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Catherine Mburu
KIA

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9 Clarify your goals and achieve them
9 Handle people and projects that waste your
time
9 Be involved in better delegation
9 Work more efficiently with your boss/advisor
9 Learn specific skills and tools to save you time
9 Overcome stress and procrastination






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9 mime must be explicitly managed, just like money
9 Much of this wonǯt make sense until later (too
late?): thatǯs why this is on the WWW
9 Faculty vs. Grad Students vs. Undergrads
9 Lightning pace, heavy on techniques

×××" 

 

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9 Why is mime Management Important?
9 Goals, Priorities, and Planning
9 mO DO Lists
9 Desks, paperwork, telephones
9 Scheduling Yourself
9 Delegation
9 Meetings
9 mechnology
9 General Advice
×××" 


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9 mime Management for meachers, Cathy Collins,
1987

9 Career mrack Seminar: making control of Your

Work Day 1990

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9ÿmhe mime Faminedz

9Bad time management = stress

9mhis is life advice

×××" 

 

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By some estimates, people waste about 2 hours per
day. Signs of time wasting:
9 Messy desk and cluttered (or no) files
9 Canǯt find things
9 Miss appointments, need to reschedule them
late and/or unprepared for meetings
9 Volunteer to do things other people should do
9 mired/unable to concentrate

×××" 

 

 
 
 
9Being successful doesnǯt
make you manage your time
well.

9Managing your time well

makes you successful.
×××" 

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9 Why am I doing this?

9 What is the goal?

9 Why will I succeed?

9 What happens if I chose not to do it?

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9 Critical few and the trivial many

9 Having the courage of your convictions

9 Good judgment comes from experience

9 Experiences comes from bad judgment

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Walt Disney

9 Disneyland was built in 366 days, from ground-

breaking to first day open to the public.

×××" 

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9 Failing to plan is planning to fail

9 Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester

9 You can always change your plan, but only once

you have one!

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9 Break things down into small steps

9 Like a child cleaning his/her room

9 Do the ugliest thing first

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9 Clutter is death; it leads to thrashing. Keep desk
clear: focus on one thing at a time
9 A good file system is essential
9 mouch each piece of paper once
9 mouch each piece of email once; your inbox is not
your mODO list

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9 Keep calls short; stand during call

9 Start by announcing goals for the call

9 Donǯt put your feet up

9 Have something in view that youǯre waiting to

get to next

×××" 

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9 When done, get off: ÿI have students waitingdz

9 If necessary, hang up while youǯre talking

9 Group outgoing calls: just before lunch and 5pm

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9 Only read something if youǯll be fired for not
reading it

9 Note that this refers to periodicals and routine

reading, which is different than a research dig

×××" 

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9 Make your office comfortable for you, and

optionally comfortable for others

9 No soft comfortable chairs! I have folding chairs,

some people cut off front legs

×××" 

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9 You donǯt find time for important things, you
make it

9 Everything you do is an opportunity cost

9 Learn to say ÿNodz

×××" 

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9 Will this help me get tenure?

9 Will this help me get my masters?

9 Will this help me get my Ph.D?

9 Keep ÿhelp medz broadly defined

×××" 

 

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9 ÿIǯll do it if nobody else steps forwarddz or ÿIǯll be

your deep fall back,dz but you have to keep
searching.

9 Moving parties in grad schoolǥ

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9 Find your creative/thinking time. Defend it

ruthlessly, spend it alone, maybe at home.

9 Find your dead time. Schedule meetings, phone

calls, and mundane stuff during it.

×××" 

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9 6-9 minutes, 4-5 minute recovery Ȃ five

interruptions shoots an hour

9 You must reduce frequency and length of

interruptions (turn phone calls into email)

9 Blurting: save-ups

9 E-mail noise on new mail is an

interruption -> mURN Im OFF!!

×××" 

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9 ÿIǯm in the middle of something nowǥdz

9 Start with ÿI only have 5 minutesdz Ȃ you can

always extend this

9 Stand up, stroll to the door, complement,

thank, shake hands

9 Clock-watching; on wall behind them

×××" 

 

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9 Itǯs amazing what you learn!

9 Monitor yourself in 15 minute increments for

between 3 days and two weeks.

9 Update every ½ hour: not at end of day

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9 What am I doing that doesnǯt really need to be
done?

9 What am I doing that could be done by

someone else?

9 What am I doing that could be done more

efficiently?

9 What do I do that wastes othersǯ time?

×××" 

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Edward Young
Night mhoughts, 1742

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Parkinsonǯs Law
Cyril Parkinson, 1957

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9 Doing things at the last minute is much more
expensive than just before the last minute

9 Deadlines are really important: establish them

yourself!

×××" 

 


.

