How To Multiply Your Time | Rory Vaden | TEDxDouglasville

Summary

In this insightful talk, the author of 'Procrastinate on Purpose' challenges traditional time management strategies, arguing that they are ineffective due to their focus on logic rather than emotions. He introduces the concept of 'self-management' and the 'Focus Funnel,' a tool to help prioritize tasks based on their potential to create more time in the future. The speaker advocates for a 3-dimensional approach to time management, emphasizing the importance of significance over urgency and importance alone. By learning to eliminate, automate, delegate, or 'procrastinate on purpose,' individuals can multiply their time and achieve exponential results.

Takeaways

• 📚 The author challenges traditional time management approaches, suggesting that they are based on flawed logic and do not address the emotional aspects of how we spend our time.
• 👧 An interaction with a child highlights the emotional component of time management, showing that feelings like guilt and fear heavily influence our decisions about how to use our time.
• ⏳ Time management is a misnomer; time continues regardless of our actions, making the concept of 'managing' it impossible. The focus should be on self-management instead.
• 🛠️ The industrial revolution brought about one-dimensional time management focused on efficiency, which is limited because it doesn't account for the emotional and human aspects of work.
• 📈 Dr. Stephen Covey introduced a two-dimensional approach with his Time Management Matrix, which considers urgency and importance, but still doesn't solve the problem of creating more time.
• 🔢 Multipliers, a new type of thinker, use three-dimensional thinking that adds significance to urgency and importance, focusing on how long an action will matter.
• 🚫 The concept of the Focus Funnel involves eliminating tasks that are not worth doing, which is a departure from traditional to-do lists that focus on what to do.
• 🤖 Automation of tasks can save time in the future, similar to how compounding interest works for money, making an initial investment of time pay off over time.
• 🤝 Delegating tasks is possible even for things we think only we can do well. With training and patience, others can take over tasks, freeing up our time for more significant activities.
• 📉 Procrastination on purpose is a strategy that involves delaying tasks that can wait, allowing for more significant or time-critical tasks to be completed first.
• 🧘‍♂️ The significance calculation is key to multiplying time, which involves giving ourselves permission to focus on tasks that will create more time in the future.
• 📖 The author's personal story illustrates the power of delegation and the idea that with the right mindset and approach, anything can be delegated, including finding a father figure.

Q & A

What is the ironic statement made by the speaker about the book 'Procrastinate on Purpose'?

The irony is that the speaker, who is the author of the book 'Procrastinate on Purpose', started the event late, despite the book's theme suggesting better time management.

Why does the speaker claim that everything we know about time management is wrong?

The speaker believes that traditional time management focuses too much on logic and efficiency, neglecting the emotional aspects that heavily influence how we spend our time.

What realization did the speaker have after observing Haven's interaction with her father?

The speaker realized that time management is not just about logic but also about emotions, and that feelings like guilt, fear, worry, anxiety, and frustration play a significant role in how we manage our time.

What is the core idea behind the Time Management Matrix introduced by Dr. Stephen Covey?

The Time Management Matrix is a 2-dimensional system that categorizes tasks based on their urgency and importance, helping individuals prioritize what matters most.

Why does the speaker argue that prioritizing tasks does not inherently create more time?

Prioritizing tasks only rearranges the order of tasks on a to-do list; it does not expand the amount of time available to complete them.

What is the new concept of time management introduced by the speaker?

The speaker introduces a 3-dimensional approach to time management, which includes not only urgency and importance but also significance, focusing on how long a task will matter.

What is the significance calculation and how does it differ from traditional time management?

The significance calculation is about assessing how long a task will matter, rather than just its urgency or importance. It encourages thinking about the long-term impact of current actions on future time availability.

What is the Focus Funnel and how does it relate to the concept of multiplying time?

The Focus Funnel is a visual tool that represents the thought process multipliers use to evaluate how to spend their time. It helps in identifying tasks that can be eliminated, automated, delegated, or concentrated on, thereby multiplying time.

How does the speaker define 'multipliers' and what do they do differently?

Multipliers are individuals who use 3-dimensional thinking to manage their time. They make decisions based on urgency, importance, and significance, focusing on actions that will have a lasting impact and create more time in the future.

What is the main difference between the speaker's view on procrastination in his previous book and his current stance?

