In this video we talk about Kevin Kruse and his 15 secrets to time management, a subject
that can change your whole perception on the value of each second in the day, and what
you could be capable of.
[Intro]
I recently listened to the Cut the Crap podcast, which featured Kevin Kruse, who is an entrepreneur,
speaker and bestselling author with the book We: How to Increase Performance and Profits
Through Full Engagement.
The podcast had a hugely profound impact on me, where I gained insight on how the most
successful think about time and why they're able to achieve all that they have in their
lives.
So in this video I want to go through the second 7 tips from the 15, with the first
part out already.
If you haven't seen it, I will be linking in the description down below.
Time is the single most valuable resource we have in life, and Kevin Kruse deconstructs
the possibilities of how we're using time to make the most effective use of it.
We previously looked at some great ideas, such as keeping a notebook, keeping a calendar
as opposed to a To Do List and controlling your inbox to prevent it from distracting
you.
While all other resources, like money, can be recovered in life, once time passes it's
gone forever and there's no way to recover that period of your life.
So knowing the importance of time, how do the most successful make the best use of the
24 hours, or 1440 minutes, we have each day.
1.
Say No
The most highly successful people know what their values and goals are with absolute clarity,
and so naturally have a tendency to focus on those goals when working.
In order to do this, they learn to say "no" to almost everything that can be perceived
as distracting or taking time away from achieving that goal.
For most of us, we want to be liked and want to feel valued and so naturally veer towards
saying "yes" when being asked to do something.
However, Kevin Kruse shifts perspective on this idea in ways which many of us would never
think about.
He says that as you say yes to doing something, you're in turn saying no to doing something
else instead, which can impact your day, your schedule, your productivity and your results.
The truth is, if you have valid and genuine reasoning to saying no, then you need to learn
to say no to make the best use of the time you have in the day.
2.
Use the Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle is also commonly known as the 80 20 rule, whereby 80 percent of the
results you get come from 20 percent of the tasks.
Often, by focusing on that 20 percent of tasks, you can garner the most effective results.
This isn't necessarily to say to ignore the 80 percent of the tasks leftover, but rather
make judgement calls on how necessary it is to fulfil those tasks.
In some cases, despite the lesser gain it may be necessary to complete the tasks where
the details make the difference.
In most cases, the tasks are unnecessary and it's more beneficial to move on to the next
20 percent of tasks that get the 80 percent of results.
Do this by listing out tasks and identifying the most important 20 percent of them.
This may take time to do to identify which get results, but doing so can be invaluable
in the long term.
3.
Focus on Strengths and Passion
It's often vital to focus on our strengths and unique skills that can help us get the
greatest results, and where possible to delegate other tasks to others, ones we either have
less interest in or aren't necessarily the most skilled in.
Even the Pareto Principle plays a role in this, as even if you delegate a task to someone
who does it to 80 percent of the standards you might, the net gain you get in time often
makes it a worthwhile investment regardless.
And this is the key, the point is to try and make the most effective use of time, and sometimes
to do that there might be a level of compromise needed.
4.
Assign Time to Recurring Themes
Learning to batch tasks and controlling how you use time most effectively can be highly
beneficial in achieving the greatest results.
However, it's not just about batching tasks, but rather assigning days in the week for
specific tasks.
Strategic Coach Dan Sullivan talks about assigning days to be Focus days, Buffer days and Free
days, each of which are designed to achieve specific goals on each given day.
Focus days are those days to do the most important tasks, usually with very specific targets
and goals in mind and the days that get the most valuable results.
Buffer days, or admin days as I like to call them, are days to focus on the additional
tasks, such as replying to emails, returning calls or doing other less urgent, but important,
tasks.
Free days are rest days, time you spend doing other things to either recuperate or dedicate
towards other important aspects of your life, such as spending days with your family.
For most of us, this traditionally comes on the weekends after spending the weekdays working.
5.
Touch Once Principle
If you can do a task in less than 5 minutes, then do it immediately.
While initially this might seem a distraction, it actually serves to save time in the long
term.
This is because what we'll often do is let these little tasks build up, after which it'll
take longer to go through them all in one go than it would have if they were just done
immediately.
In addition, as these tasks are left, they take up energy mentally as we constantly trying
to remind ourselves to do them.
Instead, use the one touch principle, doing the task that takes less than 5 minutes immediately,
and then batching longer tasks to be completed later at a scheduled time.
Kevin Kruse does this when sorting mail, as he'll go collect his mail and when returning
back into his house he'll have already gone through the mail to throw away the rubbish
and keep what's important.
Those which need further time and action, such as bills, are then scheduled for a set
time, Friday afternoon in his case, and forgotten about until then.
I find I naturally do the same, as I return home from work, I immediately go through my
mail, with all letters of little to no importance immediately thrown in the trash, and other
items assigned to certain times in the week for further work.
In today's world, with direct debits and other automated processes, I actually find that
the number of letters I need to dedicate time towards is minimal.
6.
Use Your Morning
Surprisingly, for many successful people the first hour of the day is the most important
and it's not time spent doing tasks, scheduling work or doing work at all.
Instead, the time is about starting the day right, setting your state to be at your peak
during the day and to set yourself up to be successful.
Personally, I follow Tony Robbins' morning routine, whether it be his 15 minutes of fulfilment,
30 minutes to thrive or hour of power, I've found his routine is empowering, motivating
and gets me ready for a phenomenal day ahead.
Whether you follow this specific routine or have your own, the key is to make sure whatever
the routine, it needs to set you state to make the most of the time you have in the
day.
7.
Productivity is About Energy and Focus
Those who are all hustle and don't take breaks might actually be hampering their productivity
as a result.
What you don't want is to find you are a constant in how you you work.
You need to use your energy in focus bursts, with breaks in between to help you recuperate
and work more effectively in the next round of work.
Think of it like a high intensity interval training workout, or HIIT, whereby the idea
is you workout at high intensity for a set time, before taking a short rest before the
next round.
This helps you gain greater benefits from the workout in a shorter space of time, rather
than working out at a constant for a set period of time.
The same applies to the brain and how you can achieve the greatest results.
It's not about working 24/7, it's about working in a way to get the greatest results.
One method to do this is to apply the Pomodoro Technique, whereby you work in 25 minute intervals
and after each interval you take a short few minutes break.
When you do 4 Pomodoro, you grant yourself a longer break to recuperate.
Kevin Kruse has found billionnaires manage time in ways which are strategic and most
effective, not necessarily just working hard at a constant as is often pushed by many people
today.
To get results, you need to work hard, but more important is to work smart, utilising
the 1440 minutes you have in the day to the maximum.
Use these tips, if not all then at least some, to use your day like the most successful!
Which of these tips do you already apply, or intend to apply, in your life?
Let me know in the comments section.
Next time we'll be covering the seven remaining tips from Kevin Kruse to use your time like
the most successful people in the world.
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Thanks for watching.