Know your priorities—You will spend your time on the things that you feel are most important—make sure you know what they are. Make a list of your priorities for the year and then cascade them down to what you want to do this week to achieve that goal—If you are a manager make sure that your team knows what the work priorities are for the year and for this week This can shift but make sure your people know what is critical.

Recognize that you already use effective approaches for using your time. It may be lists or project planners or your Filofax. Examine what your process is and then see if you can tweak it to increase your efficiency. If you are a tech geek, try out some of the new apps like Wunderlist or Eternity Time Log that can help you time your work, rest and play. If you are old school, keep a big calendar with priorities and time frames up on your wall. Anything and everything can help you maximize your time investment.

There is no such thing as wasting time. Remember you set the priorities and sometimes its important to play Candy Crush or go for a walk as a way of rebooting your mind. We know its essential to make time for our family and friends and also to talk and build relationships with colleagues. Don’t beat yourself up about taking some time for distractions. They are good and necessary.

As you gain more control over your time investment, you may begin to think like William Faulkner, “Clocks slay time… time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.”  ]]>