# Three Absolute Principles of Time Management and Productivity.

## Metadata
- Author: [[Your Time, Your Way]]
- Full Title: Three Absolute Principles of Time Management and Productivity.
- Category: #podcasts
- URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/ac0e29f8-7cc0-45ad-aea9-b1f50a01668c
## Highlights
- Intro
Summary:
Time management principles remain timeless and foundational despite evolving tools and technology.
Individuals should prioritize establishing what is important to them, as this clarity allows for more effective daily decision-making and prevents being reactive to others' demands. The Eisenhower Matrix can aid in identifying and focusing on tasks that are important but not urgent, promoting activities like planning and self-care.
Furthermore, consistent planning of daily and weekly objectives is essential.
Acknowledging statistics that show a lack of weekly reviews among practitioners underscores the value of this practice.
Planning not only mitigates fears of forgotten responsibilities but also enhances awareness of realistic capabilities, ultimately leading to more effective and meaningful productivity. It encourages individuals to focus on what truly matters and to manage their time effectively, aligning daily actions with personal values and goals.
Transcript:
Speaker 1
What are the time-tested principles of better time management and productivity? That's what I'm exploring in this week's episode. Hello and welcome to episode 337 of the Your Time Your Way podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein and I am your host of this show. Now if you have read books on time management and productivity you may have picked up that there are a few basic principles that never seem to change. Things like writing everything down, not relying on your head to remember things, planning your day and week and writing out what is important to you. These are solid principles that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. The tools we use may have changed but these principles have not and never will. What is surprising are the attempts to reinvent time management. New apps and systems seems to come out every month claiming to be game-changing. I hate that phrase. Or more ways to define the laws of time and physics and somehow create more time in the day than is actually possible. Hiram Smith, the creator of the Franklin Planner, an icon of time management and productivity, always said that time management principles have not changed in over 6,000 years. What has changed is the speed at which we try to do things. Technology hasn't changed these time management principles. All technology has done is made doing things faster. Today I can send an email to the other side of the world and it will arrive instantly. Two hundred years ago I would have had to have written a letter, go to the post office to purchase a stamp and send it. It would arrive two or three months later. Funnily enough, I read a book called The Man with the Golden Typewriter. It's a book of letters Ian Fleming sent to his readers and publisher. He often began his letters with the words, thank you for your letter of the 14th of February or some such date, yet the date of his reply was in April. Not only were things slower 50 years ago, people were more patient. So with all that said, let me now hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice for this week's question. This week's question comes from Lisa. Lisa asks, Hi Carl, I've noticed you've been talking about basic principles of productivity recently. Are there any principles you follow that have not changed? Hi Lisa, thank you for your question. Now the answer is yes, there are, yet it took me a long time to realize the importance of these principles. The first one which many people try to avoid is establishing what is important to you. This is what I call doing the back-end work. You see, if you don't know what is important to you, your days will be driven by the latest and urgent thing. That's likely to come from other people, not from you. Stephen Covey wrote about this in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, with his time management matrix, also called the Eisenhower Matrix. This matrix is divided into important and urgent, important and not urgent, urgent and not important, and not urgent and not important. The goal of this matrix is to spend as much time as possible in the second quadrant. That's the important but not urgent. This area includes things like getting enough sleep, planning, exercise and taking preventative action. The more time you spend here, the less time you will spend in the urgent and important and urgent and not important areas. Yet, unless you know what is important to you, the only thing driving your day will be the things that are important to others. These include your company, your friends, and family. They will be making demands on you and as you have no barriers, their crises become your crises. You, in effect, become part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. When you have your life together, you can offer calm, considered solutions to those you care about. You also know when to get involved and when to stay well away. Yet, you can only do that when you know what is important to you. Many authors and time management specialists refer to establishing what is important to you in different ways. Hiram Smith called this establishing your governing values. Stephen Covey calls it or called it, knowing your roles. And I call them your areas of focus. These are just names for essentially the same thing. Get to know what is important to you as an individual, then write them down in a place where you can refer back to them regularly so you know that your days, weeks and months are lived according To the principles that are important to you. It's these that give you the power to say no to things that conflict with your values, your areas of focus or roles. Without knowing what they are, you will say yes to many things you just don't enjoy or even want to do. The next principle is to plan your week and day. Again this is another area so many people avoid. I remember hearing a statistic that less than 5% of GTD, that's getting things done, practitioners do any kind of weekly review. Now if you've read Getting Things Done by David Allen, you will know that he stresses the importance of the weekly review in almost every chapter. People who don't plan are often driven by the fear of what they might learn such ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ee2407c2-e002-4d49-9d41-72be3ffb0430))
- Intro
Summary:
Better time management and productivity rely on foundational principles that have stood the test of time.
Key practices include documenting tasks, setting priorities based on personal values, and planning daily and weekly activities. Establishing what is important helps individuals maintain focus instead of being reactive to external demands, yielding more effective decision-making.