In his previous book, the speaker viewed procrastination as a negative habit. However, in the context of 'Procrastinate on Purpose', he suggests that waiting to do something because it's not the right time can be a virtue and part of effective time management.

What is the significance of the story about the speaker's mother and Kevin, and how does it relate to the concept of delegation?

The story illustrates that anything can be delegated if you are willing to invest time in teaching someone else. It supports the idea that delegation is not just about tasks but can extend to significant life events, like forming a family.

Outlines

00:00

🕒 The Myth of Time Management

The speaker begins by challenging conventional time management wisdom, suggesting that despite having more tools and technology, people still feel overwhelmed and stressed. The author of 'Procrastinate on Purpose' introduces the idea that traditional time management is flawed because it's not just about efficiency but also about emotions. The speaker argues that feelings like guilt, fear, and anxiety significantly influence how we spend our time. The realization that time management should be more about self-management is presented as a significant shift in understanding how to manage our time effectively.

05:03

🔄 From Efficiency to Significance

The speaker discusses the evolution of time management theory, starting from the industrial revolution's focus on efficiency to Stephen Covey's introduction of a two-dimensional approach with his Time Management Matrix. However, the speaker points out that prioritizing tasks, while valuable, does not create more time. The concept of 'multipliers' is introduced, who use three-dimensional thinking that includes urgency, importance, and significance. Significance is defined as the duration of an impact, and multipliers focus on actions that will have long-term benefits. The idea of multiplying time by investing in activities that create more time in the future is emphasized.

10:04

🚀 The Focus Funnel and Time Multiplication

The Focus Funnel is introduced as a visual tool to depict how multipliers evaluate tasks. It starts with eliminating non-essential tasks, then considering automation to save time in the future, and delegating tasks to free up time. If a task cannot be eliminated, automated, or delegated, it is then considered for immediate action or postponed intentionally. The speaker emphasizes the importance of giving oneself permission to ignore, automate, and delegate to multiply time. The story of the speaker's mother and stepfather illustrates the power of delegation and the significance of long-term thinking in time management.

15:05

📅 Procrastinate on Purpose: The Art of Timing

The final paragraph discusses the concept of 'procrastinating on purpose,' which is different from traditional procrastination. The speaker explains that waiting to do something because it's not the right time is a virtue, not a vice. The Focus Funnel process helps determine if a task should be done immediately or can wait, leading to a holding pattern where tasks may eventually be eliminated, automated, delegated, or recognized as significant enough to tackle. The speaker concludes with a humorous reference to the biblical command to 'be fruitful and multiply,' drawing a parallel to the idea of multiplying one's time effectively.

Keywords

💡Procrastinate on Purpose

The term 'Procrastinate on Purpose' is the title of the book by the speaker and encapsulates the idea that sometimes delaying tasks can be a strategic choice rather than a failure to act. In the video, the speaker argues that traditional time management strategies are insufficient and that we should be more selective with our time by choosing to delay tasks that do not contribute to long-term productivity or significance. This concept challenges the conventional view of procrastination as a negative behavior.

💡Time Management

Time management refers to the strategies and techniques used to control and allocate the amount of time spent on specific activities. In the video, the speaker critiques the traditional approach to time management, suggesting that it is outdated and fails to address the emotional aspects of how we spend our time. The speaker introduces the concept of self-management as a more effective strategy, emphasizing the importance of managing our actions and decisions rather than trying to control time itself.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency, in the context of the video, refers to the ability to perform tasks with minimal waste of time and effort. The speaker points out that while efficiency is valuable, it has limitations as a sole strategy for time management because it does not inherently create more time. The example given is that even with advanced technology, people still feel overwhelmed and behind, indicating that efficiency alone cannot solve the problem of time scarcity.

💡Prioritizing

Prioritizing is the process of arranging tasks or actions in order of importance. The speaker mentions Dr. Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix as a method for prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance. However, the speaker argues that prioritizing has a significant limitation: it does not create more time, it merely rearranges existing tasks without addressing the underlying issue of time scarcity.

💡Significance

Significance, in the video, is introduced as a third dimension to time management, alongside urgency and importance. It refers to the long-term impact or lasting value of a task or action. The speaker suggests that 'multipliers'—people who effectively manage their time—consider the significance of tasks, asking how their current actions will benefit their future. This approach leads to making decisions that create more time in the long run, rather than just managing the immediate to-do list.

