Time management, 30 tips

1. Own your mornings

What you do in the first hour of the morning determines the rest of your day. Do sports, exercise your mind and soul, and enjoy a healthy breakfast. Take cold showers, your immune system, circulation and mood will be grateful. Ready to start your day sharp and energetic.

2. Find out your biological prime moment

Each one of us has a certain set of hormones and proteins that determine what time of the day we are biologically more energetic. Perform the difficult tasks at the moment when you are most productive and clear-minded.

3. Ruthlessly say NO to 90% of the offers

Politely reject offers, business events, dinners or lunches that are not in line with your own direction. Every random coffee means one hour further away from your own goal.

4. Minimalist approach

Many times, lunch meetings can be coffee meetings, coffee chats can be video calls, video calls can be phone calls, and phone calls can be messages. One hour presentations can be half an hour. 4 people meetings can be a 2 people meeting.

5. The cost-benefit ratio

Every activity has a cost-benefit ratio. Many times we only of the goal but we don´t measure well the cost (money, time, energy and mental health).

6. The fastest way to get from A to B

The most direct way to get from A to B is a straight line, B being your goal. How good you are at achieving things depends greatly on how good you are at eliminating distractions.

7. Attend as few meetings as possible

Meetings above 4 or 5 people are usually a waste of time. In every big meeting, there is a decision-maker and the rest are listeners checking their phones pretending to be listening. Avoid meetings.

8. Be as leveraged as possible

Your work (input) should create as much result (output) as possible with as little time as possible. Create a system that makes your work be leveraged because of your knowledge, expertise, system or contacts that you spent years building. Make the most of it now.

9. Good luck, multi-tasker

There are two types of people in the world, those who do one thing at a time efficiently, and dreamers.

10. Chaos is the state by default

The natural state of our mind by default is psychic entropy, our thoughts cannot flow to have concrete ideas, it is stuck in a state of chaos. Only if you proactively set order in your mind, is when you can think clearly and take actions. Don´t allow chaos to rule your time and life.

11.  First things first in the morning

If you REALLY prioritize that course, program, or gym, do it early in the morning before work to minimize risks of not being able to attend. Once work starts, your agenda might be affected by many factors.

12. Intrinsic VS Extrinsic motivation

Motivation is only an overrated temporary spark that triggers you to start doing something. Choosing to be disciplined is what keeps us doing it every day. Is your or the team´s motivation intrinsic (comes from within) or extrinsic (told to do so)? The former ones will be easy to be persistent and disciplined, the latter ones you might need a system to keep you and them motivated.

13. Delegate and outsource

One person can only do so much at a time, delegate and choose wisely how and who should do it. This determines the effectiveness of your team. If it should not be done within your organization, outsource it. You have to be the best at your core thing, not everything.

14. Improve decision-making skills

Some people suffer from "analysis paralysis" and spend more time thinking about when to do something, than really doing it. The higher you climb on the ladder, the more impact your decisions will have on the company. Learn to make decisions more efficiently.

15. Constantly sharpen your saw

Educate yourself for the present and the future. Think ahead strategically about which skills will you need very soon. Get ready and practise beforehand.

16. The 2-minute rule

If a task takes less than 2 minutes to be completed, just do it now instead of thinking about when to do it.

17. Be ruthless with your own discipline

but be tolerant with others, not everybody is like you. Whatever you promised to yourself, you fulfil it. Did you say write 500 words per day? You don´t stand up until you write them. You control the demon and the angel on your shoulder.

18. Consistency over intensity

Whatever you do very intensively for a short period of time will be useless against something done consistently for a long period of time. Be impatient with starting, but be patient with results.

19. Create spaces that drive hyperfocus

Especially if you don´t like these activities, it is a mind hack to trigger your brain to think it is challenging and fun. Make spaces that allow you to be hyperfocused on a task for a long time.

20. Work with IEI people

When choosing business partners and teams, choose the people with High Intelligence, High Energy and High Integrity. Your freedom will depend on their level of autonomy and locus of control, if your team lacks one of these, you will spend a lot of time micro-managing people.

21. Don´t wake up earlier, sleep earlier

The key is not to wake up earlier. The key is to set a night alarm (not a morning alarm) to go sleep earlier and wake up naturally, not with a small heart attack every morning for 65 years. Millions of years of evolution, and we think we can cheat nature and biology. Nobody can be efficient without good sleep. No job is more important than your health. Never ever negotiate sleeping hours.

22. Perfection is the enemy of action

If you are too perfectionist, you will never launch any product, you will never be satisfied with your team. Sometimes it is worth giving up some details and moving forward with the general strategy, the product will keep evolving.

23. Set a time limit for each task

You can choose one hour, two weeks, three months, or one year. You choose. Set time limits that are realistic. Example: "Achieve an HSK 3 within one year"

24. Automatize as much as possible

If something can easily be done without you having to be at the factory, office, shop, or your laptop, also in your life, automatize tasks that will give you more time in the future by implementing processes and systems.

25. Track both your progress and results

If you can´t track them, you can´t measure the effectiveness of the system. Where do you spend most of your waking hours and how much does it bring you? How many hours do you dedicate to self-development and learning every month? In sport? How much time is wasted commuting?

26. Find 4 different types of hobbies

One that makes you healthy and fit, one that enhances your creativity, one that increases your knowledge and one that brings you extra income. Life is way more fun, these are long-term investments.

27. The Why

Remind yourself why you started and what the end goal will look like. This will turn your perspective from suffering to recharging batteries. When your feet are wet and frozen from climbing the Himalayas, remember why you came. When you feel lonely in China, remember why you took the adventure. When you signed up for the challenge, why?

28. Find FLOW 

The best moments in life are not the passive and relaxing times, but when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits of difficulty. I have literally spent 4 hours writing articles, 5 hours drawing, 6 hours painting, 3 hours playing sports, and I forgot to eat, forgot to drink, and what time it was. Find more of these activities in life and at work.

29. Be physically healthy and fit

Body, Mind, Emotion and Spirit and all connected. People think they only need a brain to work and the body is just a form of transport to take their head from office to office. Without a balance, you can´t perform at a high level.

30. Spend time alone

In a hyper-stimulating society like this, you and your brain are rushing everywhere, take time off to do nothing in the mountains, meditate, go for a walk, or enjoy a coffee on the beach. Some of the best thoughts and ideas and inspiration will come from being alone. Appreciate and embrace solitude.

Time management, 30 tips

Author: Owen Wang, Director at Cole & Wright Consulting Firm, China Business Advisor at CW Consulting, Founder of The Mindfood Club, and Host of The Mindfood Podcast.

admin@themindfoodclub.com