9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 When people find out[br]I write about time management, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they assume two things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 One is that I'm always on time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I'm not. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I have four small children, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I would like to blame them[br]for my occasional tardiness, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but sometimes it's just not their fault. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was late to my own speech[br]on time management. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We all had to just take a moment[br]together and savor that irony. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The second thing they assume 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is that I have lots of tips and tricks[br]for saving bits of time here and there, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and sometimes I'll hear from magazines[br]that are doing a story along these lines, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 generally on how to help their readers[br]find an extra hour in the day. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And the idea is that we all shave[br]bits of time off everyday activities, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 add it up, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and we'll have time for the good stuff. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I question the entire [br]premise of this piece, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but I'm always interested in hearing[br]what they've come up with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 before they call me. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, some of my favorites: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 doing errands in a way where[br]you only have to make right-hand turns -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Being extremely judicious[br]in microwave usage -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so it says three-and-a-half[br]minutes on the package, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we are totally getting in[br]on the bottom side of that. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And my personal favorite, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which makes sense on some level, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is to DVR your favorite shows 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so you can fast-forward[br]through the commercials, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that way you save about[br]eight minutes every half hour, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so in the course of two hours[br]of watching TV, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you find 32 minutes to exercise. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Which is true. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You know another way to find[br]32 minutes to exercise? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Don't watch two hours of TV a day, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Anyway, the idea is we'll save bits[br]of time here and there, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 add it up, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we will finally get to[br]everything we want to do. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But after studying how successful[br]people spend their time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and looking at their[br]schedules hour by hour, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I think this idea[br]has it completely backward. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We don't build the lives[br]we want by saving time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We build the lives we want, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then time saves itself. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here's what I mean. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I recently did a time diary project 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 looking at 1,001 days in the lives[br]of extremely busy women. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They had demanding jobs, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sometimes their own businesses, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 kids to care for, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 maybe parents to care for, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 community commitements -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 busy, busy people. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I had them keep track[br]of their time for a week 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I could add up how much[br]they worked and slept, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I interviewed them about[br]their strategies for my book. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 One of the women whose[br]time log I studied, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she goes out on a Wednesday[br]night for something. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 She comes home to find[br]that her water heater has broken, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and there is now water[br]all over her basement. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if you've ever had anything[br]like this happen to you, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you know it is a hugely damaging,[br]frightening, sopping mess. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So she's dealing with the immediate[br]aftermath that night, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 next day she's got plumbers coming in, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 day after that, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 professional cleaning crew[br]dealing with the ruined carpet. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 All of this is being recorded[br]on her time log -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 winds up taking seven hours of her week. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Seven hours. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That's like finding[br]an extra hour in the day. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But I'm sure if you had asked her[br]at the start of the week, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Could you find seven hours[br]to train for a triathlon? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Could you find seven hours[br]to mentor seven worthy people?" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm sure she would've said[br]what most of us would've said 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which is, "No. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Can't you see how busy I am?" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Yet when she had to find seven hours 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because there is water[br]all over her basement, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she found seven hours. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And what this shows us[br]is that time is highly elastic. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We cannot make more time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but time will stretch to accommodate[br]what we choose to put into it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so the key to time management 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is treating our priorities[br]as the equivalent 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of that broken water heater. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And to get at this, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I like to use some language from one[br]of the busiest I ever interviewed. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 By busy I mean she was[br]running a small business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with 12 people on the payroll, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she had six children[br]in her spare time ... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was getting in touch with her[br]to set up an interview 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on how she "had it all" -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that phrase -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I remember it was a Thursday morning 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and she was not available[br]to speak with me, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of course, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But the reason she was[br]unavailable to speak with me 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is that she was out for a hike, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because it was a beautiful spring morning, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and she wanted to go for a hike. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So of course this makes me[br]even more intrigued, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and when I finally do catch up her, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she explains it like this, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she says, "Listen Laura, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 everything I do, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 every minute I spend, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is my choice." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And rather than say, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "I don't have time to do x, y or z," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she'd say, "I don't do x, y or z[br]because it's not a priority." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "I don't have time," often means[br]"It's not a priority." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you think about it, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that's really more accurate language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mean I could tell you I don't[br]have time to dust my blinds, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but that's not true. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you offered to pay me $100,000[br]to go dust my blinds, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I would get to it pretty quickly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Since that is not going to happen, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I can acknowledge this is not[br]a matter of lacking time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's that I don't want to do it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Using this language reminds us[br]that time is a choice. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And granted, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there may be horrible consequences[br]for making different choices, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I will give you that, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but we are smart people, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and certainly over the long-run, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we have the power to fill out lives[br]with the things that deserve to be there. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So how do we do that? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 How do we treat our priorities 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 as the equivalent[br]of that broken water heater? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Well first we need[br]to figure out what they are, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I want to give you two strategies[br]for thinking about this. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The first, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on the professional side. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm sure many people[br]coming up to the end of the year 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 are giving or getting[br]annual performance reviews. