Lack of time is one of the biggest complaints I hear from people. They have endless to-do-lists!

Knocking everything off your to-do list will never happen.

There will always be something that you might want or need to do that requires your attention. It is up to you whether that something is important enough for you to handle, delegate to others or let fall by the wayside.

To be more productive with your time and energy, prioritize the things you feel MUST be addressed each day. Be realistic. Accomplishing as many things as you can in the course of your day does not mean you have been productive. What that means is you have been BUSY. I like the idea of focusing on 5-7 things each day which includes offline and online marketing, coaching clients, and product creation. Breaking down the time in 15 minute increments is a great way to deliberately focus your attention.

You might be amazed at how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes! 15 things you can do in 15 minutes:

1. Answer a bunch of emails.

2. Return some phone calls.

3. Declutter. If you have a lot to declutter, schedule time each day to do a little bit. I just went through a stack of papers on my dining room table that accumulated over the past week and in just 15 minutes my table is clear!

4. Follow-up with some prospects.

5. Write a post on your blog.

6. Submit comments on other blogs.

7. Submit 3-5 articles to Self-Growth or EzineArticles.

8. Straighten up your workspace.

9. Do something that gives you pleasure (take a bubble bath, listen to music, play with your pet).

10. Prepare a meal.

11. Speed walk for a mile.

12. Read a chapter in a book for business or personal development.

13. Chunk a larger project down into smaller pieces to make it manageable and doable.

14. Meditate.

15. Have a networking conversation on the phone. You might use an egg timer to monitor your time and make it a game to complete that one thing in 15 minutes. Take delight in what you accomplish in that time.

Use your success as motivation for what you do next. Remember the things that energize and boost your spirit will help you to be at your best. In that way the people and things in your life that matter most will get the best of YOU. What will you do in 15 minutes?

PS: Check out my two posts: How to Stop Saying Yes When You Need to Say No (http://www.powerfull-living.biz/blog/2007/08/08/business-success-tip-7-saying-no/) and Handling Distractions for additional tips concerning time management. (http://www.powerfull-living.biz/blog/2007/07/03/business-success-tip-2-handling-distractions/)

Enjoy! Lorraine

(c) 2008. Lorraine Cohen www.powerfull-living.biz