Time Management Book Summary, by Brian Tracy

by Allen Cheng - https://www.allencheng.com - Visit for more summaries like this one.

Time Management Book Summary, by Brian Tracy

by Allen Cheng

https://www.allencheng.com/time-management-book-summary-brian-tracy/

Want to get the main points of Time Management in 20 minutes or less? Read the world's #1 book
summary of Time Management by Brian Tracy here.

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Full Summary of Time Management

What is Time Management?

Time doesn't care who you are. If you don't use it, you can't get it back. Therefore, the best way to
manage your time is to be organized and focused on what needs to happen. Time management has
nothing to do with time itself; rather, it's about the things that need to happen. To manage your time
properly, focus on what matters most and eliminate activities that waste your resources or hurt other
people (by dumping them).

Establish Good Habits

Your personality type (which you can determine by taking a test) indicates what kind of time manager
you are. If you're more people-oriented, your strength is encouraging teamwork and being skilled at
communication. If you're more task-oriented, your weakness may be delegating tasks to others; however,
if that's the case, then your strong point is completing those tasks on time. Once you know which category
best fits you, work on improving yourself in areas where improvement is necessary and capitalize on the
things that come naturally to you.

If you have trouble managing your time, it's probably because of some bad habits. Do a few things to get
back on track:

Schedule large jobs first – If you schedule the big tasks for later, it will be more difficult to do
them. * Don't wait to start a task – You are fooling yourself if you think that a task will be easier
later on in the day or week. It won't get easier; it'll just build up and become harder to complete. *
The best way to keep your thoughts organized is by using one notebook for ideas, notes, and lists
of things you need to do. * Do difficult tasks when you're most productive - Save those hard
tasks for your peak time of day so they don’t pile up and overwhelm you at other times. * Get
others involved with work whenever possible—if someone else can do something better than you,
let them! This allows both people (or groups) to accomplish their goals faster because there's less
work overall. '' '

Create a Productive Environment

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Find a quiet place where you can work and focus on the task at hand. If it's something that requires
concentration, then go someplace new to get away from distractions. Turn off your voicemail and don't
check email until you're done with the task at hand. Get up earlier than usual so that you have more time
for those tasks which don't fit into the busy day schedule.

Lists: The Key to Success

Making lists is a great way to keep track of what you need to do. Start your day by making a list of
everything that needs to get done and then prioritize those items as "A" for tasks that are extremely
important, "B" for things that are less important but still need attention, and "C" for tasks that don't really
have to be done at all.

Regardless of the task, write it down. You'll feel accomplished when you cross a completed item off your
list. If you've carried an item from one daily list to the next more than five times, cross it off because
you're never going to accomplish that task anyway. Be flexible and build in time for unforeseen
circumstances so you don't miss out on great opportunities.

Getting Through the Bears

When you have a task that's too big to handle, break it up into smaller components and set incremental
goals. Set a timer for 10 minutes and work on the project until the timer goes off. It'll be much easier to
complete if you only have to focus on one thing at a time. Even when you're tempted to jump from one
task to another, don't do it because multi-tasking is usually self-defeating. Always concentrate on
completing one component of your goal before moving onto the next step in your plan.

Manage Your Health, Manage Your Time

Stress is a major factor in many people's lives. If you're stressed out, it can be hard to manage your time
effectively. To keep stress levels under control, get in the habit of identifying what causes that stress and
then fixing those problems as soon as possible. Keep a diary each day and write down how you feel about
different situations throughout the day. Once you figure out what's causing that stress, try to fix it right
away so that you don't end up more stressed or exhausted than before.

If you have a headache, heartburn or other strange symptoms that seem to be stress related, deal with
them immediately. You should also manage your time and learn how to ignore things out of your control.
Keeping yourself healthy is another way to reduce stress, as well as visualizing success instead of failure.
If possible, talk about the cause of your stress and take breaks from it when needed. Finally, make sure
you take vacations so you can relax!

It's important to maintain your personal life in order to keep stress at bay. Find ways to nurture
relationships, read books, exercise and volunteer. Give yourself time for quiet reflection every day. Try
thinking of ways you can improve how you react to challenging situations, too. While some pressure is
good for you, don't let it get out of control and consume you entirely!

Keep Clutter to a Minimum

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Controlling clutter is important in the workplace and at home. You should throw away anything that's not
necessary, even if it looks useful or interesting. If you don't read an article within two weeks, throw it
away. At work, clear your desk completely to help you focus on what's most important.

