Summary
🕰️ Summary of 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
Author Kevin Kruse interviewed billionaires, Olympic athletes, straight-A students, and CEOs to discover what they do differently with their time. The result is this high-impact, practical guide built around 15 timeless principles and a powerful E-3C system to master time.
🔑 Top Time Mastery Secrets:
- Think in Minutes (1440)
You only get 1,440 minutes a day—treat them like precious currency. - Prioritize with MIT
Start each day with your Most Important Task—no matter what. - Ditch To-Do Lists
To-do lists don’t create action. Live from your calendar, not a list. - Outsmart Procrastination
Use tools like time travel (visualize consequences), identity shifts, and accountability. - Leave Work at 5 PM
High performers schedule life first, then fit work around it—without guilt. - Capture Everything
Carry a notebook. Clear your mind. Write it all down. - 321Zero Your Email
Check email 3x a day, for 21 minutes, and aim for inbox zero. - Make Meetings Count
Only hold short, structured, purpose-driven meetings. Stand up. Use a timer. - Say “No” More Often
Say no to protect your yeses. Every yes is a no to something else. - Apply the 80/20 Rule
Focus on the 20% of tasks that drive 80% of your results. Simplify. - Ask the Harvard 3
Weekly: What can I Drop, Delegate, or Redesign? - Theme Your Days
Assign themes to each day to reduce decision fatigue and increase flow. - Touch It Once
Don’t handle things repeatedly. Do it now—or don’t touch it yet. - Own Your Morning
Start with a 60-minute routine for body, mind, and spirit before doing work. - Energy Is the Real Asset
Sleep, food, and movement drive focus. You don’t need more time—just more energy.
🧭 The E-3C Daily System:
- E – Energy: Fuel your body and brain.
- C1 – Capture: Dump tasks, ideas, notes into a notebook.
- C2 – Calendar: Time-block everything—no to-do lists.
- C3 – Concentrate: Focus deeply. One task at a time.
🎯 Final Thought:
“Time is your most valuable, non-renewable resource. Own it—or it will own you.”
About the Author – Kevin Kruse
Kevin Kruse is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and leadership expert known for transforming complex productivity principles into practical, real-world strategies. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, he’s written multiple books on time management, leadership, and employee engagement. As the founder of LEADx, a leadership development platform powered by AI, Kevin helps companies build high-performing teams and develop better leaders. His work is rooted in interviews with billionaires, Olympic athletes, and top CEOs. A former Inc. 500 CEO himself, Kevin brings firsthand experience in business success, making his advice both credible and deeply actionable.
Let me Explain it Chapter by Chapter for you…..
📘 Chapter 1: The Power of 1440
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin Kruse once lived a life of chaos—drinking diet Red Bulls like water, skipping meals, and even driving past a police car without realizing it. He was working from 5 AM to midnight until a scary moment on the highway made him rethink everything. One number saved him: 1440—the number of minutes in a day.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
Time is your most precious asset. Unlike money, friends, or even health—you can’t get back lost time. Every minute counts.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
- Write “1440” in big letters and post it somewhere visible to constantly remind yourself that you only have 1,440 minutes each day.
- Treat each minute like money—spend it wisely.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- Create a visual reminder (e.g., “1440” sign) where you work.
- Say no to “Got-a-minute?” interruptions unless they align with your top priorities.
- Begin mentally counting down your day to become more conscious of time (1440, 1439, 1438…).
📘 Chapter 2: The Power of Proper Priorities
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
In City Slickers, the cowboy Curly holds up one finger and says, “Figure out your one thing.” Kruse shows that successful people know what matters most and work on it daily.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
Don’t work on 100 things halfway. Identify and execute your Most Important Task (MIT) every single day—preferably in the first few hours of the morning.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
- Identify your MIT each day—the single task that will move your biggest goal forward.
- Schedule your MIT early when your energy and focus are at their peak.
- Use tools like the “Eat That Frog” method to tackle hard or critical tasks early.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- Define your “one thing” that brings the most results toward your goal.
- Block your best brain hours (usually morning) to work uninterrupted on this.
- Treat your MIT time as sacred—no emails, no calls, no distractions.
📘 Chapter 3: Stop Making To-Do Lists—Do This Instead
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin once had a to-do list with 70 items—he got busy but not productive. Research showed many items were never completed. So what did the ultra-productive people do differently? They didn’t use to-do lists at all!