Utilizing frameworks like Stephen Covey's Eisenhower Matrix encourages individuals to prioritize 'important but not urgent' tasks, fostering proactive habits such as planning, exercise, and rest.
Consistent weekly reviews and daily planning minimize the fear of missing deadlines and enhance the ability to navigate priorities effectively.
Planning leads to insights about personal capacity, allowing for realistic scheduling, and reducing the likelihood of overcommitment or procrastination.
Transcript:
Speaker 1
What are the time-tested principles of better time management and productivity? That's what I'm exploring in this week's episode. Hello and welcome to episode 337 of the Your Time Your Way podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein and I am your host of this show. Now if you have read books on time management and productivity you may have picked up that there are a few basic principles that never seem to change. Things like writing everything down, not relying on your head to remember things, planning your day and week and writing out what is important to you. These are solid principles that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. The tools we use may have changed but these principles have not and never will. What is surprising are the attempts to reinvent time management. New apps and systems seems to come out every month claiming to be game-changing. I hate that phrase. Or more ways to define the laws of time and physics and somehow create more time in the day than is actually possible. Hiram Smith, the creator of the Franklin Planner, an icon of time management and productivity, always said that time management principles have not changed in over 6,000 years. What has changed is the speed at which we try to do things. Technology hasn't changed these time management principles. All technology has done is made doing things faster. Today I can send an email to the other side of the world and it will arrive instantly. Two hundred years ago I would have had to have written a letter, go to the post office to purchase a stamp and send it. It would arrive two or three months later. Funnily enough, I read a book called The Man with the Golden Typewriter. It's a book of letters Ian Fleming sent to his readers and publisher. He often began his letters with the words, thank you for your letter of the 14th of February or some such date, yet the date of his reply was in April. Not only were things slower 50 years ago, people were more patient. So with all that said, let me now hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice for this week's question. This week's question comes from Lisa. Lisa asks, Hi Carl, I've noticed you've been talking about basic principles of productivity recently. Are there any principles you follow that have not changed? Hi Lisa, thank you for your question. Now the answer is yes, there are, yet it took me a long time to realize the importance of these principles. The first one which many people try to avoid is establishing what is important to you. This is what I call doing the back-end work. You see, if you don't know what is important to you, your days will be driven by the latest and urgent thing. That's likely to come from other people, not from you. Stephen Covey wrote about this in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, with his time management matrix, also called the Eisenhower Matrix. This matrix is divided into important and urgent, important and not urgent, urgent and not important, and not urgent and not important. The goal of this matrix is to spend as much time as possible in the second quadrant. That's the important but not urgent. This area includes things like getting enough sleep, planning, exercise and taking preventative action. The more time you spend here, the less time you will spend in the urgent and important and urgent and not important areas. Yet, unless you know what is important to you, the only thing driving your day will be the things that are important to others. These include your company, your friends, and family. They will be making demands on you and as you have no barriers, their crises become your crises. You, in effect, become part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. When you have your life together, you can offer calm, considered solutions to those you care about. You also know when to get involved and when to stay well away. Yet, you can only do that when you know what is important to you. Many authors and time management specialists refer to establishing what is important to you in different ways. Hiram Smith called this establishing your governing values. Stephen Covey calls it or called it, knowing your roles. And I call them your areas of focus. These are just names for essentially the same thing. Get to know what is important to you as an individual, then write them down in a place where you can refer back to them regularly so you know that your days, weeks and months are lived according To the principles that are important to you. It's these that give you the power to say no to things that conflict with your values, your areas of focus or roles. Without knowing what they are, you will say yes to many things you just don't enjoy or even want to do. The next principle is to plan your week and day. Again this is another area so many people avoid. I remember hearing a statistic that less than 5% of GTD, that's getting things done, practitioners do any kind of weekly review. Now if you've read Getting Things Done by David Allen, you will know that he stresses the importance of the weekly review in almost every chapter. People who don't plan are often driven by the fear of what they might learn such ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/32581c3f-dbad-4bf2-a3f3-bce0119a8c73))
- Episode AI notes
1. Time management principles are timeless and foundational, transcending advancements in tools and technology.
2. Establishing clarity on personal values is crucial for effective daily decision-making and prevents reactivity to external demands.
3. The Eisenhower Matrix is a valuable tool for identifying and prioritizing tasks that are important but not urgent.
4. Consistent planning of daily and weekly objectives enhances productivity and awareness of responsibilities.
5. Regular weekly reviews are essential for maintaining focus and navigating priorities effectively.
6. Planning helps individuals align their daily actions with personal values and goals, leading to more meaningful productivity.
7. Documenting tasks and setting priorities are key practices for better time management and productivity. ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/episode-takeaways/4868c6cb-c478-4c31-a58e-5348e4f3041d))