9 Identify why you arenǯt enthusiastic

9 Fear of embarrassment

9 Fear of failure?

9 Get a spine!

×××" 



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9 No one is an island

9 You can accomplish a lot more with help

9 Most delegation in your life is from faculty to

graduate student

×××" 

 

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9 Grant authority with responsibility.

9 Concrete goal, deadline, and consequences.

9 mreat your people well

9 Grad students and secretaries are a faculty memberǯs

lifeline; they should be treated well!

×××" 

 

 
9 People rise to the challenge: You should
delegate ÿuntil they complaindz

9 Communication Must Be Clear: ÿGet it in

writingdz Ȃ Judge Wapner

9 Give objectives, not procedures

9 mell the relative importance of this task

×××" 

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9 Beware upward delegation!

9 Reinforce behavior you want repeated

9 Ignorance is your friend Ȃ I do not know how to

run the photocopier or the fax machine

×××" 

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9 Average executive: > 40% of time

9 Lock the door, unplug the phone
9 Maximum of 1 hour
9 Prepare: there must be an agenda
9 1 minute minutes: an efficient way to keep
track of decisions made in a meeting: who
is responsible for what by when?

×××" 

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9 ÿComputers are faster but they take longerdz --
Janitor, UCF

9 Secretaries are better than answering machines;

where are the costs & benefits of a technology?
(transcription)

×××" 

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9 Laptop computer (and docking station)
9 You can scavenge time & work anywhere
9 At CMU, you still have internet access
9 one machine in your life is the right number

9 WWW; only do things once (post them)

9 Google (now with image search!)

9 ACM Digital Library (I havenǯt been in the

library in over five years)

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9 Save all of it; no exceptions

9 If you want somebody to do something, make
them the only recipient. Otherwise, you have
diffusion of responsibility. Give a concrete
request/task and a deadline.
9 If you really want somebody to do something,
CC someone powerful.
9 Nagging is okay; if someone doesnǯt respond
in 48 hours, theyǯll probably never respond.
(mrue for phone as well as email).
×××" 

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9 Get a day timer or PDA
9 Write things down
9 Whenǯs our next meeting?
9 Whatǯs my goal to have done by then?
9 Who to turn to for help?
9 Remember: advisors want results !

×××" 

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9 mhey know more than you do

9 mhey care about you

9 mhey didnǯt get where they are by their social

skills -> take the initiative in talking with
them!

×××" 

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9 Phone callers should get two options:

9 If this canǯt wait, contact John Smith at 555-1212
9 Otherwise please call back June 1

9 mhis works for Email too!

9 Vacations should be vacations.

9 Itǯs not a vacation if youǯre reading email
9 Story of my honeymoonǥ

×××" 

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9Kill your television (how
badly do you want tenure or your degree?)

9 murn money into time Ȃ especially

important for people with kids or other
family commitments

9Eat and sleep and exercise.

Above all else!

×××" 

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„ 
9 Never break a promise, but re-negotiate them
if need be.

9 If you havenǯt got time to do it right, you donǯt

have time to do it wrong.

9 Recognize that most things are pass/fail.

9 Feedback loops: ask in confidence.

×××" 

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9 mhe One Minute

Manager, Kenneth
Blanchard and Spencer
Johnson, Berkeley Books,
1981, ISBN 0-425-09847-8

9 mhe Seven Habits of

Highly Effective People,
Stephen Covey, Simon &
Schuster, 1989, ISBN 0-
671-70863-5

×××" 

 

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9 Get a day-timer (or PDA) if you donǯt already

have one
9 Start keeping your mODO list in four-quadrant
form or ordered by priorities (not due dates)
9 Do a time journal, or at least record number of
hours of television/week
9 Make a note in your day-timer to revisit this
talk in 30 days (www.randypausch.com). At
that time, ask yourself ÿWhat behaviors have I
changed?dz
×××" 

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Randy Pausch
Carnegie Mellon University
http://www.randypausch.co
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From ÿmhe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the

Character Ethicdz by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989
1. BE PROACmIVE: Between stimulus and response in
human beings lies the power to choose.
Productivity, then, means that we are solely
responsible for what happens in our lives. No fair
blaming anyone or anything else.
2. BEGIN WImH mHE END IN MIND: Imagine your
funeral and listen to what you would like the
eulogist to say about you. mhis should reveal exactly
what matters most to you in your life. Use this
frame of reference to make all your day-to-day
decisions so that you are working toward your most
meaningful life goals.

×××" 

 

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From ÿmhe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the

Character Ethicdz by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989
3. PUm FIRSm mHINGS FIRSm. mo manage our lives
effectively, we must keep our mission in mind,
understand whatǯs important as well as urgent, and
maintain a balance between what we produce each
day and our ability to produce in the future. mhink
of the former as putting out fires and the latter as
personal development.
4. mHINK WIN/WIN. Agreements or solutions among
people can be mutually beneficial if all parties
cooperate and begin with a belief in the ÿthird
alternativedz: a better way that hasnǯt been thought
of yet.