💡Multipliers

Multipliers, as described in the video, are individuals who use 3-dimensional thinking to manage their time effectively. They go beyond urgency and importance to consider the significance of tasks, aiming to create a positive impact that extends into the future. The concept of multipliers is central to the speaker's argument that traditional time management strategies need to evolve to include considerations of long-term value.

💡Emotional Permission

Emotional permission is the idea of giving oneself the psychological freedom to make choices that may not align with societal expectations or personal guilt. In the context of the video, the speaker suggests that to manage time effectively, one must have the emotional permission to spend time on tasks that will yield benefits in the future, even if it means saying no to immediate demands or expectations.

💡Automation

Automation, in the video, refers to the process of creating systems or using technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. The speaker argues that automation is a powerful tool for time management, as it can save time in the future by investing time upfront to set up automated processes. This concept is likened to the financial principle of compounding interest, where an initial investment grows exponentially over time.

💡Delegation

Delegation is the act of assigning tasks or responsibilities to another person. The speaker shares a personal story to illustrate that even complex and personal tasks, such as finding a father figure, can be delegated. The video emphasizes that delegation is not just about assigning work but also about empowering others and freeing up one's time to focus on more significant tasks.

💡Focus Funnel

The Focus Funnel is a conceptual tool introduced by the speaker to visualize the decision-making process of effective time management. It represents a funnel through which tasks pass, with the top representing the influx of tasks and the bottom representing the actions taken (eliminate, automate, delegate, or concentrate). The Focus Funnel is a key component of the speaker's argument for a new approach to time management that emphasizes significance and emotional permission.

💡Procrastinate

Procrastination is traditionally viewed as delaying or postponing tasks or actions. However, the speaker reframes this concept by introducing 'procrastinate on purpose,' which is a strategic decision to delay a task because it is not significant enough to be done immediately. This form of procrastination is seen as a virtue when it allows for the prioritization of more impactful tasks and the creation of more time in the future.

Highlights

The speaker humorously introduces the irony of starting late for a talk on 'Procrastinate on Purpose'.

Despite advancements in technology and time management tools, people still feel overwhelmed and stressed.

The speaker challenges traditional time management by stating that everything we know about it might be wrong.

An emotional realization about time management is presented through the story of a 2-year-old girl and her father.

Time management is redefined as emotional, not just logical, with feelings impacting how we spend our time.

A historical overview of time management theory is provided, starting with efficiency-focused strategies.

Dr. Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix is introduced, emphasizing urgency and importance.

The limitation of prioritizing is highlighted as it does not inherently create more time.

The concept of 'multipliers' is introduced, who use 3-dimensional thinking to manage time.

Multipliers focus on significance, asking what they can do today to make the future better.

The idea of multiplying time by giving oneself permission to do things that create more time tomorrow is presented.

The Focus Funnel is introduced as a tool to visualize and codify the thought process of multipliers.

The concept of eliminating tasks is discussed as a key strategy in time management.

Automation is compared to compounding interest, emphasizing the value of investing time to save time.

Delegation is discussed as a powerful tool, with a personal story illustrating its potential.

The Focus Funnel's process of elimination, automation, delegation, and concentration is explained.

The distinction between procrastination as a killer of success and 'procrastinate on purpose' is clarified.

The importance of patience and the significance calculation in deciding when to act on tasks is emphasized.

The speaker concludes by connecting the concept of time multiplication to a biblical command, adding a philosophical touch.

Transcripts

Translator: Bob Prottas Reviewer: Leonardo Silva

You may have thought that we started late, but it is ironic that the first speaker

would be the author of the book, "Procrastinate on Purpose".

(Laughter)

How is it, that we have more tips and tricks, tools and technology,

calendars and checklists than ever before,

and yet, we still always seem to be behind?

How is it that we work longer hours,

we're moving faster than we've ever moved in history,

and yet we never seem to be caught up?

How is it that we know more about time management today,

and yet stress is at an all-time high?

The reason why is because everything you know

about time management is wrong.

I first started to realize this a couple of years ago.

