Brian Johnson (Heroic +1) summarizes Kevin Cruz’s book "15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management" in a short YouTube episode. Johnson introduces Cruz and his background, then walks through 15 concise productivity principles (e.g., treat time as your most valuable resource; identify and start each day with your MIT; work from your calendar not a to-do list; beat procrastination; accept you can't do everything; carry a notebook; limit email checks; avoid unnecessary meetings; say no to non-supporting tasks; apply Pareto (80/20); focus on strengths; batch themes by day; do <5-minute tasks immediately; invest first 60 minutes in a morning ritual; prioritize energy and focus). The video ends with a call-to-action to pick one high-leverage habit and start practicing.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic plus one. Kevin Cruz is a Forbes leadership columnist and successful entrepreneur. He's built and sold several multi million dollar technology companies, winning both Inc. 500 and Best Place to Work awards. Along the way he's also written a number of best selling books. Now I got a couple of his books after a long time student and Heroic coach connected me with Kevin. Apparently my new friend was being interviewed by Kevin about his new book on creativity for a Forbes article. At the end of their chat, my new friend told Kevin that he should check out Heroic and apparently he had just signed up for Heroic the day before. Awesome. Today we're going to talk about his book 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, which is all about the top productivity habits of some of the world's most productive successful people. It's written in a straightforward conversational style and there's a reason it has over 1400 reviews. It's fantastic. So here's the super quick look at those 15 secrets. Secret number one time is your most valuable resource. How would your life change if each and every day you truly felt your 1440 minutes? Secret number two identify your most important task or MIT and work on it each day before doing anything else. So what's your one thing? What's your mit? We call that a win. What's important now? Secret Number three Work from your calendar, not a to do list. How much less stress would you feel if you could rip up your to do list and work from your calendar? Number four Procrastination can be overcome if you figure out how to beat your future self who cannot be trusted to do the right thing. You know what needs to get done this week? How will you ensure you don't put it off? Secret Number five Accept the fact that there will always be more to do and more that can be done. How much better will you feel when you finally accept the fact that you can't do it all because there will always be more. There will can be done. Secret Number six Always carry a notebook. How much less stress would you feel when you begin to dump everything important in your notebook? Secret Number seven Email is a great way for other people to put their priorities into your life. Control your inbox. Are you ready to commit to checking email no more than three times a day. Secret Number eight Schedule and attend meetings as a last resort when all other forms of communication won't work. Look at your meetings on your calendar for the week ahead. How can you eliminate them or reduce their allotted time? Secret Number nine say no to everything that doesn't support your immediate goals. Which meetings, calls, and projects will you say no to in the upcoming weeks? Number 10. 80% of outcomes are generated by 20% of activities. So what? 20% of your time generates 80% of your value. Secret number 11. Focus your time only on things that utilize your unique strengths and passions. What are you going to outsource starting next week? Secret number 12 batch your work with recurring themes for different days of the week. How much more productive would you be? How much less stress would you feel if your days were organized to maximize your effectiveness? Secret number 13 if a task can be completed in less than 5 minutes, then do it immediately. How much time will you gain when you aren't returning over and over again to touch the same items? Touch it once. Touch it once. Touch it once. Secret number 14. Invest the first 60 minutes of each day in a ritual that will strengthen your mind, body and spirit. What time will you set for your alarm clock for tomorrow morning so you'll have time for your morning ritual? And secret number 15. Productivity is about energy and focus, not time. How will you increase your energy tomorrow? Those are the 15 secrets. Quick check in. What's the number one thing that you think would be the most high leverage thing you couldn't practice? Is today a good day to move from theory to practice to mastery and dominate that hero? Day one. All in. Let's go.
