The Value of Time: Insights on Life and Time Management
Overview
In this insightful talk, the speaker reflects on the nature of time, the importance of experiences, and effective time management strategies. Emphasizing that life is not merely about the passage of time but about the richness of experiences, the speaker shares practical tips for managing time effectively to achieve personal and professional goals.
Key Points
- Perception of Time: The speaker discusses how a long life can still feel short, emphasizing the value of experiences over mere longevity.
- Experiences Matter: Life is described as a collection of experiences, where their frequency and intensity define its quality.
- Time Management Strategies:
- Plan Ahead: Start each day, week, month, and year with a clear plan to maximize productivity. For more on this, check out The Ultimate Guide to Effective Time Management.
- Focus on Major Tasks: Prioritize significant activities over minor ones to ensure meaningful progress. This ties into Boosting Productivity: Essential Tools and Approaches for Efficiency.
- Avoid Mistaking Movement for Achievement: Being busy does not equate to being productive. For strategies on overcoming distractions, see Overcoming Distractions: The Key to Personal Success.
- Learn to Say No: Protect your time by declining unnecessary commitments.
- Concentration: Focus on the task at hand, whether at work or play, to enhance effectiveness.
- Keep a Journal: Document experiences and insights to create a valuable legacy for future generations.
Conclusion
The speaker concludes by highlighting the importance of taking charge of one’s time and life, encouraging listeners to fill their lives with meaningful experiences and to manage their time wisely for personal growth and fulfillment. For those interested in optimizing their time for personal development, consider exploring How to Optimize Your Time for Spiritual Growth and Education.
FAQs
-
What is the main message of the talk?
The main message is that life is about the quality of experiences rather than just the quantity of time lived. -
How can I improve my time management skills?
Start by planning your days, weeks, and months in advance, focusing on major tasks, and avoiding distractions. -
Why is it important to keep a journal?
A journal helps document experiences and insights, serving as a valuable resource for future generations. -
What does the speaker mean by 'don't mistake movement for achievement'?
This means that being busy does not necessarily lead to productive outcomes; focus on meaningful tasks instead. -
How can I prioritize my tasks effectively?
Identify major tasks that align with your goals and focus on those, while minimizing time spent on minor activities. -
What role do experiences play in our lives?
Experiences shape our lives and contribute to our personal growth, making them more valuable than the mere passage of time. -
How can I ensure I have a balanced life?
Set boundaries between work and personal time, and make sure to engage fully in both areas without mixing them.
my father had 90 years but it seemed 93 years but it seems sure in his seemingly long life of 93 years it was short because it just seems like if we only had more time old testament gives us a view of some people who live to be five six seven eight nine hundred years old
if i have a chance to ask i will ask how come we got short changed wouldn't that be a good question if you had a chance to ask imagine seven eight nine hundred years to watch generation after generation after generation after
generation stay healthy and well i mean you got to have you got to be healthy to make it to 900 you got to take your vitamins i'm pushing the bible i'm pushing vitamins i'm doing good today
so the key is time is precious now let me give you bill bailey's description of time life is not just the passing of time life is not just the passing of time life is a collection of experiences their frequency
and their intensity life is not just watching the clock tick away life is a collection of experiences their intensity their frequency
when my friend mark died at age 44 someone says that's young to die but what if he lived four lifetimes in one might not be too young so here's what it whatever the span of your life turns out to be here's what you want to fill it up with experiences and the intensity of those experiences
but now let's talk about the management of time here's one of the best ones we covered earlier when should you start building this hotel answer as soon as you have it finished now jot this one down on time management when should you start the day
as soon as you have it finished plan the day the best you can leaving plenty of room for improvising and surprises and all the stuff that happens during the course of the day but if you've planned a good productive day
now you start that day you can't believe how much more valuable your time will be don't start the day until you have it finished now here's the next one don't start the week until you've had it finished now to lay out a week is a pretty good challenge
next don't start the month until you have it finished the places to go and the people to see and the productivity and the sales and the customers and the development and all the rest of what you
want to accomplish during the course of 30 days don't start the month till it's finished and then here's the big one this is really challenging don't start the year until you have it finished to the best of your ability it can't be finished like minute by minute
but in terms of the sweep of what you want to accomplish in the year 2002 make sure that that's set and ready to go by the time january 1st rolls around and it might get all upset it might get torn up and you do a new and you make so much progress the first 90 days that now you've
