There are 168 hours in a week. How do you use them? There are 1,440 minutes in a day. How do you use them? Most people waste endless minutes and hours without ever realizing they are doing that. Are you keeping track of your time and using it with purpose?

If you want to figure out how well you are using your time, one thing you can do is start keeping closer track so that you can eliminate your time wasters and stay focused on key priorities. One of the best gifts you can give yourself is identifying your time wasters and eliminating them.

Probably the best tool you can use for doing that is an old-fashioned time log. If you spend a few days keeping track of every single thing you do, minute by minute - you note briefly the time and the activity - then the time log can be your best friend because you will see where you are wasting precious time and you will see how much of your time you are devoting to your top priorities.

What are the big time wasters that can be eliminated to free up some more of your time to focus on your real priorities? Now if you don’t have your priorities clear, then you need to spend time figuring out what’s the most important thing? What’s the second most important? What’s the third most important? You need to make sure you know what your priorities are so that you can be dedicating your time.

Make sure you are devoting the lion’s share of your time to first and second priorities. And on a day to day basis you should be postponing lower-priority activities. It takes some discipline to do that but the first step is to keep a time log so you can get a reality check on how you are using your time right now and where you have opportunities to eliminate time wasters and focus more on your real priorities.

Publication date: 01/10/2011