Time is on your side...

I can still hear the haunting lyrics of that old Rolling Stones' song which was released in the nineteen si-tishoo, okay... let's just say last century. Some of you might even remember the same song from the movie Fallen, "Ti-i-i-ime is on my side... yes it is" but let's see a show of hands how many of us can really attest to having so much time... that we feel it's on our side. I know I can't. "Where did the time go?", "I have no time?", and on and on and on we lament. Yet, the following is a truth that truly successful people know well...

"Being successful does not make you manage your time well.
Managing your time well makes you successful."

When a colleague of mine asked her manager if an assignment was 'busy work', she noticed her manager was offended. If you agree that the comment was inappropriate... take a second look. Could it be in fact that my colleague realized the importance of managing the little time she actually had? Allow me to point out that managing your time well is the key to your success. It is learning which things to tackle and which things to postpone.

The quote above depicts the words of Randy Pausch. You may remember Randy, he was the famed Carnegie-Mellon Professor who was known for his lectures including his last lecture given shortly before his body succumbed to an incurable illness. Randy reminds us to be judicious with our time, lest we find it's less than we thought.

So, if I could encourage you to do one thing, I would encourage you to listen to Randy's lecture on youtube. Randy offers some very pragmatic and enduring advice for allocating your time wisely.

Then, if I could encourage you to do one more thing, I would encourage you to add the following book to your library, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey... and read it. Covey describes specific actions to help you on your path to become an effective, successful, high-impact leader. Both Randy and Steven show us how to allocate our time to get the greatest benefit.

Imagine if the things on your "to do" list were grouped in four quadrants, by due date or importance of task. Which grid do you think you should tackle first, second, third, then fourth? And why? Check out Randy's lecture to learn more.

Do you know which tasks you would tackle first?

The tasks in the four grids are grouped thus:
Upper left - important tasks due soon
Upper right - important tasks due later
Lower left - less important tasks due soon

Lower right - less important tasks due later

After you check out the video, I would love to hear how you use your time wisely... because it would mean you're well on your way.