It was early on a Saturday morning, I was at my business partner's house,

and I was picking him up for a very important

international leader planning retreat,

and he has a 2-year-old baby girl name Haven,

and she is the sweetest little thing you can imagine.

She has curly brown hair, and these sweet, soft, brown eyes,

and we live in Nashville, so she has a little southern accent that's developing

and as I'm picking up Dustin, and we're about to leave,

Haven come sprinting down the hallway

and she leaps, and she latches on to Dustin's leg,

And he looks down at her and he says:

"Oh, I'm sorry baby Haven, Daddy actually has to go to work today."

And she looks up at him, and her eyes well up with tears,

and she says:

"No Daddy, please, no work today. No work Daddy."

And in that moment, I realized two things:

The first is that I myself am not ready to have kids just yet.

(Laughter)

The second is that even though everything that you've ever heard

about time management is all logical, tips and tricks, tools and technology,

calendars and check lists, its apps, it's all logic.

What I realized in that moment, from a 2-year-old,

is that today, time management is no longer just logical,

today, time management is emotional,

and how our feelings of guilt, and fear, and worry, and anxiety, and frustration,

those things dictate how we choose to spend our time,

as much as anything that's in our calendar, on our to-do list.

In fact, there is no such thing as time management.

You can't manage time, time continues on whether we like it or not.

So there is no such thing as time management.

Really, there is only self-management.

That was the first big realization I had.

In order for you to understand the second,

I want to take you on a quick history of time management theory,

and that really began in the late fifties, and sixties,

and it came during the industrial revolution,

and an early time management thought was all about --

it was one-dimensional, and it was all based on efficiency,

and the idea with efficiency, was that if we could develop tools and technology

to help us do things faster, then theoretically,

that would give us more time.

Well, there's nothing wrong with efficiency, all things being equal,

efficiency is better, and yet there is an unfortunate limitation

to efficiency as a strategy for time management,

and it's evidenced by the fact that we all carry around

miniature computers in our pockets,

and yet, somehow, we're still never caught up.

Well, in the late eighties, era 2 time management thinking emerged.

I feel like it was pretty much single-handedly ushered in

by the late, great Dr. Stephen Covey.

And Dr. Covey introduced what we're referring to as 2-dimensional thinking.

He gave us something called the Time Management Matrix,

where the x-axis was urgency, and the y-axis was importance,

and the beauty about this was that it gave us a system for scoring our tasks,

and then based on how they scored in these two areas, we could prioritize tasks,

Prioritizing is all about focusing first on what matters most,

and for the last 20 years,

this has been the pervasive mode of thinking

as it relates to time management theory.

It's not that there's anything wrong with prioritizing, in fact,

prioritizing is as valuable a skill today

as it ever has been in history.

Even though we throw that word around,

like it's the end-all and be-all, to time management theory, right?

We say: "Get your priorities in order.",

or "You don't have the right priorities."

Well, unfortunately, maybe that's not really the case,

because there is a massive limitation to prioritizing that nobody ever talks about

and that is this: there's nothing about prioritizing that creates more time.

All prioritizing does, is take item number 7 on your to do list,

and it bumps it up to number 1, which is valuable in and of itself,

but it doesn't do anything inherently to create more time,

and it does nothing to help you accomplish the other items on your to-do list.

If you think about efficiency, it is kind of like running on a hamster wheel,

and if you think a prioritizing, it's really about borrowing time.

Borrowing time from one activity to spend on another, it's kind of like juggling,

and that really describes the way that we even talk about time.

I'm juggling a lot, or I'm trying to balance a lot.

And in that paradigm there's only two strategies:

one is to do things faster, or to do more things,

and that is what the world kind of feels like, right?

How does it feel to know that really all we are is a bunch of juggling hamsters,

sprinting towards an inevitable crash landing?

(Laughter)

You cannot solve today's time management problems,

with yesterday's time management thinking.

What we've noticed, is the emergence of a new type of thinker,

somebody that we refer to, as a multiplier,

and multipliers use what we call, 3-dimensional thinking.

While most people only make decisions based on urgency, and importance,

multipliers are making a third calculation which is based on significance,

and if urgency is how soon does something matter,

then significance is how long is it going to matter.

It's a completely different paradigm, it's adding on to what is there,

it's in with the old, but it's also in with the new.

