Randy Paush’s book, the Last Lecture, is still on the Best Seller list.  And as I read the book this past weekend, I see why.  There is a lot of wisdom in his stories and advice.  One in particular hit home with me…about time management.

As a person who works very hard and long to accomplish business priorities it is easy for me to spot that behavior in others too.  I observe many of the very successful sales people I work with are awesome time managers and get a lot done.  Yet, I see a commonality in that there are some life principles we can sometimes forget with our long To Do lists.  Randy recapped the principle of using our time effectively and wisely in his Last Lecture.  The bolded sections are Randy’s words:

• Time must be explicitly managed, like money.  Not to invest time on irrelevant details. Ever spend HOURS on a minute detail when getting ready for a client meeting?  And then miss some of the key points?
• You can always change your plan, but only if you have one. Planning is important – and the process of the identifying the outcome AND the steps to get there is what works.
• Ask yourself:  Are you spending your time on the right things?  You may have causes, goals, interests.  Are they even worth pursuing?  Take a look at your client and prospect list – where are you spending your time?
• Develop a good filing system.  So much is wasted looking for things that aren’t where they need to be – CRM systems CAN bring great efficiencies!
• Rethink the telephone.  Need to keep a call short?  Never put your feet up or get comfortable.  stand up!  Oh, how easy it is to extend a conversation with others and it is so important.  The key is to keep it to an appropriate length that gets the business accomplished, strengthens the relationship and then ends so both parties can get to other things.

In a house with teens the word “lecture” is not well received.  In this case, a lecture is just what I needed.  Thanks Randy.