The BEST SYSTEM To Manage Your Time as A STUDENT!

Summary

This video script emphasizes the critical role of time management in achieving personal and professional success. Jun Yu, the speaker, shares his proven system for optimizing time: plan, prioritize, execute, and review. He discusses the importance of intentional focus, setting boundaries, and using evidence-based techniques to prevent procrastination and ensure efficient work. His personal experiences and the transformative impact of time management on his life and business underscore the value of mastering this skill.

Takeaways

• 🕒 Time is the universal constraint for everyone, emphasizing the importance of time management for maximizing potential.
• 💼 CEOs invest heavily in assistance and productivity tools, highlighting the value placed on efficient time management.
• 🔍 Effective time management is about intentionality in spending each hour and focusing on tasks that significantly impact progress.
• 💡 Time management is not about increasing the number of hours but ensuring each hour is purposefully spent.
• 🌟 Being present in relationships and having time off are achievable through intentional time management.
• 🛠 Time management skills are built on effort and a system rather than high IQ or resources.
• 📚 The speaker, Jun Yu, shares his success in academics and business attributed to effective time management.
• 📅 Parkinson's Law is introduced to explain the tendency of work to expand to fill the time allotted, stressing the need for planning with deadlines.
• 🎯 Prioritization is key to differentiating oneself and focusing on tasks that align with one's goals and values.
• 📈 A retrospective timetable is suggested for academic success, allowing students to focus on weaknesses and improve.
• 🛑 The importance of creating healthy boundaries and saying 'no' to less important tasks to protect time for high-impact activities is emphasized.
• 🔄 The execution phase involves applying evidence-based techniques to work efficiently and prevent procrastination.
• 🔍 Regular review and timing of tasks are crucial for refining schedules and improving time management over time.

Q & A

What is the universal constraint that everyone faces according to the speaker?

The universal constraint that everyone faces is time, as there are only 24 hours in a day and no one can increase this limit.

Why do CEOs spend a significant amount of money on assistance and productivity tools?

CEOs invest in assistance and productivity tools because they've learned the importance of time management and its impact on maximizing potential and efficiency.

What is the main focus of effective time management according to the transcript?

Effective time management focuses on spending each hour intentionally, ensuring focus on areas that move the needle, and being present in both work and personal life.

What skill does the speaker believe differentiates people from the life they want to live?

The speaker believes that time management is the key skill that differentiates people from the life they currently live and the life they aspire to live.

What is the speaker's name and what does he offer to teach?

The speaker's name is Jun Yu, and he offers to teach a time management system that he has used to achieve success in his academic and professional life.

What is Parkinson's Law and how does it relate to time management?

Parkinson's Law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for it. It relates to time management by emphasizing the importance of setting deadlines to prevent procrastination and ensure efficiency.

What is the significance of planning an ideal week in the time management system?

Planning an ideal week helps to allocate time for both necessary tasks and enjoyable activities, creating a balanced schedule that prevents burnout and ensures productivity.

What is the importance of prioritizing tasks in time management?

Prioritizing tasks is crucial in time management as it helps to focus on activities that have the most significant impact on achieving goals and align with one's values and aspirations.

How does the speaker suggest using a retrospective timetable in academics?

The speaker suggests using a retrospective timetable to identify strengths and weaknesses throughout the term, allowing for better focus on areas of weakness and more efficient use of study time.

What is the role of the 'Learning System' in the execution phase of time management?

The 'Learning System' is a set of evidence-based techniques designed to maximize efficiency during study and work sessions, ensuring that time is used effectively to achieve the best outcomes.

Why is reviewing and timing tasks an important part of the time management system?

Reviewing and timing tasks help to refine the schedule by identifying what works well and what doesn't, allowing for continuous improvement and better allocation of time in the future.

Outlines

00:00

🕒 Time Management Mastery

The script emphasizes the universal constraint of time and the importance of mastering time management to maximize one's potential. It highlights the investment CEOs make in productivity tools and the need for intentional focus on tasks that move the needle. Jun Yu introduces himself and his credentials, including graduating top of his biomedical engineering class and achieving financial success. He outlines a four-step system: plan, prioritize, execute, and review, starting with planning and the application of Parkinson's Law to avoid procrastination and ensure effective learning outcomes.

