The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and Time Management Tips
Yes - that's is actually the title of a book written by Mike Michalowicz. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is a basic how to book on Entrepreneuring.Mike is an accomplished entrepreneur. He has experience and wisdom.
Mike is very encouraging to anyone who wants to start a business with a strong push to getting them to act. He also trashes anyones' ideas that they are lacking in some area to start a business.
He includes a short section on Time Management. In the style of the book, he distills it all down to 4 pages that include ideas like:
1 - Write tasks down - capture tasks. Essentially - have a To Do list. (This is the basis of all Time Management Systems).
2 - Prioritize the list (again this is fundamental to all time management systems. This step is only possible if you have clear goals).
3 - Eliminate duplicates on the list.
4 - If it only takes 2 - do. If you can complete it in 2 minutes - just do it. (This is one of my Managing Email volume tips)
5 - Eliminate time wasters. (easily said but this requires discipline and knowing. I like to track what is taking my time and then giving things a "value" score. If I am spending too much time on low value stuff, I am inspired to change)
6 - Concentrate your thoughts. Multitasking is a myth.
7 - shut off email (This is his list - not mine. I agree with part of the theory here and might experiment some on this).
8 - Delegate. I wrote a whole section in my Time Management Book on how to delegate (even if you have no one who works for you.)
9 - Commit to someone else. If you commit, this gets you moving.
10 - Make it manageable. Break down the big jobs into smaller tasks.
11 - Take a break. This can re-energize so productivity increases. My variation on this is to change to a different nature of task. EG - If I am reviewing budgets, I can switch to reading a report.
12 - Go in spurts. People perform better and get more done if they work hard for a short while then ease off. What I like to do is see how much I can prolong the spurts for.
13 - Reward yourself.
14 - Make failure painful
13 and 14 are basic. We do something if it is more rewarding than not or if it is more painful than not doing anything. Enhance the pain or the pleasure for better results.
15 - Stop Bitching (His words). If things are not progressing - stop complaining and just do it. If the book has one key message it is "just Do It - and Do It Now". This really resonates with me. I see this as the key to most business success.
Good basic summary of Time Management Rules!
The book is good. Short and fast. He distills most wisdom on entrepreneurship down to the basics. I did find the bathroom humor detracted from the book though. Perhaps it is his way to be edgy and try to set himself apart?
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Last night I attended a SYNNEX "send off" reception held in my honour. It was very moving. I will really miss being a part of SYNNEX. I met a lot of good friends at SYNNEX. I was challenged. I learned. I grew.
The speeches were beautiful. It is almost a case of "if I had known how much you would miss me - I would stay".
Still, looking forward to my next challenge, moving to Long Island and working at Nu Horizons.
posted by Jim Estill @ 1:35 PM 
6 Comments:
We're looking forward to following your Odyssey, Jim. I offer advice from my dad: "Life is the art of new and better mistakes."
Sounds like an interesting book. I was happy to read that multitasking is a myth-I just can't do it...I have to concentrate. And I'm lost without my 'to do' lists.
When I'm working from home I put myself on a 'timer' and give myself just a certain amount of time on any given task. I get more done that way.
"Send off" receptions are emotional without doubt. It's wonderful receiving positive affirmation from friends and colleagues. I'm sure they'll miss you as much as you them, but new challenges await and change is exciting!
to Wally Bock:
"Life is the art of new and better mistakes." Thanks! I love that quote. I think I'll use it on my blog! after all, it's an ART blog! :)
I really like your article. I came up with another leadership and time saving skill "the art of asking the right question". You can find a little article here http://www.solution-scope.com. Does this fit into one of your categories?
I really liked that multi-tasking is a myth. When I get into the detailed work, a break in flow really compromises the quality of the output. Focus on important tasks is really understated.
Email turning off is good. I do it. In fact I have not email on my Blackberry because 1) I will die in the car if I keep reading email and 2) how effective can my response really be that can't be made with a more personal phone call? I know this flies counter to the "always on always responding" rationale around mobile working, but with a big email flow it is just too distracting.
Congratulations on your new gig!
We look forward to following your progress in your new endeavour!
I also appreciate your review of Michael's book! Anyone with enough confidence to include "toilet" paper in the title of their management book is a leader in my book!
Time is very important factor in our life; time is money because of that we have to manage our time. Time management is the best way to manage our time in proper manner. Implement a time management plan, create time management goals, write down to do things, plan your week, carry a notebook etc these are the time management tips with the help of this we can manage our time and save lots of extra work.
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