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
To-do lists are just wishlists without commitment. The real game-changer is living from your calendar.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
- Replace your to-do list with calendar time blocks.
- Schedule every activity that matters: workouts, creative time, family time—even breaks!
- Treat each calendar item like a doctor’s appointment—non-negotiable.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- Time block your entire day into chunks of 15–90 minutes.
- Plan your ideal week on paper, then transfer it to your calendar app.
- Start using the rule: “If it’s not scheduled, it doesn’t get done.”
📘 Chapter 4: The Procrastination Cure
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin Kruse was once paid $54,425 to deliver three high-profile speeches to a top energy company. But instead of preparing slides, he procrastinated—writing this very chapter instead! It wasn’t laziness. It was just more fun to write about procrastination than to dig into academic papers.
Sound familiar? You’re not lazy either. You’re just battling your future self, the master of distractions.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
Procrastination isn’t a flaw in character—it’s a result of being “time-inconsistent.” We choose present pleasure (scrolling Instagram) over future success (launching our business idea). To win this battle, we must beat our future self with practical mind tricks.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives: 6 “Procrastination Busters”
🔹 1. Time Travel (Visualize and Outwit Your Future Self)
Example: Know you’ll want junk food at 3 PM? Throw it out now. Pre-decide your actions.
- Act today to protect tomorrow.
🔹 2. Pain & Pleasure (Rewire Your Motivation)
Ask yourself:
- What pleasure will I gain by doing this?
- What pain will I suffer if I don’t?
Kevin imagined flabby abs, a weird knee pain, and disappointing his girlfriend—all to push himself to exercise!
🔹 3. Accountability Partner
Promise someone you’ll do the task—or even better, do it with someone.
- We’re more likely to follow through when we make public promises.
🔹 4. Reward and Punishment
Treat yourself for success. Or go further: put money on the line (e.g., via StickK) that gets donated to a rival cause if you fail!
🔹 5. Act As If… (Identity Anchoring)
Tell yourself: “I am a healthy eater.” “I am a writer.” Then act in line with that identity.
- We are more likely to behave in ways consistent with who we believe we are.
🔹 6. Settle For Good Enough
Perfection kills progress. Launch the draft. Send the email. Walk around the block instead of skipping the gym.
- Start sloppy, finish strong.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 🔁 Rehearse your “pain vs pleasure” motivators every morning.
- 🧍♂️ Get a buddy—gym partner, writing buddy, accountability group.
- 💸 Put money on the line (a bet or donation that hurts!).
- 🎭 Change your self-talk to match your future self: “I am disciplined. I do finish what I start.”
- 🧹 Remove temptations in advance (junk food, apps, distractions).
- ✅ Just start. Imperfect is better than not done.
📘 Chapter 5: How to Leave the Office at 5:00—Without Guilt
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin recalls a story shared by political strategist Karl Rove. On New Year’s Eve, President George W. Bush challenged him to a reading contest. Despite being the most powerful man on the planet, Bush read 95 books that year—only to be beaten by Rove’s 110.
What shocked Kevin wasn’t just the number. It was how the leader of the free world had time for books—while most of us can’t even get home before 9 PM.
And yet… Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg leaves work at 5:30 PM every day to have dinner with her kids. Richard Branson runs 400+ companies and still finds time to kite surf and break world records.
How? They know something we don’t.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“My day ends when I’m tired and ready to go home—not when I’m done. I am never done.”
—Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel
There will always be more to do—more emails, meetings, reports, problems. But successful people set boundaries and schedule priorities, not just tasks.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
🔹 Accept You’ll Never Finish Everything
- Let go of the illusion that someday, the work will be “done.”
- Choose when to stop—not based on the to-do list, but your personal cutoff time.
🔹 Prioritize with Intention
- Identify your highest-value priorities (like family dinner, health, or creative work).
- Schedule those first, then fit work around them—not the other way.
🔹 Protect Your Time Guilt-Free
- Successful leaders (like Sandberg and Branson) leave on time because they schedule their lives, not just tasks.
- Don’t feel guilty for saying “enough”—feel strategic.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 🕔 Pick your stop time (like 5:00 PM) and stick to it like a hard deadline.
- 📆 Schedule personal time (dinner, exercise, reading) on your calendar.
- ❌ Stop trying to please everyone—especially if it costs your health or family.
- 📜 Rethink “balance”: success at work and home both deserve respect.
- ✍️ Learn from leaders like Doug Conant (Campbell’s CEO), who wrote 20 thank-you notes a day but still ended work on time.