05:00

📅 The Art of Planning and Prioritizing

This paragraph delves into the specifics of planning an ideal week, considering all responsibilities and joys in life, and choosing a planning medium that works best for the individual. It discusses the importance of prioritizing tasks that align with one's future goals and creating healthy boundaries by saying 'no' to less important tasks. The use of retrospective and prospective timetables in academics is suggested for better awareness of strengths and weaknesses, allowing for more effective time investment.

10:01

🌟 Prioritization and Personal Growth

The speaker shares personal anecdotes about the importance of prioritizing and focusing on areas that truly matter for personal growth and success. He discusses the realization that spreading oneself too thin can hinder progress and the need to identify and concentrate on high-value activities. The paragraph also touches on the speaker's journey in developing leadership skills and content creation, which significantly impacted his life, illustrating the power of prioritization.

15:02

🚀 Execution with Efficiency

Execution is the focus of this paragraph, where the speaker discusses the importance of applying evidence-based techniques to work efficiently and prevent procrastination. He mentions the 5-minute rule, the 321 method, and the Pomodoro Technique as strategies to tackle tasks effectively. The speaker also emphasizes the need to review one's work process, suggesting time blocking and reflection to refine schedules and improve time management skills over time.

⏱️ Time Blocking and Continuous Improvement

The final paragraph wraps up the system with a focus on the review process, emphasizing the skill of time blocking to create balanced schedules that include work, rest, and play. The speaker advises getting into the habit of timing frequent tasks to better allocate time blocks and avoid feeling rushed. He also encourages viewers to apply the system in various life spheres for overall potential maximization and offers to answer questions in the comments section.

Keywords

💡Time management

Time management refers to the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities to increase effectiveness, efficiency, or productivity. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of managing time to maximize potential, arguing that it allows for intentional focus on significant tasks and ensures presence in important moments of life.

💡Parkinson's law

Parkinson's law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. The speaker uses this concept to highlight the necessity of planning with deadlines to avoid procrastination and ensure efficient use of time, stressing that without set deadlines, tasks are likely to take longer than necessary.

💡Focus

Focus is the ability to concentrate on a task without being distracted. The speaker mentions that effective time management allows one to maintain deep focus on tasks that matter, thus enhancing productivity and performance. It's about being present and fully engaged in the moment, whether in work or personal life.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the process of arranging tasks in order of importance. The speaker highlights that beyond making a to-do list, one must identify and focus on tasks that truly move the needle towards one's goals. This involves setting boundaries and saying no to less important activities to concentrate on high-impact tasks.

💡Execution

Execution is the act of carrying out a plan or task. After planning and prioritizing, the speaker emphasizes the importance of efficient execution using techniques like the Pomodoro Technique or the 5-minute rule to prevent procrastination and ensure tasks are completed effectively.

💡Review

Review refers to the process of reflecting on and evaluating one's performance and schedule. The speaker suggests regularly reviewing one's time management practices to identify what works and what doesn’t, allowing for continuous improvement and more accurate future planning.

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks. The speaker discusses how procrastination often stems from underlying emotions like fear or guilt and suggests techniques to make tasks less daunting, thereby reducing procrastination and increasing productivity.

💡Productivity tools

Productivity tools are applications or systems designed to help manage time, tasks, and workflows efficiently. The speaker mentions the use of tools like Notion, Google Calendar, and physical journals to aid in planning and organization, facilitating better time management.

💡Second brain

The concept of a second brain refers to a digital or external system that helps manage information and tasks. The speaker recommends using platforms like Notion as a second brain to keep track of responsibilities, thereby reducing cognitive load and enhancing productivity.

💡Boundaries

Boundaries are limits set to protect one's time and focus. The speaker underscores the importance of setting healthy boundaries to avoid distractions and busy work, allowing for more time and energy to be devoted to tasks that align with one's goals and values.

Highlights

The universal constraint for everyone is time, and learning to manage it is crucial for maximizing potential.

CEOs spend substantial amounts on assistants and productivity tools because they understand the importance of time management.

Effective time management is about ensuring each hour is spent intentionally and focusing on areas that will move the needle.

Good time management allows you to be present in important moments and deeply focused during work.

The key skill differentiating your current life from the one you desire is often time management.

Time management skills are not dependent on high IQ or resources but on effort and a system.

Jun Yu emphasizes the importance of managing time to avoid cognitive overload and improve deep focus.

Jun Yu's system includes four steps: plan, prioritize, execute, and review.

Planning involves setting deadlines to avoid procrastination and cramming, which hinder deep comprehension and retention.

Prioritizing helps focus on tasks that actually move the needle and align with long-term goals.

