There are two rules for achieving anything....

Rule No 1: Get started

Rule No 2: Keep going

Lots of people say they intend to get something done, but for one reason or another they never get around to it. Some say they are waiting for the right moment, but that moment never seems to arrive. And there are some people who quit when the going gets a little tough. When the chips are down, it isn't talent, brilliance, or education, but persistence that pays off. Develop the habit of persistence and there will be very little that you can't accomplish.

Just because it's urgent doesn't mean it's important

Most of us have learned to respond to urgent activities, but not necessarily to important activities. To break the tyranny of the urgent, learn to distinguish what is :

a. important and urgent
b. important, but not urgent
c. urgent, but not important
d. neither important nor urgent

The highest payoffs and greatest opportunities are usually important, but not urgent. Focus first on what's important, not whats merely urgent.

Time is basic; unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed

Peter Drucker points out that time is all you have to work with. Saying you didn't have enough time is probably admitting that you didn't manage the time you had. However, when you're out of time, all your other skills are of no value. You simply have to control time to get good results. The familiar term "time management" is actually a misnomer, because no one can mange time. What you really manage is yourself. Managing time simply means managing yourself in order to accomplish your goals within the time available.

Winners focus,losers spray

Winners focus on the results they want to achieve. In so doing, they are able to see what does or doesn't contribute to their goals, and avoid the things that don't help. Losers, on the other hand, focus on all the tasks in front of them. Without a clear-cut way of sorting through all the trivia, they wind up being pushed and pulled by whatever happens. The key to staying focused is having a clear vision of what you're after, and ignoring everything else.

Six cliches About Time

Time Flies.

Time is money.

Time marches on.

Time and time again.

Time heals all wound.

Time waits for no man.

You can't no more do what you ain't prepared for, than you can come back from where you ain't been

Good results depend less on luck and more on planning. Actually, chance favors the person who is prepared. Forget about luck and learn how to plan better. For starters, write out a weekly plan. Answer these five questions:

1. What results do you intend to achieve this week?
2. What must you do to get these results?
3. What are the priorities?
4. How much time will each activity requires?
5. When will you do each activity?

Keep interruptions short and you will solve a huge part of your time problem

You can't stop interruptions from happening, but too many routine disturbances will ruin your plans for the day. While you can't prevent all interruptions from happening, you can help determine how long they last. Try all kinds of strategies. Stand up, put a big clock in your work space, tell people you're busy, ask people to bunch things together, and close your door. Consider asking the people who interrupt you the most for their input on how to minimize disturbances.

95 out of 100 people never take advantage of shortcuts learned by others' experience

So many of us continue to do things the hard way. often, this is because we don't know that the information we need is available, or where to get it quickly and effectively. Many of us have not learned how to take advantage of the advances in the technology that place an increasing amount of information and know-how at our fingertips. Because we don't take advantage of the shortcuts that are available, we wind up wasting a lot of time and effort. Make it a habit to spend time each week discovering new sources of information that will maximize your effectiveness.

There is always a better way to do anything

If we find out at least one way to improve our jobs every week, that's 52 improvements every year. To see this happen requires constantly analyzing what we are doing and looking for ways to improve. The payoff, however, is when we discover that we have formed a habit of self improvement. At this point, it''s easy to keep things moving upward.

The more you do of what you're doing, the more you'll get of what you're getting.

Many people fantasize about a time when everything will work out great for them, like winning a sweepstakes. but it's more often our habits that determine our futures, not fate. Too many people say they'd change, if only something else would happen first. But that's backward. If you want something different in your life, you'll have to change in some way now. Once you change, then new opportunities open up for you. But if you don't change, then your future will look very much the same as your past!

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

Results usually depend more on what you do than on what you know. It is not enough to know; you must also act. Knowledge without action is impotent. Good results require more than just good intentions. Someone said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What you need is the habit of digging in and doing. Instead of saying "Why doesn't someone do something about that?" just go ahead and do something about it yourself.

Organizing is what you do before you do something else so that when you do it, it won't be all messed up

Getting organized is like having a game plan. Any coach can tell you that your chances of winning are better if you have such a plan. Organizing the details of your life is what creates your game plan. Organizing make you productive.

To get better organized, asked youself...
"What do we want to accomplish?"
"What needs to be done?"
"When shoud it be done?"
"How should it be done?"
"Who should do it?"
"How long will it take to do it?"
"When should it be started?"

We have met the enermy, and they is us

Too often our personal order for the day is a quick fix consisting of some gimmick that requires no change or commitment on our part. We want something easy to use and guaranteed to work. Something that will solve all of our problems - a panacea; but there is none. We find ourselves blaming others for our shortcomings, when the real culprit is ourselves. All improvement requires hard work, yet most of us aren't very fond of that kind of work. We prefer taking the easy way out. It's our habits that lie at the heart of the issue.

Minutes are precious and once gone they are gone forever. According to Benjamin Franklin, in business, time is money. We have learned an infinite number of ways to measure time, but we cannot stop its inexorable march onward. Neither can we go backwards to recover it. The simple secret to living a life of fulfillment is to grab hold of and cherish the moments you have in front of you, beginning this very second.

Six Things That Time Is:

1. Perishable
2. Expensive
3. Measurable
4. Continuous
5. Irreversible
6. Irreplaceable

Successful people form the habit of doing what failures don't like to do

Call it willpower, discipline, determination or anything else you like, successful people are different. They will do things they don't necessarily like to do in order to get the results they want. Failures, though, will accept whatever results are possible by doing only what they like to do. Successful people are motivated by pleasing results, while failures are motivated by pleasing methods. All of us have to choose real success for ourselves.

Most people are more concerned with doing things right than with doing the right things

Normally people assume that the key to greater productivity is to do whatever we are doing more efficiently, that is do it faster and cheaper. Peter Drucker says that's actually backwards. First, we need to ask, "What are the right things to do, what actions are necessary to reach the goal?" Then ask, "What are the right ways to do them?"

The secret is to focus on doing the right things right!

More people get bitten by mosquitoes than elephants

Most of us don't forget the big issues of our work, it's the little things that tend to slip through the cracks. Yet, overlooking these little things can be as disastrous as forgetting the bigger issues. Little things left undone, or not done at the right time, can jeopardize an entire project.

Sometimes, a small note is better than memory.

If I had eight hours to cut down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe

Smart woodcutters don't keep chopping away at the trees all day long. They take time to sharpen their axe. With a sharp tool you can get more work done in less time with less effort.

A Positive Attitude Will Always Make Things Work Out Better

Do you think that time works againts you? There aren't enough hours in a day and it is running out and you won't make it? Instead, say to yourself that you have enough time. Time can be on your side and you will make it. Good time management begins with a positive attitude - - believing that you can manage it well.