Do you ever have problems managing your time? What things make managing your time difficult? What tips would you give for managing your time efficiently? Kevin Kruse interviews billionaires, athletes and entrepreneurs in his new book 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management. Complete these quotes from the book: Warren Buffett, American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist: The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say Andy Grove, former Intel president: My day ends when Richard Branson, founder of the irgin Group: One of my favorite tricks is to conduct most of my meetings Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of the productivity app Asana and of Facebook: Pick one day a week that you and your team can Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder of Airbnb: I try to reserve the morning for doing Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Atlassian: Do one thing at once. Stop Mark Pincus, co-founder and CEO of Zynga: Don t accept any engagements if you can t justify them as... Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Magnolia Pictures, and Landmark Theatres: Never do meetings unless someone is Andrew Mason, co-founder and former CEO of Groupon: If I was building a character in a business video game and I had 10 character points to distribute, I d put three of them into intelligence and seven of them into B Read the article and check your ideas. Inc. Magazine October 2015 Time- Management Tips From Self- Made Billionaires When I first heard about Kevin Kruse s new book 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, I was intrigued. In it, he interviews seven billionaires, 13 Olympic athletes, and 239 entrepreneurs. The book was an easy read; it didn t disappoint. What stood out to me in particular were these timemanagement tips from some of 1/4
the most successful people on the planet. 1. Richard Branson, founder of the irgin Group: One of my favorite tricks is to conduct most of my meetings standing up. I find it to be a much quicker way of getting down to business, making a decision, and sealing the deal. When given the opportunity, I often like to take things a step further - literally, with a walking meeting. 2. Warren Buffett, American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist: The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything. 3. Nathan Blecharczyk, cofounder of Airbnb: I try to fill my calendar in reverse, from the end-of-day to earlier; I try to reserve the morning for doing real work. I find I can focus more in the morning, whereas it s harder to get focused after having been bombarded by meetings, so I try to save meetings for later in the day. 4. Mike Cannon-Brookes, cofounder of Atlassian: Do one thing at once. Stop multitasking! 5. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Magnolia Pictures, and Landmark Theatres: Never do meetings unless someone is writing a check. 6. Andrew Mason, co-founder and former CEO of Groupon: Rather than give a specific piece of advice (I have tons, but none of it is rocket science), I ll just say that actually being disciplined about adopting these habits is, in my experience, a huge differentiator of successful people... If I was building a character in a business video game and I had 10 character points to distribute, I d put three of them into intelligence and seven of them into selfdiscipline. 7. Dustin Moskovitz, cofounder of the productivity app Asana and of Facebook: Pick one day a week that you and your team can focus on getting individual work done without any interruptions like meetings. At Asana, we have No Meeting Wednesdays established to encourage flow and productivity across the company. 8. Mark Pincus, co-founder and CEO of Zynga: If you want to build great products, devote more than 50 percent of your work hours to the product. Don t accept any engagements if you can t justify them as benefiting your users or your company. 9. Andy Grove, former Intel president: My day ends when I am tired and ready to go home, not when I m done. I am never done. There is always more to be done, more that should be done, always more than can be done. b Whose comments do you like the best? Which of the techniques mentioned do you think would help your time management? Complete the crossword on page 3 with words from the article. Across 3 something that stops someone doing what they are doing 5 be easy to see or notice because of being different (phrasal verb) 11 someone who uses money to start businesses and make business deals 12 very interested in something and wanting to know more about it 2/4
Down 1 a useful suggestion 2 the rate at which work is done 4 choose 6 a successful and important person with a lot of power in a particular industry 7 attack with vigour and persistence 8 promote; foster 9 be helpful or useful to 10 very big 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 EclipseCrossword.com Write sentences with five words you would like to learn from the crossword. 3/4
E Look at this extract from the article: Inc. Magazine October 2015 If... I had 10 character points to distribute, I d put three of them into intelligence and seven of them into self-discipline. This structure is often called the second conditional. Complete this rule: You form the second conditional with if + + + infinitive (without to). When do you use the structure? = f We often use were instead of was after if, especially in a more formal style. We can use the modal verbs might or could instead of would in the main clause. Complete these sentences with an appropriate clause: 1 If you did more exercise... 2 If you studied more... 3 You d earn more money... 4 I d give him the job... 5 If it were better weather... 6 If we lived in the city... 7 If we moved to a place near the sea... 8 If I had the chance... 9 We d go out more... 10 It would be better for your health... In pairs, ask each other questions based on these prompts: 1 offer / job abroad 2 win / lottery 3 find / a large amount of money 4 hit / car / while parking g Write questions of your own to ask your partner using the second conditional. 4/4
f Time-Management Tips Teacher s notes 1 student pages 4 week of 26.10.15 intermediate+ (B1+) Complete the crossword with words from the article. Across 3 INTERRUPTION 5 STAND OUT 11 ENTREPRENEUR 12 INTRIGUED Down 1 TIP 2 PRODUCTIITY 4 PICK 6 MAGNATE 7 BOMBARD 8 ENCOURAGE 9 BENEFIT 10 HUGE This structure is often called the second conditional. Complete this rule: You form the second conditional with if + past simple + would + infinitive (without to). When do you use the structure? = We use this structure to talk about unreal, hypothetical or unlikely present or future situations. Further practice Extend the practice if you feel it is necessary. A possible extension could be a round type exercise. One student starts with a conditional clause; e.g. If you worked harder, you d be promoted. Another student continues the idea by saying something based on the previous sentence; e.g. If you were promoted, you d have more responsibility. You continue going round the class.