IT'S ABOUT TIME

We all have the same amount of time available to us, but some people seem to achieve so much more! The trick is not cramming in as much as possible, it's knowing how to select the things that really are important and putting in the necessary time on those. In that context, you might find it interesting to go to our "What Do You Want?" section, which is all about setting goals. Once you've decided what it is you really want, it's useful to have a strategy for right-brain time use. Here are our suggestions:

GETTING UP TIME

The first half hour or hour of your day, when you're getting up, grooming yourself, and eating breakfast, is an excellent time to review your most important goals (ideally you have written these on a set of index cards you keep handy) and to get yourself psyched up for the day ahead. A quick 'mental rehearsal' of the anticipated events of the day, imagining them going well, helps create a positive mind-set. Another option is to start each day by jotting down six things for which you are grateful at that moment (small to large-a good breakfast, your health, your family, the fact that the sun is shining, etc.). This tends to get you off to a good start and to put minor problems into perspective.

TRAVEL TIME

Don Aslet in How to Have a 48-Hour Day: "I bring the biggest allowable 'under plane seat' size briefcase and some yellow pads, pens, tape scissors, camera, ear plugs, and a package or two of raisins, and I can write a best-seller or map company strategy 35,000 feet in the air, in a cab, on a fishing stream, in church, in bed, at the table, in front of the TV, on the tractor, in the hospital, at a TV station, or on the beach."

WAITING TIME

Carry with you reports or articles that you intend to read. One strategy is to go through each magazine as you receive it, tear out the articles you find of interest (stapling the pages of each article) and then carry a few of them with you. If you get to an appointment early or find yourself on hold, it's easy to fish them out.

MEETING TIME 

If you're the one doing the scheduling, plan meetings for the time just before lunch or just before the end of the day. Participants will be eager to move things along. If you're a participant who needs to be in only part of the meeting, try to get your agenda item placed first so you can leave after it has been dealt with.

EXERCISE TIME

A friend of mine who is an agent reads scripts while cycling at the gym. Some people have trouble reading in that circumstance, but working out at a gym (rowing, running on a treadmill, cycling, etc.) is a great opportunity to listen to instructional audio tapes. If you're using the exercise as thinking time, it can also be useful to carry a small recorder to note any ideas that occur to you. A new line of digital recorders is out now from Sony; they have limited recording time (anything from 5 to 20 minutes) but are very robust. More expensive digital recorders are capable of recording up to 90 minutes.

WAKING UP/GOING TO SLEEP TIME

The transitional time from sleep to waking and vice-versa is a period when the creative mind is very fertile. If there is a problem you have not been able to solve by thinking about it consciously, bring it to mind in these periods and allow new ideas to come to you.

YOUR OWN TIME

We can easily get caught up in a frenzy of activity. Schedule a block of at least 15 minutes (ideally 30) each day in which you will do whatever you feel like doing at the time. That might be listening to music on a Walkman, ringing a friend, or carrying on with a task you're enjoying. "Planned spontaneity" may sound like an oxymoron, but it's not. It's a way to help ensure that you don't let pressure and stress build up. * The print edition of Brainstorm frequently offers suggestions on how to make the most of your time. To subscribe, please go to the "Shop" section of this website.  Thanks!