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When it comes to good time management you need to learn to be two things – effective and efficient. In basic terms that means you have to be able to pick out the right tasks and then do them in the most economical way. In this two part series I want to look at both approaches and discuss my own experiences of how I achieve them. Firstly I will look at how to be effective. It’s important to understand how significant this stage is. It’s pointless working on something efficiently if you don’t need to do it in the first place.

“I never have enough time!” I bet you’ve heard people say that often. It’s quite likely that if you are reading this blog you will also have said it plenty of times too, and you want to do something about it. When I was in my getting (any) thing done stage several years ago I often felt the same way. Then I spent several months out of work and I suddenly had so much time I didn’t know what to do with it. This made me rethink my views on those precious hours constantly ticking away…

Inspirational quotes for 26th September 2008.

Patrick Riley: “When you’re playing against a stacked deck, compete even harder. Show the world how much you’ll fight for the winners circle. If you do, someday the cellophane will crackle off a fresh pack, one that belongs to you, and the cards will be stacked in your favor”

Picabo Street: “When someone tells me the is only one way to do things, it always lights a fire under my butt. My instant reaction is, I’m gonna prove you wrong.”

Greg LeMond: “Perhaps the single most important element in mastering the techniques and tactics of racing is experience. But once you have the fundamentals, acquiring the experience is a matter of time.”

Denis Waitley: “The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.”

For the last several months my productivity system (system is an ugly word right now but we all still need one) has revolved around two simple tools; a notepad and my weekly planner. The latter has evolved and been simplified to the point where I feel it is ideal for my purposes. With this in mind I thought now would be a great opportunity to make it available to you all. You can download it as a PDF.

Last year I wrote some guides for students covering basic advice for getting through university and surviving freshman week. Well it’s that time of year again when students start or return for another year of studying (or drinking). However, I didn’t want to re-hash the same old advice this time around, so I decided to look deeper into my own experiences at uni. It’s not just about getting a degree and moving on with your life. There are certain valuable life lessons that, due to the circumstances you often face at university, are easier to learn as a student. Looking back, I really missed out on these opportunities and had to learn them the hard way after I graduated. Hopefully, if you’re a student you can benefit from these lessons now.