image credit: Ono Kosuki; Pexels; Thanks!
