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Originally Posted by Chris  I'll just echo the recommendation of First things first by Steve Covey and also The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (same author). If you haven't read a book by Covey before I strongly recommend you read one of these!
I agree with Milo regarding urgence v importance; the biggest breakthrough for my time-management was really getting my head round Covey's time-management matrix (ie. the 4 quadrant model for Importance v Urgence). After a while I began to be able to instantly identity whether a task was a Quadrant 1 task or Quadrant 2 task etc. which gives you an excellent framework for decision making when planning how to spend your time most effectively.
Also simply by deciding which "Quadrant" a particular task falls into, by definition you are also thinking about what outcome that task relates to which can give you additional motivation to actually get it done!
I've found a diagram of the time-management matrix on this page (scroll down a little to "Figure 1") |
To get to the very practical. I use Franklin-Covey's Plan Plus system on my computer and find it the best thing ever! For a year I only thought it was an electronic version of the Franklin Planner, however, a year after I got it, I dug in a little deeper and found it has some amazing capabilities.
I feel completely organized now! I get more done than ever and the "tab" section near the back holds EVERYTHING...25 clients logs...everything I found on the web that I want to save! and more.
That's why I'm checking out being an affiliate for the program....because I recommend it to everyone! (maybe I'll get a kick-back one day!
I love Covey's systems.