got you've multiplied it all by two by three because that happened to me i thought wow here's how this is gonna be a great year by the time i'd finish the third month i'm rolling i'm sore and so many things are happening i revised my whole year's plan okay now jot this down approaches
to the management of time here's the first one ignore the subject i mean that's good advice don't let anything overly bug you because you remember now you don't have to do anything someone says well i got to get a handle on my time the answer is no you don't if you want to let it
all go you can let it all go i mean this is good advice somebody says you ought you what you ought jot this down ignore all the you oughts or you should only if they're giving general information we should it's better to say if you're teaching we should not you should we should then you let me
listen in without it being too confrontational if everyone did this see that would be great and then you give a person a chance to choose to do it or not to do it but when you start the you ought you ought now see if i don't now see we got some tension and maybe some problems so you oughts
seem to always create problems when you're talking to your kids you say no if kids would do this not always saying if you did this if you did this life would be better but if kids did this life would be better it's like making a little talk and letting them listen in and then it's
a little less confrontational it gives us a choice in one of my seminars here's what i teach all life form strives to the max of its potential except human beings all life form strives to the max of its potential except human beings
how tall will the tree grow as tall as it possibly can you never heard of a tree grown half as high as it could no trees don't grow half
a tree drives its roots as deep as it can reaches as high as it can produces every leaf it can every fruit it possibly can to the max every life form strives to the max except human beings now why not human beings jot this down you've been given the dignity of choice you're not a robot you don't
have to repeat this year the same as last year you can tear up last year's plan develop a new plan so the dignity of being a human being now here's the choice on being a human being to be part of all we were meant to be or to be all to strive for all or half
or part or some the choice is up to you to develop one skill or ten skills someone says well i'd be happy with just one more language well some say hey i'm going to learn six or seven and this is all a matter of choice and when someone says no you ought to learn four you've got to resist all
that because this is personal dignity and you don't want to destroy someone's dignity by by doing all the odds and they feel reluctant to do it now we've got problems so if you want to just ignore this subject on time management now here's the next one step down to something easier
the guy's in sales and he says oh i want to own the company finally owns the company now he's got no time to play golf he said when i was in sales i was making big money playing golf three days a week
heck with this own and something heck with managing my life was never my own after i started to manage i'm going back to sales see this is the key if you're getting too pressed you might consider stepping down to something with a little easier time pressure
little girl says to her mother daddy comes home brings his briefcase and pats me on his head and says hello disappears and works on his papers how come my daddy doesn't play with me and her mother said look your daddy loves you very much but he has he's so
busy at work he can't get it all done he has to bring it home he loves you but that's why he can't play with you and the little girl said why don't they just put him in a slower group so jot this down now if you don't have time for your kids you might consider
joining a slower group remember when i said some things i went for cost me too much so reconsider next key to time management and that's work longer and harder but see there's a limit to that i almost lost my health the first year i went so crazy about personal development and
achievement i just went bonkers you know i told you i was skinny by the end of that first year i was a walking shadow and then it suddenly occurred to me what if i got rich and too ill to spend it i mean that was a shocker so i started you know developing a little more reasonable because i said
if 12 hours won't do it i'll work 14 if that won't do it i'll work 18 i mean how many hours it takes and sure enough it cost me too much so see working longer and harder for some might be appropriate you know if you're just sitting around not doing that much this might be good work longer and
harder but you can only work so hard here's the key not to work harder but smarter when you've worked as hard as you can doing the best you can in terms of physical output in the time reasonable time now here's the ultimate in the management of time and that is you simply become more skillful
when i first got into sales you know i was around people that could get you know nine out of ten eight out of ten and when i first started i could only get one out of ten but here's what i did i worked around the clock around the clock
so that i would make up in numbers what i lacked in skill that's good in sales you got to jot that down when you're new you make up in numbers which you lack in skill now when you become more skillful the numbers can go down because now your your persuasive ability
