Best time management advice ever.

Everyone has seen Randy Pausch's inspirational Last Lecture. Shortly after that he gave a much more practical (and just as inspirational) lecture on time management. Watch the video and implement at least one of his recommendations. See more of Randy's videos here.


I don't do everything he suggests, but I can personally attest to:

• Multiple monitors. Don't be a scrooge, they're cheap and they really do improve productivity.
• Batching email. It takes much more time to respond to dozens of emails as they come in than it does to go through them all at once. Bonus Tip: Apply GTD workflow to you email processing, and empty your inbox every day.
  
• Covey's four quadrants: Prioritize your to-do list according to Covey's four quadrants. Make time for those things that are important but not urgent (quadrant 2).

The power of the last two items becomes apparent when I don't do them for a while: my stress level goes way up. If you are a software developer, make your first million by building a productivity suite that incorporates email batching and covey's four quadrants. I know I'd buy it.

Do you practice any of these techniques? Leave a comment and let me know how it works for you.