﻿﻿When you master the practice of time blocking, using your calendar instead of your to-do-list. You can literally see your life’s priorities by looking at your weekly calendar.

Ultimately, if we aren’t jumping out of bed in the morning excited to tackle our project, it’s because our dreams aren’t big enough. They aren’t motivating enough. And motivation comes down to pain and pleasure. For the tough tasks you always tend to procrastinate, think about and even visualize the “why” behind them. <ul><li>What pleasure will I get by doing this thing? </li><li>What pain will I feel if I don’t do it?</li></ul>

How get motivation?

<ul><li>Highly successful people don’t have a to-do list, but they do have a very well-kept calendar</li><li>Surprisingly, the simple act of scheduling tasks on your calendar, instead of writing them on a to-do list will free your mind, reduce stress, and increase cognitive performance.</li></ul>

How Highly Successful People Manage Time 

What I discovered is that highly successful people don’t prioritize tasks on a to-do list, or follow some complex five-step system, or refer to logic tree diagrams to make decisions. Actually, highly successful people don’t think about time much at all. Instead, they think about values, priorities, and consistent habits.

How successful people think about time

Invest the first part of your day working on your number one priority that will help build your business. Do this without interruptions—no email or text—and before the rest of the world is awake.

The key point is not to use a to-do list as your primary time management tool. Items on a to-do list can sit there forever, constantly getting bumped by things that seem urgent in the moment. And having this list of things that still need to get done is the root cause of our underlying stress.

Why not use a to-do list?

I try to reserve the morning for doing "real work." I find I can focus more in the morning whereas it's harder to get focused after having been bombarded by meetings, so I try to save meetings for later in the day.﻿

To beat procrastination once and for all, you have to understand it. You don’t procrastinate because you’re lazy. You procrastinate because:<ul><li>You lack enough motivation.</li><li>You underestimate the power of present emotions versus future emotions when you set your goals or make your task list.</li></ul>

Beat Procrastination

Use a calendar and schedule your entire day into 15-minute blocks. It sounds like a pain, but this will set you up in the 95th percentile as far as organization goes. If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't get done. If it's on the calendar, it gets done no matter what. Use this not just for appointments, but workouts, calls, email blocks, etc.

Dan Ariely, a Duke University professor of psychology and behavioral economics, suggests that most people are most productive and have the highest cognitive functioning in the first two hours after they’re fully awake.

Higest Productivity Hours

Others choose to do the most unpleasant tasks early in the morning in what’s known as the “eat the frog first” strategy. It’s a procrastination-fighting technique that says if you have something unpleasant to do, just get it out of the way first thing. This is good advice if it defeats procrastination,

Procrastination fighting technique 

In Jeff Weiner's calendar, there is a host of time slots greyed out, but with no indication of what's going on. The grey sections reflect "buffers,"He schedule between 90 minutes and two hours of these buffers every day. It's a system, he developed over the several years in response to a schedule that was becoming so jammed with back-to-back meetings. At first, these buffers felt like indulgences. But over time I realized not only were these breaks important, they were absolutely necessary in order for me to do my job.

Jeff Weiner Time Blocks Buffer Time

<ul><li>First, schedule a chunk of time for everything that is important to you; this is called “time blocking” or “time boxing.”</li><li>Second, important items should be scheduled as early in the day as possible. No matter how much we try to control our time and calendars, we all have things that “come up” that might need our attention.</li><li>Third, don’t cancel goals; reschedule them if necessary.</li><li>Fourth, treat your time-blocked calendar entries as if they were appointments with your doctor; they are that important.</li></ul>

Key concepts to managing your life using your calendar

Too many people think working hard leads to greater productivity. However, managing one's time better is what gives us the energy to succeed in both our personal and work lives. This book provides advice from successful people on managing your time more effectively.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

books

Books

Are you overworked and overwhelmed? What if a few new habits could increase your productivity by 5x or even 10x? Imagine if you had an extra hour each day to read, exercise, sleep, or to spend with your family. New York Times bestselling author, Kevin Kruse, presents the remarkable findings of his study of ultra-productive people. Based on survey research and interviews with billionaires, Olympic athletes, straight-A students, and over 200 entrepreneurs--including Mark Cuban, Kevin Harrington, James Altucher, John Lee Dumas, Grant Cardone, and Lewis Howes--Kruse answers the question: what are the secrets to extreme productivity? You will learn: - How to cure procrastination with "Time Travel" - How to save 8 hours a week with "3 Questions" - How to identify your real top priorities - How to get to zero emails in your inbox every day - How the simple E-3C system will 5x productivity - How to reduce stress with the Richard Branson Tool - How to leave work at 5:00 without feeling guilty - How to run meetings like Apple, Google & Virgin - How to conquer social media distractions - BONUS: Discover Your Time Personality quiz - BONUS: 100+ Time Management Quotes

Kevin Kruse is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Kevin Kruse has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Kevin Kruse's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

NATHAN BLECHARCZYK IS THE CO-FOUNDER OF AIRBNB.

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