and all of that is now so high that you don't need to put as many numbers out but at first if you want to compete or if you want to really get good you've got to put in the numbers but if you get more from yourself develop more of yourself now the time management becomes an
easier task now here's the next thing either you run the project or it runs you i've found out when you start something at first you're in charge all of a sudden a year later it's in charge some of the companies i started i'm telling you i'm in control a couple of years later i'm out of
control at first i've got it on the run two years later it's got me on the run i haven't got enough time i'm dizzy with trying to get it all done so here's part of the key and that's to get in charge say i'm gonna take charge of my health one of my albums is entitled take charge of your life
take charge of your time take charge of your resources which we're going to talk about next take charge of your health you're the one that's responsible for it it's not a requirement of society that you not have a heart attack and take care of your family
that's not a requirement of society but you must make it a requirement of yourself society doesn't require that you build a financial wall around your family nothing can get through that's not a requirement of society it's a requirement you impose on yourself
to build a financial wall around your family nothing can get through okay so impose on yourself the self-development of being in charge taking charge of your life and your health and your future and your responsibilities and all the rest next reasonable
time is enough time to achieve all of your goals just shut that down reasonable time is enough time i had to learn that reasonable time is enough time here's why it's not the hours you put in it's what you put in the hours if you start depositing greater ideas into the hours you've got
later than now i'm telling you later you can't believe the productivity that will flow the ideas you can't think of now a year from now they'll start to flow and when you deposit those ideas in the hours you've got productivity multiplies by two three five ten
next time management essential we've already covered the first one a written set of goals and then do priorities on your goals what's important this week what's important this month here's the next one often review just go over your goals to make sure
that your list is working for you it's got you inspired it's got you turned on somebody says how come you're up so early say if you were headed where i'm headed you'd be up early too well if you were going to meet who i'm going to meet you'd be up early
if it was gonna stack up for you like it's stacking up for me you'd be getting up early here's some more time management essentials learn to study what we call majors and minors
you pick up the phone here's what you must say when you pick up the phone is this a major conversation or a minor conversation if it's minor a few pleasantries and you're done if it's major maybe you've got to make a few notes
so here's the next one important conversations make an agenda before you make the call just jot down a little agenda it's so easy now to just talk out of your head do you ever hear a conversation end like this like this let's see there was something else see you don't look that
swift i can't think of it right now i'll call you back see you look a little incompetent let's see there was something it escapes me right now really so if you got this now make an agenda before you make a call if it's an important call now later
that saves you all kinds of stuff you call john in the salesman say john remember those four things we went over he said no we didn't talk about that and then you pull out your daytime or whatever and there's the list you made when you made the call he said oh yes seems like i do remember and you've
got him with your list if it's just sales people especially can talk you out of what's in your head it's true no we didn't talk about that and if you don't have a little proof i'm telling you it's gone so make an agenda before you make a call so what's major what's minor now here's the key on
this don't major in minor things if you take up major time to do minor things i'm telling you you'll be behind the curve constantly here's what we learn in sales training what's major time and what's minor time here's minor time thinking about prospects here's minor time
making list of prospects here's minor time keeping books on prospects here's minor time going to see the prospect here's minor time evaluating the prospect after you've been there that's all minor
time here's major time in the presence of the prospect that's mine that's major time and if you took a look if you're in sales and you took a look at a week you'd say my gosh i'm spending 90 of my time on the minor stuff and so little time on the major stuff in the presence of
how many hours in the presence of in my day how many hours in the presence of during my sales week because the time that really counts is in the presence of the prospect majors and minors here's another key time management essential don't mistake movement for achievement
it's easy to get faked out by being busy god comes home at night all exhausted falls in the chair and says oh i've been going go and go and here's the big question doing what it's not to go and go and go and
some people are going going going and they're doing figure eights their progress is small so don't mistake movement for achievement here's another one in sales we learned don't mistake courtesy for consent if somebody's pleasant and they nod you say oh they're going to buy
no they're courteous you can't mistake courtesy for consent now here's a big one concentration i had to learn this all those years ago i'm in the shower trying to compose a letter found it turns out to be a strange letter
