Time Management

This weekend I read an amazing book titled, “The Last Lecture” by Professor Randy Pausch. You may have heard his story; he has been on Primetime and on Oprah in the past few weeks. Randy taught at Carnegie Mellon University, and now has pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with only 5-6 months of good health, but so far he is surpassed that time period. During this time, he was asked to deliver a last lecture of sorts, reflecting on life. He did so, and his lecture ended up online and over 6 million people have viewed it. He wrote a book based on his lecture. It’s filled with stories about his incredible life, and advice for others living their lives. Although Randy only has limited time to live, he has packed more life into his final months than most people will in a lifetime. His book changed my life, and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

Randy was a computer science professor, specializing in virtual reality,but he also enjoyed giving lectures on working in groups and time management. Time management is important for all people in the working world, but especially for those in PR. To maintain a good reputation with our clients and coworkers, we must be reliable and manage our time. Randy gives some pointers on time management for life, but I think they can definitely apply to the world of PR as well.

Randy Pausch’s Tips for Time Management:

Time must be explicitly managed, like money: Don’t invest your time on irrelevant details.

You can always change your plan, but only if you have one: Randy says that he is a big believer in to-do lists. Break to-do lists into small, manageable tasks.

Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things? Are your causes, goals, and interests worth pursuing? Make sure that they are before you invest time in them.

Develop a good filing system: Alphabetical order is always a good way to find things you are looking for. Whatever the system is, make sure it works for you.

Rethink the telephone: Randy hates being put on hold. He suggests making sure to always use a speaker phone so that you can do other more productive things while you wait. He suggests standing up while on the phone, to speed things along. Put something that you want to do in front of you while you are on the phone, so you will be more apt to speak quickly and get off the phone to attack the tasks ahead.

Delegate: It’s important to let others do work as well. Trust others to do important things.

Take a time out: When on vacation or taking a break, don’t be available for work. It’s not a real vacation if your answering emails and phone calls.

Randy acknowledges that some of his tips are dead serious and others are tongue in cheek but he leaves us with one final thought: “Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”