Using a retrospective timetable helps identify and focus on areas of weakness, ensuring efficient use of time.

Execution is about applying yourself efficiently using evidence-based techniques like the Learning System.

Embedding anti-procrastination techniques during execution, such as the 5-minute rule and Pomodoro Technique, helps maintain focus.

Reviewing and reflecting on your time management practices allows continuous refinement and effectiveness.

Jun Yu recommends timing your tasks to better allocate appropriate time blocks and avoid schedule disruptions.

Transcripts

the one universal constraint that exists

for everyone is time and that means

there is no way you can maximize your

potential if you don't learn how to

manage it and if you don't believe me as

CEOs why we spend over $100,000 yearly

on assistance ask why they spend tens of

thousands of dollars monthly on

productivity tools and systems well it's

because they've learned that very fact

you see management of your time isn't

increasing the number of hours more than

24 but it is to ensure that each hour is

spent intentionally it's ensure that

your focus is on the areas that will

actually move the needle it's to ensure

that you can be present in the most

precious moments in life it allows you

to be present in your relationships when

you want to also have time off and relax

you can do that intentionally but you

can also be deeply focused in your work

when you need to as well if you were to

ask me what is that one skill that is

differentiating you from the life that

you're currently living and the life

that you want to live I would say one of

the most important ones would be time

management but that should be exciting

it shouldn't be daunting cuz probably

your time management skills as of now

has been inadequate it has costed you a

lot but on the bright side a time

management skill set is built off of not

a high IQ it's not built off of having a

lot of money or resources it simply

requires effort and a system the system

I will teach you the effort you need to

bring my name is Jun Yu if you're new to

the channel welcome if you're returning

welcome back I just mentioned that a

lack of time management will cost you a

lot and I don't mean just a miss

deadline and we know how important those

are in the academic sphere but moreover

I am referring to the fact that our

brains have a limited capacity and our

working memory to manipulate information

in real time that means when you're

sitting in there thinking to yourself oh

what was that one appointment oh what

was that one thing that I need to do oh

what was that one homework assignment

that I need to complete oh what was that

one exam that I had to study for oh what

was that one weakness that I really

wanted to focus on when you were

thinking those things you were losing

out on something else and that something

else is probably the deep focus that you

need to actually complete your work we

need to have you manage your time

effectively so yes you don't miss any at

lines but you ensure that your working

memory is associated with work that

actually matters and not thinking about

other types of information at that time

so I'm very excited to be able to share

with you the exact system that's allowed

me to graduate at the top cohort of my

class and arguably one of the hardest

Majors out there in biomedical

engineering with the neuroengineering

concentration and got both my bachelor

and Masters simultaneously in it what's

allowed me to make over a million

dollars with my business before I

graduated allowed me to pay off my

student loans before I graduated allowed

me to pay off my entire family's debt

allowed me to be present in my

relationships and also continue

expanding my network my professional and

personal life while also allowing me to

prioritize my mental my physical and

spiritual health as well so we will be

discussing four important steps to this

system plan prioritize execute and

review let's discuss number one planning

Parkinson's law states that work tends

to expand to fill up the time allotted

for it so if you're not planning with

deadlines in mind it's very much the

case that you will likely procrastinate

and we've all experienced this before

and that's why we tend to cram and we

know that cramming is not going to

provide us the learning outcomes that we

want and when I say learning outcomes

I'm not speaking of just the grade

associated with it you probably are

missing out on your best grades because

of this cramming approach but moreover

we know that knowledge tends to build

upon itself especially as you get into

higher education so that will not fly

when you start to progress and those

learning outcomes are depth of

comprehension along with retention and

so this cramming along with

procrastination will surely prevent you

from excelling at the highest level so

here immediately what you can do is

start to scope what you actually need to

do so what are the classes currently

involved with your semester or term what

are the extracurriculars that you're

involved in what are some of the other

responsibilities outside of school that

you also want to ensure you do and which

Hobbies do you find the most joy in who

do you really love spending time with

now once you've completed this really

quick writing exercise and you've

created a list of it I want you to now

plan your ideal week simply start with

the things that actually you want to do

that you're naturally engaged with so of

course prioritize your sleep ensure that

you have time to rest and also ensure

that you have time to play so schedule

those times to hang out with your

friends hang out with your pet or to go

ahead and do a hobby ensure that you a

lot those times for it and then start to

input your class times your homework

assignments your projects and things

that you need to complete that's

associated with school along with the

other responsibilities that you want to

complete as well but do it in a manner

in which in a situation where there is