📘 Chapter 6: Richard Branson’s Secret Productivity Tool
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
When asked what item he always carried with him, billionaire Richard Branson didn’t say a laptop or smartphone.
He said:
“It may sound ridiculous, but my most important thing is to always carry a little notebook in your back pocket.”
Branson even once wrote a business idea inside his passport because he didn’t want to forget it.
From Aristotle Onassis to Jim Rohn to Olympic athletes—great minds don’t trust their memory. They write everything down.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. A notebook is your external brain. Capture ideas, tasks, names, and insights immediately—before they vanish.
If you don’t write it down, you’ll forget. That idea? That contact? That next big thing? It’ll be gone.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
🔹 Kevin’s Simple Notebook System:
- ✨ Buy a notebook you love (Moleskine or similar).
- ✍️ Use a good pen (like Pilot G2 or Sharpie Extra Fine Point).
- 💳 Tape your business card inside the front cover.
- 📅 Write the start date inside to track use.
- 📓 Write everything—ideas, tasks, follow-ups, goals.
- ✅ Use simple symbols:
- ☐ = to-do item
- ○ = event to calendar
- ! = follow-up required
- ? = question to ask later
- * = important point/theme
- 📆 When full, mark the end date and shelve it.
- 🔄 Every New Year, review your old notebooks—you’ll re-learn and re-ignite powerful thoughts.
🔹 Extra Tips:
- Scan notes into Evernote for digital access.
- Want low-cost? Use waiter pads (James Altucher’s favorite).
- Use notebooks over apps—they’re more personal, permanent, and powerful.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 📓 Buy a dedicated notebook today and start carrying it everywhere.
- 🧠 Dump all tasks, ideas, and inspirations into your notebook immediately.
- 🗓️ Review and calendar to-do items from your notebook regularly.
- 🏷️ Develop a personal shorthand system to organize your notes.
- 🔁 Start a New Year’s Day notebook review ritual to track your growth.
📘 Chapter 7: Master Your Email Inbox With 321Zero
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin compares checking your inbox to pulling a slot machine handle at a casino. Sometimes you get nothing… and sometimes you hit the jackpot: a juicy opportunity or something “urgent.”
This uncertainty causes your brain to release dopamine every time you check your inbox, making email feel productive when it’s really just distracting.
So how do you break free? Meet the 321Zero method—a fast, focused system to conquer email, not drown in it.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“Email is a great way for other people to put their priorities into your life.” —Kevin Kruse
Unless you take control, your inbox will control you. Inbox Zero isn’t about answering every email—it’s about owning your attention.
✅ Exact Instructions: The 321Zero System
🔹 1. Check Email Only 3 Times a Day
- Schedule fixed times (morning, noon, end of day).
- NEVER check first thing in the morning—your focus will be hijacked.
🔹 2. Set a Timer for 21 Minutes
- Speed breeds focus.
- Make it a game: try to clear your inbox before time runs out.
- Keeps you from spiraling into link-clicking distractions.
🔹 3. Aim for Inbox Zero Each Time
- Don’t let emails pile up—process them quickly using the 4 D’s:
🔹 Apply the 4 D’s:
- Do it – If it takes <5 minutes, do it now.
- Delegate it – Forward it to the right person.
- Defer it – Schedule a time to handle it (add to calendar, not to-do list!).
- Delete it – Or archive if it might be needed later.
Extra tip: Add a 5th D – File it – if you prefer folders over search.
✅ Additional Pro Email Hacks:
- 📵 Turn off notifications—no dings, no pop-ups, no interruptions.
- 📬 Use Unroll.me to bulk-unsubscribe from newsletters.
- 📁 Declare “email bankruptcy” if your inbox is out of control:
- Move everything older than 48 hours into a folder called “Old Emails.”
- Voila—Inbox Zero.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 📅 Set 3 email sessions (e.g., 10 AM, 2 PM, 6 PM) on your calendar.
- ⏱️ Use a 21-minute timer every time you check email.
- 🧠 Process, don’t just read—apply the 4 D’s immediately.
- ❌ NEVER start your day in your inbox—start with your MIT (Most Important Task).
- 🧹 Unsubscribe and declutter your digital life weekly.