×××" 

 

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From ÿmhe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the

Character Ethicdz by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989
5. SEEK FIRSm Om BE UNDERSmANDING, mHEN mO BE
UNDERSmOOD. Most people donǯt listen. Not
really. mhey listen long enough to devise a solution
to the speakerǯs problem or a rejoinder to whatǯs
being said. mhen they dive into the conversation.
Youǯll be more effective in you relationships with
people if you sincerely try to understand them fully
before you try to make them understand your point
of view

×××" 

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From ÿmhe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the

Character Ethicdz by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster,
1989
6. SYNERGIZE. Just what it sound like. mhe
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In
practice, this means you must use ÿcreative
cooperationdz in social interactions. Value
differences because it is often the clash
between them that leads to creative
solutions.

×××" 

 

 

From ÿmhe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the

Character Ethicdz by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989
7. SHARPEN mHE SAW. mhis is the habit of self-
renewal, which has four elements. mhe first is
mental, which includes reading, visualizing,
planning and writing. mhe second is spiritual,
which means value clarification and commitment,
study and meditation. mhird is social/emotional,
which stress management includes service,
empathy, synergy and intrinsic security. Finally, the
physical includes exercise, nutrition and stress
management.
×××" 

 
m 
  

By Randy Pausch, for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon, Spring 1998
9 Meet people properly. It all starts with the introduction. mhen,
exchange contact information, and make sure you know how to
pronounce everyoneǯs names. Exchange phone #s, and find out
what hours are acceptable to call during.
9 Find things you have in common. You can almost always find
something in common with another person, and starting from
that baseline, itǯs much easier to then address issues where you
have difference. mhis is why cities like professional sports teams,
which are socially galvanizing forces that cut across boundaries
of race and wealth. If nothing else, you probably have in
common things like the weather.

×××" 

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m 
  

By Randy Pausch, for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon, Spring 1998
9 Make meeting conditions good. Have a large surface to write on,
make sure the room is quiet and warm enough, and that there
arenǯt lots of distractions. Make sure no one is hungry, cold, or
tired. Meet over a meal if you can; food softens a meeting. mhatǯs
why they ÿdo lunchdz in Hollywood
9 Let everyone talk. Even if you think what theyǯre said is stupid.
Cutting someone off is rude, and not worth whatever small time
gain you might make. Donǯt finish someoneǯs sentences for him
or her; they can do that for themselves. And remember: talking
louder or faster doesnǯt make your idea any better.

×××" 

 

m 
  

By Randy Pausch, for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon, Spring
1998
9 Check your egos at the door. When you discuss ideas,
immediately label them and write them down. mhe
labels should be descriptive of the idea, not the
originator: ÿthe troll bridge story,dz not ÿJaneǯs story.dz
9 Praise each other. Find something nice to say, even if
itǯs a stretch. Even the worst of ideas has a silver lining
inside it, if you just look hard enough. Focus on the
good, praise it, and then raise any objections or
concerns you have about the rest of it.

×××" 

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m 
  

By Randy Pausch, for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon, Spring 1998
9 Put if in writing. Always write down who is responsible for what, by
when. Be concrete. Arrange meetings by email, and establish
accountability. Never assume that someoneǯs roommate will deliver
a phone message. Also, remember that ÿpolitics is when you have
more than 2 peopledz Ȃ with that in mind, always CC (carbon copy) any
piece of email within the group, or to me, to all members of the
group. mhis rule should never be violated; donǯt try to guess what
your group mates might or might not want to hear about.
9 Be open and honest. malk with your group members if thereǯs a
problem, and talk with me if you think you need help. mhe whole
point of this course is that itǯs tough to work across cultures. If we all
go into it knowing thatǯs an issue, we should be comfortable
discussing problems when they arise Ȃ after all, thatǯs what this
course is really about. Be forgiving when people make mistakes, but
donǯt be afraid to raise the issues when they come up.

×××" 

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m 
  

By Randy Pausch, for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon, Spring
1998
9 Avoid conflict at all costs. When stress occurs and
tempers flare, take a short break. Clear your heads,
apologize, and take another stab at it. Apologize for
upsetting your peers, even if you think someone else
was primarily at fault; the goal is to work together, not
start a legal battle over whose transgressions were
worse. It takes two to have an argument, so be the
peacemaker.
9 Phrase alternatives as questions. Instead of ÿI think
we should do A, not B,dz try ÿWhat if we did A, instead
of B?dz mhat allows people to offer comments, rather
than defend one choice.

×××" 

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