Because most of us, if you think about the modern day to-do list,

which is one of the key strategies or tools that we have,

we ask ourselves, when we assemble our to-do list, we say:

"What's the most important thing I can do today?"

But that is not how multipliers think; multipliers, instead ask the question:

"What can I do today, that would make tomorrow better?"

"What can I do right now, that would make the future better?"

They're making the significance calculation.

When I say: "Multiply your time," that might sound a little bit superfluous.

It might sound like an over exaggeration, but it really is not.

Now, it is true that we all have the same at a time inside of 1 day,

24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds.

There's nothing any of us can do to create more time in 1 day,

but that's exactly the problem, that type of thinking is the problem.

We have to break out of that paradigm, and instead, think about tomorrow,

and that brings us to the premise for how you multiply time.

The way that you multiply time, is simple:

you multiply your time, by giving yourself the emotional permission

to spend time on things today, that give you more time tomorrow.

That's the significance calculation.

You multiply time, by giving yourself the emotional permission

to spend time on things today, that create more time tomorrow.

The significance calculation changes everything.

The Focus Funnel is our attempt, to create a visual depiction

that codifies the thought process, that multipliers go through in their head,

unconsciously, when they are evaluating how to spend their time.

It's why some people create extraordinary, explosive, exponential results,

and other people seem to kind of just create linear traction,

and it works like this, if your tasks all come into the top of the funnel,

the first question a multiplayer asks is: "Can I eliminate this?

Is it even worth doing?"

It's another example of how everything you know about time management is wrong,

or at least that it has changed, because most of us use to-do lists,

and multipliers realize that next generation time management

has much more to do with what you don't do, than what you do do.

Multipliers realize that perfection is achieved

not only when nothing more can be added, but when nothing more can be taken away.

It is the permission to ignore.

Because anything that we say no to today,

creates more time for us tomorrow.

The emotional challenge is that we struggle with guilt,

and we struggle with wanting to say no,

but really feeling like we have to say yes,

and so we go through life trying to never say no.

In an interview with a multiplier

they said something that changed my life,

"It's futile to go through life, trying to never say no.

What you have to realize, is that you are always saying no to something."

Because anytime you say yes to one thing,

you're simultaneously saying no to an infinite number of others.

If you can't eliminate the task, the next question is: "Can I automate the task?"

Anything that I create a process for today, saves me time tomorrow.

It's like setting up online bill pay.

I never have two hours in my day to set up online bill pay,

I just don't have time, and if I had two hours in my day

I would never use it to set up online bill pay.

But a multiplier realizes that if I save 30 minutes a month

from paying my bills, by setting up online bill pay,

then it makes sense to invest those 2 hours,

because then after just 4-months time,

I will have broken even on that investment,

and every month thereafter, I will get something we call ROTI,

Return On Time Invested.

Automation is to your time

exactly what compounding interest is to your money.

Just like compounding interest takes money and it makes money into more money,

automation takes time, and it makes it into more time.

The way that wealthy people think about money

is exactly the same way that Multipliers think about time,

and they give themselves the permission to invest,

invest the time and energy to automate the process.

If it can't be automated, then the question is:

"Can it be delegated? Can I teach someone else how to do this?"

I'm reminded of a time, when I was 7 years old, and I'll never forget,

I was in the car with my Mom, and I hit her with this question, I said:

"Mom, do I have a Dad?"

And as you might imagine, that was a pretty difficult question

for a single mother, to navigate with her 7-year-old.

It was the first time that my mom told me her life story.

She was pregnant at 17, divorced a couple of years later.

Pregnant again at 22, and then she was divorced

from my biological father 6 months after I was born.

So there she was, 22 years old, single mom, no high school education,

and she explained to me:

"Rory, I decided at that point that I would never have a man in my life,

because I haven't had good luck with men, and we may not have a lot,

and we may not have a dad, but we're going to have love."

We went back and forth, and I said:

"You know Mom, I love our family, I really do, I love our family,

but I think it would be really cool to have a Dad."

And so she said:

"Well, I'll tell you what honey, if you want a Dad,

then why don't you go out, and find yourself a good Dad."

What kind of crap is that?

(Laughter)

It just so happened that that was my first day at a new Shaolin Kung Fu center.