📘 Chapter 8: Meeting Hacks from Google, Apple, and Virgin
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin opens with a stat that makes your jaw drop: over 11 million meetings happen every single day in the U.S. And many of them are a total waste. He recalls meetings where no one starts on time, nothing gets decided, and half the room shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
But then he dives into the habits of billionaires and tech titans—people like Mark Cuban, Dustin Moskovitz, Richard Branson, and Steve Jobs—who’ve hacked meetings to be powerful and short.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
Meetings can either be your biggest productivity killer or a strategic tool—if you do them right. The best leaders cut, limit, or eliminate meetings altogether.
✅ Exact Instructions: Meeting Hacks from the Masters
🔹 Mark Cuban’s Rule
“Never do meetings unless someone is writing a check.”
Translation: No meeting unless it’s revenue-producing. Period.
🔹 No Meeting Wednesdays
Dustin Moskovitz (Facebook, Asana) created “No Meeting Wednesdays” to give the team uninterrupted time for deep work.
🧠 Bonus: Some companies call them “Maker Days”—pure focus, no talking.
🔹 Design Powerful Agendas
Great meetings start with great planning:
- Ask for input on agenda in advance.
- Make the purpose and facilitator clear.
- Limit attendees—Steve Jobs was known to kick out anyone not vital.
- Write agenda items as questions, not topics.
- Include time estimates per item to pace the meeting.
🔹 Google Ventures’ Timer Hack
Use a physical Time Timer (a red disc countdown clock) during meetings. It’s visual, impossible to ignore, and keeps people focused.
🔹 Steve Jobs & Richard Branson’s Stand-Up Method
Stand-up meetings are:
- 34% shorter than sit-downs.
- Just as effective.
- Proven to increase collaboration and energy.
Branson takes it further—he does walking meetings, making decisions while on the move.
🔹 Marissa Mayer’s 10-Minute Meetings
Why default to 30 or 60 minutes? Mayer (ex-Google, Yahoo) crammed 70 meetings a week by holding micro-meetings (as short as 5–10 minutes).
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 📆 Kill unnecessary meetings—ask: “Could this be an email?”
- 🚷 Declare “No Meeting Wednesdays” or at least block one no-meeting day per week.
- 👥 Limit attendees to essential decision-makers.
- ⏱️ Use the Time Timer or a visible countdown clock.
- 🚶♂️ Try stand-up or walking meetings to increase energy and speed.
- 📝 Always circulate an agenda with clear questions and time limits in advance.
- 📱 Ban smartphones—most professionals find phone use during meetings rude and distracting
- .
📘 Chapter 9: One Little Word That Multiplies Success
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin tells a revealing story about agreeing to speak at a college event months in advance. His calendar looked empty then, so he said yes. But as the date approached, life exploded with requests: his daughter’s play, a paid keynote, even a live TV interview—all clashed with that one commitment.
The result? Guilt, regret, and a crucial lesson.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.” —Warren Buffett
The word that multiplies success is NO.
Saying yes to something always means saying no to something else—your health, your family, your goals. Successful people know this tradeoff and fiercely protect their time.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
🔹 Understand the Opportunity Cost
Every “yes” is a hidden “no.” Make this your time decision compass. Don’t commit to something unless it’s a clear “Hell, YES!”
🔹 Beware of “Distant Elephants”
Small, harmless commitments in the future grow into massive time blocks when they arrive. Don’t assume you’ll be “less busy later”—you won’t.
🔹 Give Yourself Permission to Say No
You’re not rude for declining. You’re wise. Most of us say yes because we:
- Want to be liked
- Don’t want to seem selfish
- Underestimate the time required
- Feel guilty turning people down
Train yourself to say no without guilt.
✅ 7 Gentle But Firm Ways to Say “No”:
- “Thanks, but I’m on a deadline and can’t take on anything new.”
- “I’m only taking meetings with paying clients at this time.”
- “The earliest opening is five months from now.”
- “My next open call slot is 2:00 a.m.—want it?”
- “No, but I can recommend someone else.”
- “Unfortunately, I need to pass so I can focus on my priorities.”
- “Let’s reconnect next year when my schedule opens up.”
Use them as polite shields to protect your priorities.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 🛑 Start treating your calendar as sacred space.
- 💬 Practice saying “no” without guilt—use Kevin’s 7 options.
- 📅 Before you say yes to anything, ask: “What will this force me to say no to?”
- 🧠 Adopt the mantra: “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.”
- 🐘 Watch for “distant elephants”—future commitments that feel small now but grow huge later
- .