so here's what i learned to do save the work till you get to the office save the work till you get to the work don't try to get to the office on the way to work on the way to work enjoy the way in the shower
enjoy the shower then go to work when you get to work i found this to be helpful concentration here's another big one learn to say no i'm telling you in such a social society we have now it's so easy to try to be a nice person saying yes yes yes to everything
find yourself overloaded now you got to call make the well gosh you know all the time it takes to back out of something that you should said yes to too quickly here's what might be better i don't think so but if that changes i'll call you little things you can use not to commit over
commit yourself my friend ron reynolds says don't let your mouth overload your back it's a good one now here's a big one on time management when you work work when you play play don't mix the two don't work at play i used to take my family to the beach and i would bring my briefcase
i learned not to do that or at the beach i'm saying i should be at the office i should be at the office now my family's upset because i'm at the beach and i'm thinking office office office now when i'm at the office i'm thinking what i got to get my family to the beach the beach the beach
so things are not going too well at the office because i'm thinking beach and things are not going too well at the beach because i'm thinking office here's what i learned to do at the beach be at the beach at the office be at the office when you work work when you play play don't mix the two
don't work at play now here's one of the most important ones don't play at work work is too serious you don't want the reputation of being the office joker
it's not a good one yes there's time for some pleasant stories yes there's time for a little humor yes best if it's a happy office of course but i'm telling you you got to be serious about work because you're partying with a piece of your life for the work you do your work costs
you a piece of your life here's what it's called serious business not grim not unhappy but serious key don't play at work the old expression i don't think we use it anymore horse around at the office play around play jokes play tricks no place not at the workplace at the beach yes
at the bar yes somewhere else not work you got to treat work with all due conservative passion because it's leading you to your future here's another key phrase all work is good you may not like your job but if it's the stepping stones to get you to where you want to
to go you got to appreciate your job you don't have to have a passion for your job here's the ultimate passion a passion for incredible success in every department of my life that's the passion but don't look down on some menial job you have to do to finally get you to where you want to go
no job is menial menial no job is not no every job is noble training life for pay making a contribution to society next analyze how you are and if you have some weaknesses if you can't doesn't seem like you
can change here's the key get it covered i used to keep promising myself i'd keep the books keep the books keep the books finally i gave that up and back then it only took me an extra 50 60 bucks a month for some accountant to keep the books i said no i'm going to save the 50 bucks
you can't believe what i started losing in productivity because i tried to save the 50 bucks so the key is a lot of time you can stay like you are but just make sure you get it covered okay next beware of the telephone and all other systems of communication especially
the telephone at home and systems of communication at home and here's one of the best lines i've got for you for the weekend let all communication systems serve you but don't let them intrude when it comes time to have dinner with your family you shut off all systems unless the ones that can
take messages silently don't let the phone ring don't let anybody intrude come through the front door no the back door nor through the telephone or any other device so you can't reach john and his family when he's having dinner the president of the united states couldn't get through
if you develop that kind of a reputation father mother when we have dinner when we're visiting and have this time with our family nothing intrudes so don't let these clever little devices keep intruding you've got to have
a place that's sacrosanct it's it's valuable you don't let anything in for that period of time okay isn't it good advice excellent advice here's the next one read all the books you know i've only got a few notes here on time management but if you've got some particular challenges
you run a big organization a big corporation you've got some challenges there's plenty of books now here's what's next just be more alert to the things that might be stealing your time here's why time is like capital you can't let someone steal your seed corn you can't
let someone steal your capital and you can't let someone steal your time you must designate your time and some of the time that you designate you must not let anyone steal casual time you might let someone intrude and steal a little bit and take a little bit but not serious time
next one of the great time management savers is to learn to ask questions up front sometimes you talk to somebody for an hour then you ask questions and find out if you would have asked those questions up front you could have saved yourself an hour
asking questions up front helps you to get to the problem now but if you just launch into some discourse you might waste 30 minutes waste an hour when here's what you should have been talking about after you've finished an hour you say john what's really the problem he said