If you have a busy schedule, it's important to simplify your life. Lay out your clothes the night before and
make sure that everything is low maintenance. If you're too busy for housework, hire someone to help
you with chores like cleaning or cooking. Keep a list of people who can do things like fix computers or
arrange flowers. This way, you'll always be able to find them when needed and they won't be lost in the
shuffle of daily life.

Disorganization is a major time waster. Instead of using your time to get work done, you waste it on
trying to find stuff that's hard to locate in piles and stacks of clutter. To prevent this from happening, set
aside regular times for administrative tasks such as filing and sorting through paperwork. The four things
you can do with papers are: deal with them immediately; save them for later; delegate the task; or throw it
away/file it if there's no need to keep it.

1. When you find something that is important, determine its usefulness. Then, set it up for future use
and don’t return it to the pile. Deposit or file it where it belongs.

2. If you don’t need it today, then you probably won’t need it in the future.

Keep Interruptions under Control

Everyone has a different personality, so some people would be able to resist the urge to chat with co-
workers. However, if you allow co-workers to interrupt you, they will only interrupt more. To prevent
this from happening, let your colleagues know that you can't be interrupted for a certain amount of time
and stick to it. If necessary, hang up a "do not disturb" sign on your door or go work in another office. If
someone breaks through your barriers and interrupts you anyway, don’t give them any slack by letting
them sit down or answering their questions right away. Be polite but firm when telling them that you are
busy working on something important at the moment and have no time for distractions like phone calls or
e-mails until later in the day (or whenever).

Strategically Plan for Success

If you don't plan, then you're doomed to failure. To be effective at planning, you need goals and lists of
things that have to get done. A sense of urgency also helps when making plans. You should include:

'

Long-term – Set goals and prioritize them. * Mid-term – Adjust your priorities as needed
halfway through your long-term plan. * “Weekly” – Make a list of tasks to do that week, block
out time for those tasks, and get them done.

Daily – Make a daily to-do list.

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Relationships Count

If you want to be successful in your job, it's important to have good relationships with your colleagues.
Good relationships are built on effective communication. Poor communication can cause a lot of
problems, like mistakes and confusion. If you're a manager, remember that your staff exists to help you
achieve company goals. If they don't trust or respect you, they won't do their best work for the company.
Be honest and trustworthy so people will know where they stand with you; then employees will feel
comfortable working with you and helping the company succeed.

People tend to fall into one of four categories when it comes to time management.

1. Roadrunners prefer to accomplish tasks quickly, but they don't care how the task gets done or
who's in their way. Roadrunners are more motivated by results than relationships and tend to be
impatient and aggressive with others. Racehorses like to get things done quickly as well, but
they're sensitive to other people's feelings. They also value teamwork over individual
accomplishment and are driven by a desire for approval from others. New pups want everyone
around them to feel good about themselves, so they focus on pleasing others rather than getting
tasks completed efficiently.

2. There are several types of people in the world. Some prefer to work alone and others need
constant attention from their colleagues. If you understand each person's needs, you can set
appropriate expectations for them and avoid high maintenance people (HMPs). HMPs are usually
family members or friends who require a lot of your time and energy but don't appreciate what
you do for them. To deal with an HMP, set firm boundaries that they must follow so that they
don't become too much of a burden on you.

Technology Is Your Friend

You should learn as much as possible about your technology. This will help you to be more efficient and
productive. Use the resources that are available at work, like IT (information technology). Always use the
latest software packages so that you can keep up with trends in your field. Make sure to back up
important files on a CD (compact disk) because this is an easy way to protect yourself from computer
failure. Run only one program at a time so that your computer runs faster and does not crash while doing
multiple things simultaneously.

E-mail is a time management nightmare. It can make you feel like your day has been stolen from you,
especially if you're on the receiving end of e-mails that aren't important to you. Some ways to stay in
control are unsubscribing from unnecessary lists and staying away from reading e-mails as soon as they
come into your inbox. You should also schedule specific times during the day for checking your e-mail,
so it doesn't distract you while working on other projects or tasks.

Meetings Must Be Managed

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Some meetings can be extremely useful. They save time by ensuring that all participants are on the same
page and up-to-date. However, many meetings become a waste of time because they lack an agenda or
have people who don’t allow ideas to flow. Make sure you're well prepared for any meeting you attend,
and decline politely if it's not necessary for you to go.

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