📘 Chapter 10: The Powerful Pareto Principle
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
In the 19th century, economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 20% of his pea plants produced 80% of the healthy pods. He expanded this insight to economics—realizing that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the people.
This idea—a few things account for most of the results—would become the world-famous 80/20 Rule, or Pareto Principle.
Kevin applies this principle to everything: clients, clothes, gadgets, meetings—and even his suits. Guess what? 80% of the time he wears just one Armani suit!
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“Eighty percent of outcomes are generated by twenty percent of activities.” —Secret #10
You don’t need to do more to succeed. You need to do fewer things better. Apply this mindset, and you’ll save time, reduce stress, and maximize results.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
🔹 Apply the 80/20 Rule Everywhere:
- 🔍 Work: Fire the bottom 80% of low-value clients.
- 👥 Sales: Focus on the reps who generate the majority of revenue.
- 🧰 Support: Fix the 20% of bugs causing 80% of tech issues.
- 🌱 Yardwork: Just mow and weed—forget edging and seasonal flowers.
- 📚 Studying: Read the first/last paragraphs and first lines of other paragraphs.
- 📱 Apps: Use the 8 apps you truly rely on—ditch the rest.
- 🏠 Home: Use the rooms that matter—ignore or declutter the rest.
🔹 Think Like the Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama travels the world with only a small red bag. When asked what was inside, he smiled and showed a candy bar, glasses case, Kleenex, and toothbrush. He doesn’t need “stuff” to feel fulfilled—and neither do you.
🧠 80/20 Mindset Tips:
- 🏆 Do the most important things exceptionally well, the rest just “good enough.”
- 🚫 Stop trying to master everything. Focus on your zone of genius.
- 🌟 Work less, stress less, and enjoy more by doubling down on the 20% that truly matters.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- ✂️ Eliminate low-impact tasks, clients, or distractions.
- 🔬 Audit your day: Which 20% of your time produces 80% of your progress?
- 🗂️ Use the 80/20 Rule to:
- Focus on your top-performing platforms (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Prioritize tasks in school, home, or work
- Simplify your digital and physical life
- 🧳 Ask yourself: “What’s in my red bag?” What do I really need to be productive and happy?
📘 Chapter 11: The “3 Harvard Questions” That Save 8 Hours a Week
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Meet Bob—the star coder at his company. He clocked in at 9 AM, left at 5 PM, sent impressive reports, and was praised as the “Best Coder in the Building.” The twist? Bob didn’t write a single line of code. Instead, he outsourced his job to a developer in China while spending his day on Reddit and eBay.
Unethical? Maybe. But it revealed a powerful mindset:
“Don’t ask, How can I do this? Ask, How can this get done?”
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
You don’t need to do everything.
You need to think like a strategist, not a soldier.
By analyzing your tasks through the lens of Drop, Delegate, or Redesign, you can reclaim 8+ hours per week, just like the participants in a Harvard Business Review experiment.
✅ Exact Instructions: The 3 Harvard Questions
Researchers Birkinshaw and Cohen discovered that most knowledge workers waste 41% of their time on tasks that are:
- Not satisfying
- Not productive
- Better done by others
Their solution? These 3 game-changing questions:
1. What can I drop entirely?
Ask: What would happen if I stopped doing this? Would anyone notice?
2. What can I delegate?
Ask: Am I the only person who can do this? Who else can take it over—internally or externally?
3. What can I redesign for speed?
Ask: If I only had 30 minutes, how would I still achieve this outcome?
📘 Bonus Perspective:
Kevin shares how even Tony Robbins, as a broke 25-year-old, hired a personal assistant—and it changed his life. Robbins realized he could either spend his time mowing lawns and doing laundry… or building a legacy.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 🧾 List all your weekly tasks and meetings. Then:
- ❌ Identify what to Drop.
- 🔁 Highlight what to Delegate.
- 🛠️ Optimize what to Redesign.
- 📊 Apply the 3 questions every Friday or Sunday to plan the week ahead.
- 💡 Remember: “It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing less better.”
- 🧠 Train yourself to stop asking: “How can I do this?” Start asking: “How can this get done?”
📘 Chapter 12: Why Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Themes His Days
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and founder of Square, once worked full-time at both companies—16 hours a day, splitting his time evenly.
People thought it was superhuman. But Jack had a secret weapon: He themed his days.
Each day had a specific focus—management, product, marketing, developers, culture. By knowing the “theme” of the day, he avoided decision fatigue, distraction, and chaos.
