It seems like we are constantly in motion today. Rushing from one meeting to the next, struggling to make deadlines, trying to squeeze in appointments…makes my head hurt even thinking about it.

An exercise which can help with the blur that most of us call life is time management. Think of it as an effective tool, similar in nature to a financial budget.

Set aside one entire day where you track everything that you do and the length of time you spend doing it. While this may sound like a lot of effort, the payoff is more than worth it.

You will likely be shocked at what you find. For example, I spent a tremendous amount of (wasted) time reading newsletter after newsletter that was arriving in my email inbox. I’ve eliminated about 85% of what I was receiving and decided only to allow information with real value. The unexpected side affect was that I actually found more free time once I evaluated where my time was going.

Keep in mind the goal here is not to eliminate leisure time. Quite the contrary. We all need downtime (except for the robots that hide among us) which is an important component of balance. The goal is to more effectively manage your time and make certain you are prioritizing activities which produce results.

Not enough time in a day? Maybe. But before you make that statement, flesh it out on paper and you may be surprised at the extra time you find.