Kevin Kelly has a great blog post up on “working smart” called “What You Don’t Have To Do.”
He defines a capability maturity model for working smart:
Kevin Kelly on Working Smart
- Doing what is required.
- Doing more than is required.
- Trying as many roles as you can in order to discover what you are smart at.
- Making sure you are spending your time on jobs that are effective or that need to be done at all.
- Do only jobs that really need to be done and that you are good at doing.
- Doing work that no one else can do.
It’s a thought provoking hierarchy, I think you have to be at least at level 4 to be an entrepreneur and ultimately get to level 5 or 6 to thrive as an entrepreneur.
Good Books On Managing Your Time and Priorities
- Time Trap by Alec Mackenzie
An older book but I think the most practical and very well organized. The appendix works from symptoms to root cause diagnosis of more than a dozen time management challenges. - Getting Things Done by David Allen
A very popular system that many swear by, I have never been able to sustain my use of it. - Seven Habits by Steven Covey
Practical insights for personal excellence. - Getting Things Done by Edwin Bliss
The first book I read on time management, it’s more a laundry list of ideas but a quick read and very practical. - Doing It Now by Edwin Bliss
Great advice on overcoming procrastination