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You look back over your[br]successes over the year, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 your "opportunities for growth," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and this serves it's purpose, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but I find it's more effective[br]to do this looking forward. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I want you to pretend[br]it's the end of next year. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You're giving yourself[br]a performance review, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it has been an absolutely[br]amazing year for you, professionally. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What three-to-five things did you do[br]that made it so amazing? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So you can write next year's[br]performance review now. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And you can do this for you[br]personal life, too. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm sure many of you, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like me, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 come December, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 get cards that contain these folded up[br]sheets of colored paper, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on which is written what is known[br]as the family holiday letter. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Bit of a wretched[br]genre of literature, really -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Going on about how amazing[br]everyone in the household is, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or even more scintillating, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 how busy everyone in the household is. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But these letters serve a purpose, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which is that they tell[br]your friends and family 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what you did in your personal life[br]that mattered to you 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 over the course of the year. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So this year's kind of done, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but I want you to pretend[br]it's the end of next year, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it has been an absolutely amazing year 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for you and the people you care about. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What three-to-five things did you do[br]that made it so amazing? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So you can write next year's[br]family holiday letter now. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Don't send it ... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Please, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 don't send it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But you can write it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And now between the performance[br]review and the family holiday letter, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we have a list of six-to-10 goals[br]we can work on in the next year. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And now we need to break[br]these down into doable steps. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So maybe you want[br]to write a family history, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 well first you can read[br]some other family histories, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 get a sense for the style. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Then maybe think about the questions[br]you want to ask your relatives, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 set up appointments to interview them. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Or maybe you want to run a 5K, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so you need to find a race and sign up, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and figure out a training plan, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and dig those shoes[br]out of the back of the closet. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this is key -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we treat our priorities as the equivalent[br]of that broken water heater 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 by putting them into our schedules first. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And we do this by thinking through[br]our weeks before we are in them. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I find a really good time to do this[br]is Friday afternoons. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Friday afternoon is what an economist[br]a "low-opportunity cost" time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Most of us are not sitting there[br]on Friday afternoons saying, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "I am excited to make progress 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 towards my personal and[br]professional priorities right now." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But we are willing to think[br]about what those should be. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So take a little bit[br]of time Friday afternoon, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 make yourself a[br]three-category priority list: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 career, relationships, self. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Making a three-category list 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 reminds us that there should be[br]something in all three categories. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Career we think about; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 relationships, self not so much. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But anyway, just a short list, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 two-to-three items in each. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Then look out over the whole[br]of the next week, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and see where you can plan them in. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Where you plan them in is up to you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I know this is going to be more[br]complicated for some people than others. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mean some peoples' lives[br]are just harder than others. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It is not going to be easy to find[br]time to take that poetry class 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if you are caring for multiple[br]children on your own. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I get that. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I don't want to minimize[br]anyone's struggle. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But I do think that the numbers[br]I am about to tell you are empowering. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There are 168 hours in a week. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 24 times seven is a 168 hours. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That is a lot of time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you are working a full-time job, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so 40 hours a week, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sleeping 8 hours a night, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so 56 hours a week -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that leaves 72 hours for other things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That is a lot of time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You say you're working 50 hours a week, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 maybe a main job and a side hustle. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Well that leaves 62 hours[br]for other things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You say you're working 60 hours, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 well that leaves 52 hours[br]for other things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You say you're working more than 60 hours. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Well, are you sure? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There was once a study comparing[br]people's estimated work weeks 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with time diaries -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 found that people claiming[br]75-plus hour work weeks 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we off by about 25 hours. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You can guess in which direction, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Anyway, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in 168 hours a week, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I think we can find time[br]for what matters to you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you want to spend[br]more time with your kids, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you want to study more[br]for a test you're taking, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you want to exercise for three hours[br]and volunteer for two, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you can. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And that's even if you're working[br]way more than full-time hours. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So we have plenty of time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which is great, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because guess what? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We don't even need that much[br]time to do amazing things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But when most of us have bits of time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what do we do? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Pull out the phone, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Start deleting emails, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or otherwise we're puttering[br]around the house, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or watching TV. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But small moments can have great power. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You can use your bits of time 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for bits of joy. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Maybe it's choosing to read something[br]wonderful on the bus on the way to work. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I know when I had a job 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that required two bus rides[br]and a subway ride every morning, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I used to go to the library on weekends[br]to get stuff to read. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It made the whole experience almost ... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 almost enjoyable. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Breaks at work can be used[br]for meditating or praying. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If family dinner is out because[br]of your crazy work schedule, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 maybe family breakfast[br]could be a good substitute. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's about looking at[br]the whole of one's time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and seeing where the good stuff can go. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I truly believe this. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There is time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Even if we are busy, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we have time for what matters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And when we focus on what matters, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we can build the lives we want 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the time we've got. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thank you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Applause)