He didn’t ask, “What should I do today?”
He asked, “What day is it?”
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“Theming days removes uncertainty, increases focus, and builds momentum.”
If your day already has a purpose, you don’t waste energy figuring out what to do. You just do it.
✅ Exact Instructions: Theme Your Days
🔹 Jack Dorsey’s Weekly Themes:
- Monday: Management + 1:1s
- Tuesday: Product
- Wednesday: Marketing, communications, and growth
- Thursday: Developers and partnerships
- Friday: Company culture, recruiting
- Saturday: Hiking, rest
- Sunday: Reflection, strategy, prep
🔹 John Lee Dumas’s Themed Days:
- Tuesday: Podcast interviews
- Wednesday: Webinars and live events
They batch tasks to create flow and minimize context switching.
🔹 Dan Sullivan’s 3-Theme Model:
- Focus Days: High-value work only (e.g., sales, coaching, creation)
- Buffer Days: Meetings, admin, prep
- Free Days: No work—true rest
🧠 Why Theming Works:
- 🔁 Reduces context switching—you stay in one mental gear
- 🔒 Improves discipline—you stop reacting and start owning
- 🎯 Simplifies planning—you always know what the day is for
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 📅 Theme your week using Dorsey or Sullivan’s models.
- ✏️ Try simple themes like:
- “Marketing Mondays”
- “Writing Wednesdays”
- “Finance Fridays”
- ⏰ Set aside free days with no work whatsoever.
- 🚫 Use themes to decline unrelated meetings (“Sorry, Tuesday is product day”).
- 🧘 Use Sunday reflection time to realign with your mission for the week
- .
📘 Chapter 13: Don’t Touch! (Until You’re Ready)
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin shares a relatable scene: he comes home, grabs the mail, and out of curiosity begins flipping through it. He opens a birthday invite, a few bills, and a magazine. Then… he cooks dinner. Later, he goes back through the mail again… and again over the next few days.
It may seem harmless, but this habit is everywhere: emails, laundry, paperwork. We’re constantly re-handling the same things—wasting time and draining energy.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“Highly successful people take immediate action on almost every item they encounter.”
They follow the “Touch It Once” rule—minimize decisions, minimize energy waste. Touch it. Handle it. Be done with it
.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
🔹 1. If It Takes < 5 Minutes, Do It Now
- Email? Reply now.
- RSVP? Send it now.
- Dirty dish? Wash it now.
This avoids clutter, stress, and double work.
🔹 2. Don’t Open It Unless You Can Act On It
- Don’t open email unless you’re ready to reply.
- Don’t check voicemail unless you’re ready to call back.
- Don’t flip through tasks unless you’re ready to do them.
🔹 3. Create Time Blocks for Bigger Actions
- Example: Kevin time-blocks 30 minutes each Friday to pay bills.
So when mail arrives, he sets bills in a stack—no need to open until the designated time.
🔹 4. Apply ‘Touch It Once’ to Everything
- Email → respond, archive, calendar
- Tasks → complete, delegate, or defer (intentionally)
- Home → sort, file, or trash immediately
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- ⏱️ Adopt the “5-Minute Rule”: if it takes <5 minutes, act now.
- 📥 Open emails only when you can reply or act on them.
- 🗓️ Set recurring calendar blocks for tasks like bill paying, email review, or admin.
- 🧼 Teach family and team the “Touch It Once” principle to reduce mess and stress.
- 🧠 Recognize repetitive handling as a hidden productivity tax—eliminate it.
📘 Chapter 14: Change Your Morning, Change Your Life
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin Kruse used to wake up, slam coffee, and rush from bed to car in 20 minutes—only to speed past a state trooper, completely unaware. That moment jolted him into a major realization: he was living reactively, not intentionally.
Now? He starts his day with a “Sacred 60”—a full hour of self-care rituals before the chaos begins. And he’s not alone.
From Tony Robbins and Hal Elrod to Gary Vaynerchuk and Cal Newport—successful people own their mornings.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“Win the morning, win the day.”
The first 60 minutes of your morning determine your mindset, energy, and focus. Start strong—and everything flows. Wake up and react (to emails, noise, to-dos), and you’ve already lost.
✅ Exact Instructions: Kevin’s “Sacred 60” Routine
🕕 6:00–6:20 AM
- Feed cats, start coffee, prep kids’ lunches, and sip coffee.
🥤 6:20–6:21
- Guzzle protein shake + water.
