Sure to have a lot of problems. ”, and to quote the teaching assistants, “the workload is really heavy”. However, doesn’t that just boil down to effective time management?

While I love Randy and the way he delivers his lectures, this particular one is not as spectacular, so instead, I have compiled a shortlist of the key lessons for those who do not have the time to watch the lecture.

1. Time = Money therefore:
   a. Get more things done within the same amount of time
   b. Exchange money for time – Outsource everything unimportant
   c. Cut time wasters: – You are wasting money!
       i. Kill Television
       ii. Make up a fake class to force yourself to do some work during free period
       iii. Cut short phone calls by standing up
       iv. Hang up on yourself to cut off telemarketers

2. Do the RIGHT things > Doing THINGS right
   a. What will happen if I don’t do it?
   b. List down items using Covey’s Four-Quadrant Todo List
   c. Efficiency vs Effectiveness – *insert story here*

3. Plan & Analyze
   a. You can only CHANGE a plan when THERE IS A PLAN
   b. Analyze Time Journals and discover more time waster

4. Delegate Effectively
   a. Delegate until people complain, but do the ugliest thing yourself
   b. Delegation means empowering with authority, not hiring robots
   c. Don’t clear the mess for your subordinates. Teach them to grow
   d. Be specific in delegation, right up to the EXACT time of completion

5. Eliminate Procrastination
   a. Find out what is the psychological barrier from doing the task
   b. Cut the task into little pieces and do the ugliest first
   c. Doing things at the last minute is really expensive. Do it JUST before the last minute.
   d. Make a fake deadline for things that don’t have them so that when push comes to shove it is less stressful

Overall, Randy has, through the lecture, represented the importance of LIVING instead of counting the seconds till we die. I too love how he demonstrated the importance of contributing back to the communities that have benefitted him (University of Virginia in this case), told the audience to honor promises even when people don’t expect you to, and most of all, re-emphasized how staying healthy and being close to the ones that matter to us, is the real way to spend the only commodity that matters. Time.

1. Dream Big and Celebrate Brick Walls

If only the world celebrated brick walls more. Innovation and entrepreneurship would have progressed in leaps and bounds through the years, but I guess, that’s what make innovators and entrepreneurs special. My corollary to this would be that if an ecosystem were formed to support one another in our quests to break down brick walls, it would seem so much easier. Glad to see that Singapore is finally moving towards this direction through various initiatives and cool modules like CS3216.

2. Educators should learn from Randy

Good teaching imparts knowledge. Great teaching inspires students to have an inquisitive mind towards topics and facilitate their imagination to pursue greater knowledge themselves. Becoming a model of learning and pursuing excellent for the students is one of the best things a teacher could do for students. For me, this seems key in my quest to help others achieve success.

3. “Wait, and people will surprise and impress you.”

Most, if not all of us will have stories from one part of our lives or another that has someone, come out of nowhere to amaze us with what they can do. And this usually happens on 2 fronts, “evil” people doing good things, and people we have written off showing us greater potential than we expected. Jumping to conclusions, especially when it is about people, creates a glass ceiling in our hearts, which should be shattered so that we leave room for these people to impress us.

Last Comments

While my list of quotes that I wrote down and took from the last lecture far exceeds the above 3, I guess the key lesson is to live life passionately, help everyone else around you succeed, and your own dreams and aspirations will be achieved.

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, adaptation of a poem by Bessie Stanlety in 1905