I had been studying martial arts since I was 5.

So they put me in this all-adult school, to be a little more advanced.

Another gentleman who walked in, it was his first day, also.

This guy was much older than me.

He had long hair, and tattoos all up and down his arm,

and a leather jacket, and he came in on a motorcycle,

and this guy was about the scariest dude you can imagine, if you're 7 years old,

and he gets paired up as my sparring partner.

(Laughter)

His name was Kevin. He turned out to be pretty nice.

We advanced through the belt levels together,

and so Kevin started bringing me home from class, every once in a while.

Soon Kevin came over on the weekends, and we would practice our forms.

Then we caught a movie, and then before long,

Mom came with us to the movies.

So it was the 3 of us going to movies together,

and I'll never forget the first time the 2 of them went to a movie

without me.

(Laughter)

As it turns out,

Kevin and I tested for our black belts together on the same day

when I was 10 years old.

They got married 2 weeks later.

A couple of years after that Kevin adopted me,

and I change my last name, from Rory MacLachlan, to Rory Vaden,

and they have been married for 20 years, ever since.

(Applause)

And the point of that story is that you can delegate anything.

(Laughter)

But if you ask the average person:

"Are there things you could be delegating to somebody else?"

We would say: "Yes." Then you say:

"Why don't you train someone else to do it?"

What most of us would say:

"Well, because they just can't do it as well as I can."

And that may be true once, maybe twice,

but it is only true absent the significance calculation.

If you think longer term, you realize

they'll be able to master the task, just like you were.

Significance changes everything.

It's how you multiply your time.

It's giving yourself the permission of imperfect, for a little while.

Because over time, they'll be able to figure it out.

If you can't eliminate, automate, or delegate a task,

that task drops out the bottom of the funnel,

at that point, there's only one question,

and that question is: Should I do this task now?

Must it be done now, or can it wait until later?

If the task must be done now, then that's what we call "concentrate".

It's the permission to protect. Alright, the permission to protect.

It's all about focus, and eliminating distractions.

And honestly, there's nothing all that exciting, or new there.

However, if you ask the question: "Can this wait until later?",

and you decide that the answer is yes,

then that's not eliminate, automate or delegate,

that is what we call "procrastinate on purpose".

Now, you're not going to procrastinate on it forever,

you're going to pop that activity back to the top of the funnel,

at which point, it will enter into a holding pattern

where it will cycle through the focus funnel,

until inevitably, one day, eventually one of the other 4 strategies

will be executed on whenever that task is.

And what you find, is that if something can continually wait,

often what happens is you develop the courage

to do what you should have done in the first place,

which was eliminate it.

Or you discover a system for how to automate it.

Or someone rises up to the call of leadership.

They rise up to the occasion, and it ends up being delegated.

Or it ends up becoming something that is significant enough

for you to spend your time on.

A lot people say:

"Well Rory, wait a minute, in the "Take the stairs" book you said:

'Procrastination is the killer of all success.'

'Procrastination is the most expensive, invisible cost in business.'

'Procrastination is the foundation of all mediocrity.'

and now you're telling us to procrastinate on purpose?"

And yes, that is what I said, and it's exactly true how I said it.

But there's a major distinction to realize and that is

there's a difference in waiting to do something

that we know we should be doing that we don't feel like doing,

versus waiting to do something

because we're deciding that now is not the right time.

Waiting to do something we know we should do, but don't feel like doing,

that's procrastination, the killer of success.

Waiting to do something, because we're deciding that now is not the right time,

that isn't procrastination, that isn't the killer success, that's a virtue,

and it's an art form that the world really needs, which is patience.

The patience to put off the insignificant things.

Like checking email 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You multiply your time, by giving yourself the emotional permission

to spend time on things today, that create more time tomorrow.

Regardless of your religious affiliation,

or your spiritual beliefs, hopefully you'll have an appreciation for the way

that scripture says the world was created.

And in Genesis, God has created this perfect world,

and it says something amazing that we're created in His image,

and then in Genesis, chapter 1, verse 28, he gives the first command

to all of humanity, and what is that command?

"Thou shall have no other gods before me?" No.

Is it, "Love thy neighbor as thyself?" No.

God's first command to all of humanity,

"Be fruitful, and multiply."

Thank you very much.

(Applause)