well it's something personal see that's what you should have been talking about this whole hour okay next learn to think on paper and we're going to take a break
some ways to think on paper one we've covered one solving problems take it out of your head and put it on paper another one is setting goals making these lists we've already started here's another good way to think on paper it's a projects book
each person you're working with in each project you're working on get a loose leaf binder and a tab and some pieces of paper behind the tab and do a little continual summary of how it's going between you and that person and between you and that project i call it a project's book it
is so useful to me but what's going on between you and this person when you last got together what did you talk about and you got a few notes here's what we talked about the last time we got together now when you get together again you can review that so you'll know better what to talk about
when the president gets ready to travel and he's going to meet some important people guess what they bring him all these briefing books right the last time you were with khrushchev kennedy is informed here's what he said and here's what you said kennedy said oh that's valuable
i need to remember that if a person is important it's worth a little running account you might even have a project's book for your children here's what's happening between me and my child we've talked about this and we've talked about this and we've talked about this
next a day timer keeping track of all of your appointments you know mine is all filled with you know when to catch an airplane and when to do a seminar when to sit down and have a conference all the rest
next is a game plan you know if you've got a house and the you know insurance is going to come due and some other things are going to come do you just put it on a spreadsheet make sure it's taken care of
key phrase take things out of your head and put them on paper and the key is to just experiment with different ways that helps you to do that now here's the last one thinking on paper and that's to keep a journal
one of the things i'm known for around the world have been now for 39 40 years is keeping a journal now my journal is not a you know it's not necessarily a it's not like a diary it might be part diary you know i'm flying over ireland and i write down a few little things that impressed me
today i met this person wow what an extraordinary event today this i conducted this seminar in rome a thousand people stood up and sang for me i've got a little bit of a diary in there but here's what primarily your general is for collecting good ideas a journal is to collect good ideas on your
health good ideas for your business good ideas for your future good ideas for time management because i used to take notes on pieces of paper and torn off corners and backs of old envelopes and restaurant placemats and i threw all this stuff in a drawer it did not serve me well
i foundly learned to get a bound copy right and just keep a journal right if i was here i had my journal i'd be taking notes right these two days in my journal now if you're caught without your journal you just take the notes when you get back home you've put those notes in your
journal throw the paper away because we don't usually go through paper to review but see my journals now make up a significant part of my own library my journal's all reserved privately for my children and my grandchildren can you imagine what i've collected over the years it's unbelievable
there are three treasures to leave behind i think you've already got those notes right here they are number one your pictures don't leave the event unrecorded it takes only a fraction of a cent of a second to say here's who i was with
when i travel the world right we take all these pictures and here's one of the gifts people send me the pictures they took of me and them it's part of the treasures i have on the farm incredible a picture's worth a thousand words to describe the scene the emotion
what happened say wow this was an extraordinary day for me when i met these people here's what they told me happened to them when they went to my seminar ten years ago wow the drama comes back if you've taken the pictures it's one of the treasures to leave behind when you go
remember the old photographs that we have now you know 100 years ago 70 80 years ago just a few photographs what would it be like if you had thousands of photographs of the past of your history your mother your father right grandparents so change all of that now for your children leave
all your photographs as a record here's what's next to leave behind and that's your library the books that changed your life the books to change your health the books that rescued you from oblivion the books that you passed on to other people they were so exciting for you
the books that made you financially independent the books that developed your leadership the books that gave you wisdom to ponder when things were tough the books that got you through the winter the books that helped you to plant in the spring and harvest in the fall what a treasure to leave
behind if you do that here's what's for sure your books will be more valuable than your furniture wow now the third treasure to leave behind is your journals the notes you took that helped you to live life as you lived it
long after you're gone a treasure that children grandchildren great-grandchildren will find so fascinating they may use it to help guide their
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