no disruptions there is no change to

your schedule there is no spontaneity in

the sense where something's going to be

thrown on to you last minute what would

you like your week to look like secondly

I want you to consider the medium in

which you will be planning whether it's

on a physical journal or an online

calendar or even a second brain it's

really important that we identify which

medium works best for us which will be

the most practical so that we can Ure

that we stick to it my specific

recommendation would be that if you are

new to the time management realm to

Simply start out with a physical journal

or a online calendar like Google

Calendar those were perfectly fine these

are going to be really easy to start

with and will have high utility if you

really want to take your productivity

and time man management skills to the

next level I mean it's become extremely

extremely extremely popular for good

reason it's the second brain I've

discussed this a lot in previous videos

and there's a ton of resources out there

that discuss this heavily I would

recommend the platform notion and this

is what we utilize in our mentorship

program we provide all of our students

highly detailed and customizable

templates developed by extremely

talented professionals that they get as

part of the program and so that is what

I would encourage um depending on the

stage that you're at once you've scoped

your responsibilities and identified a

medium in which you plan you're ready to

move on to step two step two prioritize

and I really believe that this step is

where we start to differentiate

ourselves from everyone else because

most people are really good at making a

laundry list of to-dos and very few

people take that additional step of

actually prioritizing what do I mean by

that defining what will actually move

the needle there is a lot of distraction

and a lot of busy work that we put on to

ourselves that we deem to be important

in the moment when in reality it doesn't

actually line with the future that we

have set out for ourselves the future

that we actually want right so in that

case you have to ask yourself why are

you doing a certain task and when you

can take the list of tasks that you have

and then really scope down and

understanding in the midst of that

you're going to have to create healthy

boundaries for yourself and boundaries

when you say no to somebody isn't you

being rude a no is a deeper yes to the

things that you actually want so it's

really important that we do that and

then when we can start to continuously

tailor our responsibilities until we

find our core set of responsibilities

that are important to us and that will

allow us to have progress and that also

bring us joy so a specific example of

this in the context of academics is the

use of a retrospective timetable and

I've spoken about about this a lot

before and there's really good reason

for it there's something called a

prospective revision timetable which

most of us are familiar with and that

simply means that you are planning ahead

of time and that has its place and I

actually think that doing both a

prospective and a retrospective one is

really really beneficial but the idea of

a retrospective one is to go throughout

your term having a strong awareness of

where your strengths and your weaknesses

reside you know in part of the Learning

System that's something that I always

talk about and as you can focus on your

areas of weakness and ensuring that

they're up to par that is a better use

of your time than doing busy work with

practice sets that are associated with

your strengths a lot of times we have a

failure of awareness of what is actually

strong and what is actually weak in our

skill set or in our knowledge repository

that we spend a lot of time in areas

that don't have high utility you want

good return on your time investment

that's why I should be focused on your

weaknesses but that in and of itself

right there is a demonstration of us

putting our efforts in areas that

actually matter so having a high sense

of awareness will ensure that you can

prioritize your responsibilities but

this supplies in every realm of our

lives so many times when I was younger I

thought it was so important for me to be

involved in everything right and so I

would play sports I would go out all the

time cuz I cared about being popular and

I wanted to be well likeed I cared so

much about being a part of every single

club that there was I was so involved

with every everything in my church I was

so involved with every little domain of

my life and I thought that that was the

right thing to do when in reality I've

learned that it's really hard to make

progress when you spread yourself out so

thin so what are the actual areas that

will move the needle in your life what

are the actual areas that are important

to you and for me to continuously

participate as a leader in my youth

group at church was really really

important the clubs at my school not so

much the parties at my SCH school not so

much in those spes I was actually

surrounded by a lot of people that

didn't even care about me in the first

place and that certainly wasn't aligned

with who I was so I took time away from

that and continuously built up my

leadership skills in my youth group and

that's one example of you taking your

time in one allocated spot currently

having a better awareness of the need to

prioritize putting your effort into

another area that is really important to

you and that actually allowing you to

flourish right so when I continuously

did that I spent more and more time in

that environment I built up a lot of

great skill sets and I also was able to

service my church and Community which I

really held as a high value of mine and

once you start prioritizing you start to

have a little bit more bandwidth and I

started to spend it on developing other

high value skill sets when I started to

get in involved with content creation

that took a lot of my time and obviously

