THE 15
SURPRISING THINGS
ULTRA PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE DO DIFFERENTLY
15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, by New York Times bestselling
author, Kevin Kruse, is the only guide based on actual research into thousands of working professionals and on
interviews with Mark Cuban and other billionaires, Olympic athletes, straight-A students, and over
200 entrepreneurs.
#1: They focus on minutes. #2: They set daily priorities. #3: They dont use to-do lists.
There are 1,440 minutes in every day. Invest every one of Identify your Most Important Task (MIT) and work on it for Throw away your to-do list; instead schedule everything
them intentionally. two hours each morning. on your calendar.
They beat procrastination with
#4: time travel. #5: They make it home for dinner. #6: They use a notebook.
Your future-self cant be trusted. What can you do now to There will always be more that can be done. Time-block Capture everything in your notebook so your mind can
make sure your future-self does the right thing? your priorities and end the day guilt-free. stay carefree; move to-dos to the calendar.
They only check email three
They say no to almost
#7: times a day. #8: They avoid meetings at all costs. #9: everything.
Dont let email or social media interrupt your flow; Dont hold meetings. If you have to, keep them short and Every yes is actually a no to something else. Say no
schedule times to read and respond to email. make everybody stand up. to everything outside of your goal areas.
They delegate or outsource They have work themes for
#10: They follow the 80/20 rule. #11: almost everything. #12: days of the week.
80% of outcomes come from only 20% of activities. Identify your unique ability, utilize it, and outsource Create a set day of the week schedule to focus on major
Identify the 20% and ignore the rest. everything else. areas; batch your tasks during the day.
They have a consistent They dont think about time;
#13: They touch things only once. #14: morning ritual. #15: they focus on energy.
If something will take less than 10 minutes to complete, Wake up early and give yourself 60-minutes for mental, Maximize your energy to maximize productivity. Focus on
do it immediately.. physical and spiritual health. sleep, diet, exercise and short breaks throughout the day.
Grab your book at www.15TimeSecrets.com.
THE MILLIONAIRES DAY PLANNER
Date: ___ / ___ / _____ THEME:
ENERGY!
MOST IMPORTANT TASK (MIT)
What activity will most contribute to your primary goal? MORNING RITUAL
Hydrate
Physical (e.g., Stretch)
Spiritual (e.g., Meditate)
Mental (e.g., Read)
__________________
__________________
MEAL TIMES
Schedule a 1-2 hour block of focused time, dedicated to your MIT, in the morning.
Breakfast ____:____
Snack 1 ____:____
Lunch ____:____
OTHER TASKS & MEETINGS
Snack 2 ____:____
1) Dinner ____:____
2) Which of these
tasks can be: WATER
3) - Deleted?
- Delegated?
4) - Redesigned?
5)
EXERCISE: ___ minutes
Time-block your exercise.
Email Check-In Times HARD STOP
Email check-in #1: I will quit working at ,
REMEMBER!
Email check-in #2: knowing that there will always Take a 5-minute break every
be more to do, and more that can 25 to 55 minutes throughout
Email check-in #3: the day.
be done.
New York Times bestselling author, Kevin Kruse, created this planner based on his
interviews with 7 billionaires, 13 Olympians, 29 straight-A students, and over
200 entrepreneurs. It also reflects the process he personally used as he went from
crazy busy and broke to productive and prosperous, eventually building several
multi-million dollar businesses.
www.MasterYourMinutes.com | www.15TimeSecrets.com
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The Procrastination Cure
www.MasterYourMinutes.com | www.15TimeSecrets.com
WHAT IS IT?
Procrastination = Laziness
20% are chronic procrastinators
Procrastination is the habit of putting off important, less
pleasurable tasks by doing easier, more pleasurable tasks.
FIVE PROCRASTINATION BUSTERS
Pleasure & Pain Accountability Partner
Visualize the positive feelings We are less likely to break public
you will get having completed the commitments and to disappoint
task, and the negative outcomes others, so find a friend who will
if you dont. hold you accountable for doing
what you say you want to do.
Carrots & Sticks Remove Temptations
Give yourself small rewards for
completing tasks, and setup
penalties if you dont.
Time Travel
We are all "time inconsistent" and suffer from "present bias." We routinely make decisions now, but fail to act
the way we think we will in the future (e.g., we order workout DVDs from an infomercial but never use them;
we plan to go to the library every weekend to study for finals, but end up cramming the night before the exam.)
Your future-self always tries to sabotage the intentions of your present-self.
Mentally time travel to the future and think of all the ways your future-self will try to procrastinate (I'm too
tired. I'll do it tomorrow. I have no clothes to wear. I deserve a break.) Plan now to overcome these thoughts and
procrastinating actions.
Get The Most
From Your Notebook
www.MasterYourMinutes.com | www.15TimeSecrets.com
WHY TAKE NOTES?
Helps memory Reduces stress & Becomes a journal;
1 and recall 2 cognitive load 3 leave a legacy!
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE KEYBOARD
A 2014 study compared students who took handwritten notes against those who used a laptop.
Researchers concluded that longhand note taking leads to better learning and recall. Why? Taking
notes by hand involves active listening and cognitive processing to record short notes. People who
take notes on a laptop tend to robotically transcribe the spoken words, without doing the mental
work. (Psychological Science, 2014, Mueller & Oppenheimer)
Use a square to
indicate a to-do
TIPS
item, which will get
transferred to your 1- Write Reward If Found along with
calendar your name and phone number inside
Use a circle to indicate
the front cover
a meeting or event that
2- A
lways write the date, time and
has a specific calendar
date location on the top of each page
! Use an exclamation 3- Leave a lot of white space on each
mark to indicate you page, to make it easier to read and
need to follow-up, or find notes in the future
take action, on this tiem
(4) Dont try to copy verbatim speech;
? Use a question mark to
remind yourself to ask a summarize in your own words
question about
* Use an asterisk or star
to indicate important
note
321Zero
Email Mastery System
Highly successful people don't "check" their email constantly throughout the day. Instead,
they schedule times to "process" email quickly and efficiently. Using the 321Zero System, you
process email only 3 times a day, for 21 minutes each session, and use 4D's to get to inbox zero.
DELETE IT?
Can I just discard it?
Delete, Archive
NO YES or File
Open new
email
DELEGATE IT?
Can I delegate it?
NO YES Forward
DEFER IT?
Is it a task that will take
longer than 5 minutes?
Schedule on
NO YES Calendar
www.MasterYourMinutes.com
www.15TimeSecrets.com
DO IT NOW!
(Takes <5 minutes)
MAXIMIZE YOUR MEETINGS
Circulate Make Sure
Agenda & Key People
Supporting Are Invited;
Documents Dont Invite
Before The Non-Essential
Meeting Participants
Silence Mobile
Start The Phones & Take
1:30 Meeting On Calls & Text
Time Messages
Outside
1
Empower the Have One
Facilitator & Meeting
Designate a (No Side
Note Taker Conversations)
Keep A STOP! End The
Countdown 2:30 Meeting On
Clock, or Timer,
Time
Clearly Visible
www.MasterYourMinutes.com www.15TimeSecrets.com
CHANGE YOUR MORNINGS,
CHANGE YOUR LIFE
6:00 Wake Up Early
(6:00 a.m. or earlier)
BODY
Drink Water Exercise Healthy Breakfast
MIND
Journal Read Meditate
Identify MIT
(Most Important Task)
www.MasterYourMinutes.com www.15TimeSecrets.com