🙏 6:21–6:22
- One minute of gratitude.
🧘 6:22–6:27
- Concentrative meditation.
🎧 6:27–6:40
- Podcast + yoga stretches.
💪 6:40–6:50
- Resistance training (1 muscle group).
🚿 6:50–7:00
- Shower + dress.
Then: Start MIT (Most Important Task) uninterrupted at 7:00 AM
.
🌞 Other Success Routines:
🔹 Tony Robbins’ “Hour of Power”
- Deep breathing → Gratitude → Visualization → Exercise → Incantations → Cryotherapy
🔹 Hal Elrod’s “Life S.A.V.E.R.S
- Silence (meditation/prayer)
- Affirmations
- Visualization
- Exercise
- Reading
- Scribing (journaling)
🔹 Entrepreneurs’ Mornings:
- Gary Vaynerchuk: News scan + trainer workout at 6 AM
- Kat Cole: 20 min of exercise + protein
- Cal Newport: 25 pull-ups in the park
- John Lee Dumas: Power walk, fresh air, resets focus
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- ⏰ Set your alarm to wake up 30–60 mins earlier for “me-time.”
- 📵 No emails, social media, or news first thing.
- 🧘 Include rituals that strengthen mind, body, and spirit.
- 🧠 Make the first hour about becoming, not doing.
- 🗓️ Use this “protected time” to read, stretch, journal, or move before anyone else wakes up.
Secret #14: “Invest the first 60 minutes of each day in rituals that strengthen your mind, body, and spirit.”
📘 Chapter 15: Energy Is Everything
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin Kruse confesses: he saved this secret for last because people usually want hacks and apps—not sleep, food, and hydration. But here’s the punchline:
“The real secret to time management isn’t time at all. It’s energy.”
Imagine trying to read but re-reading the same sentence again and again… Or sitting in a meeting and zoning out completely… Or typing at 250 words/hour in the afternoon when you hit 1,000/hour in the morning.
The culprit isn’t your calendar. It’s your energy tank.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“You can’t get more time—but you can get more done—with more energy.”
Productivity isn’t just about doing more. It’s about having the power to do it. You don’t need more hours—you need more fuel.
✅ Exact Instructions Kevin Gives:
🔋 1. Follow the “Pulse and Pause” Rule
- Every 90 minutes, your brain naturally dips.
- Don’t push through—pause to drink water, move your body, or breathe.
🍃 2. Prioritize Health
- Sleep 7–8 hours every night.
- Cut sugar, processed foods, and late caffeine.
- Eat energizing foods: leafy greens, protein, healthy fats.
- Hydrate: Drink water first thing in the morning and throughout the day.
- Exercise daily—even 20 minutes counts.
🎧 3. Upgrade Tools and Habits
- Writer Monica Leonelle went from 600 to 3,500 words/hour by:
- Using Pomodoro Sprints (25 min focus + 5 min break)
- Switching to dictation
- Walking while dictating, boosting oxygen and creativity
💡 4. Understand Your Peak Times
- Identify your natural rhythm:
- Morning for deep work?
- Afternoon for admin?
- Match your energy to your task.
🧘 5. Create Energy Rituals
- Shawn Stevenson’s 3 daily rules:
- “Inner bath”: 30 oz water upon waking
- 20-min burst of light exercise
- High-protein, low-carb breakfast
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- ⏰ Schedule breaks every 90 minutes (use alarms if needed).
- 💤 Treat sleep like a strategy, not a luxury.
- 🥗 Choose foods that fuel—ditch those that drain.
- 🚶 Move every day—even short walks count.
- 🧠 Time your hardest work to your energy peak.
- ❌ Don’t trade sleep for extra hours—you’ll lose focus, sharpness, and creativity.
Secret #15: Productivity is about energy and focus, not time.
📘 Chapter 16: The E-3C System: Putting It All Together
📖 Mini-Story Recap:
Kevin Kruse knew people would ask: “How do I actually use all these 15 secrets in real life?”
To answer that, he built a powerful framework called E-3C—a daily system to transform these ideas into consistent productivity.
Think of it like a personal “operating system” to run your life.
🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift:
“You don’t need to use all 15 secrets. You just need a system that works for you.”
E-3C takes the best habits of successful people and turns them into a repeatable method.
🔺 The E-3C System Breakdown:
✴️ E = Energy
This is the fuel for everything. Without energy, time is wasted.