that's completely changed my life but

that was a decision that I had to make

in the first year of college so that's

something that I prioritize and sure

that I did every single day being able

to prioritize is a huge huge component

component of not just your academic life

but if you want to have success in other

domains of your life you must apply it

in those as well step number three is

execute you've done the leg work you've

created a calendar for yourself that

will actually be suitable that will

hopefully be enjoyable along with being

productive now that that's been done

it's your ability to apply yourself and

people don't realize that the techniques

that you utilize in your working bouts

matter because that's how you save a lot

of time that's how become extremely

efficient and that's where the Learning

System is going to apply which is a

bunch of evidence-based techniques that

I've designed in a system to easily be

able to get the most out of your time

right so it's what you do before class

during class immediately after class and

for your revision I've spoken about this

a whole lot but why do we do that why do

we go ahead and utilize all these

techniques across the board it's so that

you're not spending a whole lot of time

and you can still excel at the highest

level and I've shown that right I've

shown that in b medical engineering

while do both my bachelors and Masters

I've been able to be extremely efficient

with it because there's a system

involved of evidence-based techniques

that are really encourage you to apply

as well so when you're executing think

about execution with efficiency and that

can be done with the Learning System and

the academic sphere and I also want to

mention that here is a really really

important time for you to start

embedding techniques that will further

prevent procrastination right so the

first two steps are going to be really

really important the planning and the

prioritizing but here when you're

executing as well embed the 5 minute

rule right apply the 321 method go ahead

and utilize any version of the Pomodoro

Technique in terms of the amount of time

maybe you're not 25 minute work sessions

but you're a 45 minute work session

person but split it up like that so you

can ensure that you're not

procrastinating we know that

procrastination happens not because the

task is extremely overwhelming in it of

itself because there's an underlying

emotion tied to that task and so maybe

you're a perfectionist and you have

started a piece of work but you're

afraid of messing it up so you won't

return back to it maybe it's a feeling

of guilt you lead a team but you've been

procrastinating on a piece of work and

now you don't want to return back to it

there are these feelings that are

associated with it it can be fear it can

be a lot of different emotions but that

ultimately stops us and makes it a lot

more complicated than it needs to be and

what's the best remedy for it you make

the initial task a lot less daunting so

those techniques that I just mentioned

will help you in doing that and enough

spoken about that exhausted in the past

before but it's because it's extremely

beneficial for this stage three in

execution allowing you to get the work

that you need to get done when you need

to do it and also utilizing the

techniques and the Learning System to

ensure that the work that you're doing

is efficient as well step Number Four

review and I've been saying this for

quite a long time but time blocking is a

skill being able to create effective

schedules for yourselves where it's not

just work but it allows you to have time

for rest and play and spontaneous

activity allows you to be creative like

those things that you want to embed in a

really good calendar takes time and it's

your ability to think like an engineer

and reflect on the things that have

worked really well and that haven't

worked well and then tailoring it

towards your strength and continuously

refining it over time and actually a

really big tip that I would provide for

you is get in the habit I know I just

recently got an Apple Watch and this has

been phenomenal in helping me do this

but even your phone or even your

computer or you can even bring a

separate timer for this but I want you

to start timing your tasks especially

the ones that occur frequently and why

that's the case is because a lot of

times we think a task takes a certain

amount of time only to realize that it

actually takes more than that right so

for example you might say you know what

I'm going to a lot 40 minutes to go work

out right it's probably going to be more

than 40 minutes cuz you require yourself

to change into a new outfit you have to

get your belongings and then you have to

commute to the gym and then you have to

do your training session and you have to

come out of it and come back home and so

that might take you a total of an hour

and that's 20 minutes right there that

will likely negatively impact the

remainder of your schedule once you get

a better awareness by timing your task

just get in the natural habit of doing

that the better you will be at

allocating the appropriate time blocks

per task and that really really does

make an incredibly large difference this

way you don't necessarily feel extremely

rushed while still being mindful of

Parkinson's law ensuring that we're not

just wasting our time with that being

said that was a very high level overview

of the system that I utilize again

summary plan prioritize execute and

review if you can apply those steps in

the academic sphere in your working

sphere in your entrepreneurial sphere it

will be extremely beneficial and ensure

that you are one step closer to

maximizing your potential if you have

any questions at all leave them in the

comments below I'd be more than happy to

respond to it give this video a thumbs

up and of course subscribe until next

time take care of yourselves I love you

guys so much and I'll see you all at the

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