8 Rules of Time According to Jim Estill

I study the use of time and how to maximizeare from other people who are effective in their
productivity and enjoyment from it. From thesejobs. I also get them from books and audio
studies, I have come up with the following list ofprograms. Some of the more effective tricks I use
time rules:are:
1 - It is more important to have clear goals than to• Do the worst thing first thing. I choose the one
be efficient. It is more important to work on thething I am procrastinating on and spend 15 minutes
right things than to work efficiently. I liken this to theon it first thing.
person who wants to get to Sudbury so gets in their• I love the power of while. What can you do
car and drives 150 Km/hour. Does he get therewhile you are working out or driving (of course first
before the person who checks the map (direction)priority needs to me to drive safely).etc? Often the
and drives less efficiently at say 100 KM/hour? Drivinganswer is audio books.
in the right direction is more important than driving• I love the power of focus. This conflicts with
fast. I call this Leadership before Management.the previous tip but in some circumstances this is the
Leadership is about direction, management is aboutbest way to get things done. Focus only on the task
efficiency. This is why I called my CD "Timeyou are working on at the time.
Leadership".6 - Track how you spend your time. On the tracking
2 - Energy use is more important than time use. I cansheet record what things give you energy and what
get much more done if I have the right energy thanthings take energy (see 2). Determine how you think
if I just spend the time. Because of this, I work onyou should spend your day and from the time sheets
things that give me energy (eg. exercise, working onfigure out the changes you might want to make. One
things I am inspired by, avoiding things that drain myconcept I have worked on is "The Perfect Day".
energy etc.). I also try to recognize when I am highWhat would be the elements of your perfect day?
energy and spend those time doing high productivity7 - Get rid of your TV, or at least control your use
tasks.of it. TV is North America's biggest time waster. I
3 - Know what you have to do. I am not referring tohave nothing against entertainment but I think many
goals here, I am referring to specific tasks. Everypeople use TV as a time waster and do not get
course and book on time management talks aboutgreat entertainment or learning from it.
the "TO DO" list or some variation on it. Part of the8 - Study time use. I have written many articles and
reason for this list is to be able to prioritize (see 1). Itpublished a CD (and before that an audio tape) on
also helps you to know your loading. One trick on aTime Management. Even though I have read 40-50
TO DO list is to put the first action to take to startbooks on the topic, over 100 articles, listened to
on that item right on the list. Eg. If I am calling amany audio programs and attended half a dozen time
vendor, I might need to get a briefing on themanagement courses, I always learn something new
relationship as the first step.when I read a new one.
4 - Learn to say NO - politely of course. If you knowFinally, many people think I am too efficient or time
your goals and priorities (see 1), you will see whatfocused. I do not deny that I am somewhat.
things you are being asked to do that infringes onHowever, good time use can also lead to a fuller life.
them. Having a TO DO list helps you know if youWhy not spend the time you need to spend
have time (see 3).effectively so you have more time to do other
5 - Learn tricks. For me, the best sources of tricksthings you want to do?