- Get enough sleep
- Eat clean, energizing food
- Exercise daily (even light movement)
- Start mornings with a ritual (gratitude, meditation, stretching)
- Pulse and pause every 90 minutes to maintain high focus
🌀 C1 = Capture
Empty your brain—don’t try to remember everything.
- Carry a notebook everywhere
- Write down: ideas, to-dos, quotes, meeting notes, random thoughts
- Your notebook is your external brain
- If it’s actionable, schedule it immediately
📆 C2 = Calendar
Live from your calendar, not a to-do list.
- Block time for your MITs (Most Important Tasks)
- Add recurring blocks for values: health, relationships, giving back
- Theme your days (e.g., Marketing Monday, Deep Work Wednesday)
- Protect your calendar—say no to anything misaligned
🎯 C3 = Concentrate
Focus on one thing at a time.
- Work from your calendar—not your inbox or Slack
- Eliminate distractions (turn off notifications, block social media)
- Schedule MITs during peak energy hours, usually mornings
- Use breaks to reset: 5 mins every 30–60 minutes
- Do not multitask. Period.
🖼️ Visual Summary:
E-3C = Energy + Capture + Calendar + Concentrate
Energy fuels you.
Capture clears your mind.
Calendar organizes your life.
Concentrate powers your focus.
🔑 Pointers for Action:
- 💪 Start every day with a morning ritual to boost Energy
- 📓 Use a notebook or app to Capture everything
- 📅 Plan your week via Calendar—not task lists
- 🎧 Block time for deep work and Concentrate without interruption
- 🔁 Review your E-3C weekly to improve your system
✅ E-3C Daily Checklist: Your Personal Time Mastery System
✴️ E – Energy
- ☐ Slept 7–8 hours last night
- ☐ Ate clean (low sugar, high protein, greens)
- ☐ Moved my body (exercise, walk, stretch)
- ☐ Drank plenty of water (esp. early)
- ☐ Took breaks every 90 minutes (pulse & pause)
- ☐ Completed my morning ritual to prime body, mind, and spirit
🌀 C1 – Capture
- ☐ Carried my notebook today
- ☐ Captured all ideas, to-dos, reminders, notes
- ☐ Used quick symbols (☐ task, ○ event, ! follow-up, ? question)
- ☐ Reviewed and cleared captured items into calendar/next steps
📅 C2 – Calendar
- ☐ Identified today’s MIT (Most Important Task)
- ☐ Time-blocked MIT in calendar (preferably morning)
- ☐ Scheduled work, family, health, rest
- ☐ Themed my day (optional: Marketing Monday, etc.)
- ☐ Avoided working from a to-do list only
🎯 C3 – Concentrate
- ☐ Turned off all notifications/distractions during work blocks
- ☐ Worked in focus sprints (25–50 min blocks)
- ☐ Took short breaks (5–10 mins) to reset brain
- ☐ Worked on ONE thing at a time
- ☐ Avoided multitasking completely
🔐 15 Secrets of Time Management – Summary
| Secret # | Core Idea | Action Tip |
| 1. 1440 Rule | Value your 1,440 minutes/day | Post “1440” as a visible reminder |
| 2. Prioritize | Start with your MIT | Block MITs in the morning |
| 3. No To-Do Lists | Live by calendar, not lists | Calendar = action commitment |
| 4. Cure Procrastination | Use “Time Travel,” pain/pleasure, & identity | Outsmart your future self |
| 5. Leave by 5 PM | Set boundaries—work is infinite | Schedule life, then work |
| 6. Notebook | Capture everything | Carry and review daily |
| 7. 321Zero Email | Check 3x/day, 21 mins, reach inbox zero | Apply 4 D’s: Do, Delegate, Defer, Delete |
| 8. Meeting Hacks | Only essential meetings | Use agendas, stand-ups, and timers |
| 9. Say No | “Hell yes or no” mindset | Practice 7 polite no-responses |
| 10. Pareto Principle | 20% → 80% results | Focus on high-impact activities |
| 11. 3 Harvard Questions | Drop, Delegate, Redesign | Audit tasks weekly |
| 12. Theme Your Days | Assign focus to each day | Reduce decision fatigue |
| 13. Touch It Once | Handle things once, not repeatedly | Don’t open until ready to act |
| 14. Morning Power Hour | Rituals shape mindset & energy | Customize your Sacred 60 |
| 15. Energy is Everything | Fuel yourself, not just your to-do list | Sleep, move, eat smart |
About Author
