Time Management Magic
by Lee Cockerell

“Do the things you dislike first everyday, so you don’t
spend the rest of the day thinking about them.”

Lee Cockerell

Lee Cockerell’s book, Time Management Magic, reads too good to be true. Maybe it is magic. As a former executive for Disney, managing more than 40,000 employees, Cockerell’s advice is practical and still timely today. No magic needed here as you read these no-nonsense principals to help you get the most out of your day, every day.

Some of the more memorable and practical tidbits include:

• Use a monthly, daily and advanced planner to record all of your appointments and events
• Prioritize your events!
  • Urgent – “to do” right away
  • Vital – projects that might take up to 6 months (or longer) to complete but add value to your work
  • Important – keep adding to subsequent days so as not to forget about these
• Don’t put things off
  • Procrastination causes stress!
• Avoid being preoccupied
  • Sit next to people instead of behind your desk so as to engage well
  • Avoid reading an email while someone is talking with you
• Value people
  • Give people a safe space to view their opinions which make for a happy workplace

Make meetings mean something:
Cockerell talks about meetings have two purposes:
• One is to present information
• The other is to solve problems

You only need the people in the room who are involved
in solving the problem. Otherwise, you will be wasting the
time of the people who don’t need to be present.

Cockerell’s book is pretty straightforward. He adds his own personal stories which keeps the reader engaged. For example, he used to go home in the evening after a long, tiring day at work and turn on the TV – first thing. His wife would be trying to talk to him as he was distracted and only halfway listening. He started to prioritize. Then, after arriving home, listened intently to what his wife had to say, and afterwards, turn on the TV. Sweet, but not earth shattering on how to prioritize. All in all, good and concise advice though.

Personally, I make a “to do” list every day on a stickie note or piece of paper. However, after reading this book, I’m going to ditch the stickies, and get a real “grown up” planner. I mean, if accomplishing what’s on my stickies makes me feel good, what if I really start planning my life? I can’t imagine how good I’d feel!

Tip of the day:
Use up to 30 minutes every day to plan your day!

Time Management seems like something we all can do!
So, grab a Day Timer® Daily Planner, start writing your
“to do’s” in importance and do them!