Today, it seems, everybody is running out of time..... At the end of a day there seem to be more things that need doing than there were in the morning.

Do you know this situation? Does that happen to you also?

I guess most of us are coming across this phenomen much too often, if not every day. So what's the solution? The day has 24 hours, a week 7 days; these are facts we can't change. Then we need to sleep, eat, we would like to have time for family, friends and recreation....

That's a tall order at first sight, but it can be solved!

What I can give you time? Am I a magician?

Nope, but I can maybe show you a path to a less cluttered and more organized life, to a bit more freedom and time - maybe....

The key to getting more time is spending your time for things that really matter. Things that make a difference for YOU, and that are TRULY important.

When I was younger I learned that there are basically four types of activites, and that I should (I don't always, that's why I'm running out of time ever so often too...) evaluate what I do on the basis of these simple rules:

1. Things that are IMPORTANT and URGENT
2. Things that IMPORTANT but not urgent

3. Things that NOT important but URGENT

4. Things that NEITHER important nor urgent

Depending on your own life, these will be very different, and I can not tell you what is important to you and what not. The only one to decide this is you.

For the criteria urgent there are normally deadlines, that simply need to be kept (if it's important), like for a mother the preparation of lunch at noon so that the family has food for lunch, or the deadline given by a court for submitting certain documents for a lawyer. Having lunch ready at three in the afternoon might create problesm, missing the deadline to submit documents might make you lose a case.

So why not sit down for a few minutes every morning (if you are a morning person) or at the end of the day (if you are more of night active person) and look to the next day. Jot down what you want to do for the day.

Now you have a list of things that you intend to do. Examine each task and give it a rating for important/not important and urgent/not urgent.

Now take all the important and urgent tasks, and assign a time in hours and minutes how long it will take you to finish it.

Add up the times you have planned for these tasks and see how long it will take you. to finish them all.

Are there enough hours in this coming day to finish them? If not, re-evaluate the tasks and eliminate the least important and/or least urgent one.

Do you now have enough time in this coming day to finish it?

If yes, then these are the things you will be doing today. ONLY these!

Yeahhhhh....... you have heared what I just wrote many times over - This does not work.......

Bet you it does! But it will only work if you stick with the plan! Keep the priorities that you have set for yourself. If you need to make corrections, make them for tomorrow!

So if you have listed only a few things but now are doing plenty of other stuff inbetween anyhow, you're right it will not work!

You need to plan the day so that you have time for things that must be done. You should also allow for maybe an hour or two that you can use to pick up emergencies and deal with these. So if you have 10 hours per day you want to be active, then plan for only 8 and allow for 2 hours spare in case you need them.

You will also do much better if you start one thing and then finish it - All the way! Concentrate on one thing at the time!

If you juggle tow or three things at the same time and switch from one to the other over and over again, you will lose time every time you restart an activity. Your brain needs to get back into it. Even it only takes a minute or two to regain your concentration: Switching between three tasks and changing from one to the other 20 times.... you nearly lost an hour already!

So do your Email once, twice or three times a day, and not every time the computer chirps and tells you there is a new mail waiting.

Or when you receive phone calls, let the answering machine take them, and continue working, then take time to reply when you're done with a task. There is hardly ever something that urgent that it can't wait an hour or two. (Unless you're working in the emergency departement of a hospital......)

IF you've been juggling a million things at the time until now and you are used to working this way, you will find working on one thing at the time quite a chellenge.

It will be difficult to start with, and you will find that you lapse into old habits of juggling too many things at the same time, but when you try you will finally be able to change your work habits and you will have more time and you will feel much better about it.

A nifty trick is to fill time you used to let pass unused with soemthing useful.

Say you like to read books, but because of your work load you have not touched a book in many months, maybe even years. I might have a solution for you: Audio Books!

If you are commuting, waiting in line, doing manual chores in the garden like mowing the lawn or in wither if you are getting all the snow out of the way in front of your porch, you could very well be listening to a book.

Same thing applies if you are exercising, jogging or many other sports. Training muscles and grey cells at the same time is possible!

There is a large choice of audio books online, rady for immediate download:

AudioBooksCorner.com - The Online Audio Books Download Shop

(That's a shameless plug for my own business, you'll find a bunch of free audiobooks there (use the advanced search and enter 'FREE' as the search criteria) and plenty of very useful audio books - also some about time management, see the link list below)

These two audio books also help you reduce stress and find more time and get more organized. They can be found on the same site as the two other audio books above. (Simply click any of the above titles and the use the SEARCH function on the new page to find these titles):

• Optimum Mind Performance Series: Creative TimeManagement - MP3 Audio Book
  Manage your time more effectively and efficiently utilizing original Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Enhance focus, flow, stress release while designing goal images of what you desire.
• Finding Peace in the Midst of Chaos: The Secrets to Living Stress-Free - MP3 Audio Book
  Stressed-out? Overwhelmed? Are you lost in too many responsibilities? Learn the real reasons why you can't find peace in your life and the secret steps to living life Stress-Free!