15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management pdfdrive com

Focus Days: “Game days” are to focus on our most important activities,
typically revenue-producing activities. These are also the days when we should
ideally be using our unique talents; do what you do best.
Buffer Days: These are days to catch up on emails and calls, hold internal
meetings, delegate tasks, catch up on paperwork, and complete any training or
educational activities that are related to work.
Free Days: These are days without any kind of work. These are days for
vacation, fun, or perhaps charity. No work-related emails, calls, or thinking
should be done on these days; it’s a time to rejuvenate.
Designing My Ideal Week
I try to theme my days as well, but not quite to the point of Dorsey, Dumas, or
Sullivan. Here’s what my typical week looks like:
Monday: The first day of the week is my day for internal management
meetings (similar to Dorsey). I meet one on one with each direct report as a way
to review key developments from the previous week and to review activities and

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goals for the week ahead. I also end the day with a team meeting where
everybody briefly shares what their week looks like so there is a contextual
awareness within the company. To be honest, I don’t like Mondays because I
don’t like meetings. But I love starting each week with a “huddle” that I know
will make the next four days highly productive.
Tuesday through Thursday: The days in the middle of each week are my
“focus” days. In my current business, these are the days that I spend writing new
books, designing e-learning courses, or writing marketing material. Those items
are the “output” that generate revenue and are definitely utilizing my unique
strengths.
Friday: The end of my week is my “buffer” day that I use to process bills,
catch up on email, or respond to readers.
An Office Hour Theme
In addition to my days-of-the-week themes, I also theme the last Friday of each
month as my day to book lunch or coffee appointments.
I’m inundated with “can we grab a coffee” requests each week, and for those
invitations I want to accept, I just give them the next open time slot on my last
Friday of the month. The waiters at LaStalla in Newtown are always amused as I
arrive at 11:00 a.m. and just sit at the same table as a string of guests come and
go each hour. I pick up the bill at the end of the day, which usually includes
three or four lunches (I only eat one) and about ten coffees.
Bestselling author Dave Kerpen similarly “themes” a block of time on a
weekly basis for outside meetings. He explained to me, “While I take meetings
with just about anyone who wants to meet with me, I reserve just one hour a
week for these ‘office hours.’"
Sandwich Vacation with Buffer Days
I used to hate vacations. They stressed me out.
The idea of vacation was fine, but then the day before vacation would be an
insane scramble of trying to hand things off while doing a normal day’s work.
The first few days of vacation would consist of me either dealing with the
undone things via phone and email or worrying about those things if I was trying
to “unplug.” The day back from vacation would make me nauseous, scrambling
again to catch up on emails and calls while diving back into a normal day of
meetings.

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To gain a quantum leap in vacation quality, just schedule a buffer day before
and after your vacation. Bookend your vacation with days that are time blocked
for catching up. No pre-planned meetings, no project work, no lunch catch-ups.
Just block out that time—especially the day back from vacation—to catch up on
emails, phone calls, mail, and quick stand-up meetings with staff to get back up
to speed.
Just knowing you have this time to hand off work in an organized fashion,
and then time to catch up again, will help you to truly rest and relax while you’re
away.
Want the secret to making this work? Tell your admin which day you’ll be
returning to work, but tell him or her to leave “vacation” marked on your
calendar for everyone else to see. That way you won’t get scheduled into
meetings or have people pounce on you as soon as you walk in the door.
How Does This Apply If You’re A(n)...