I was reading a blog post by one of my favorite marketers, Lynn Terry. If you don't know her, Lynn is someone who is incredibly generous with her knowledge, and I recommend her blog at ClickNewz.com without reservation.
Lynn described a typical day.
We all have typical days. What was cool about her post was to see how productive someone can be - habitually.
It's one thing to be productive when there's a significant demand. To be productive as a matter of course is much better and more impressive.
In the course of the post, Lynn mentions a time log. This tool is exactly what it sounds it is: a log you keep of the way you spend - or waste - your time.
Lynn keeps her time log on paper. I prefer to do my tracking with a spreadsheet and was thinking of creating one to do it.
However, another marketer, who also commented on Lynn's post - Erica Cosminsky, of The Invisible Office already did it, and if you go to Lynn's blog, you can find a sample and a template there.
I have examined Erica's spreadsheets, and they are very good indeed. You can easily customize the template to include your own categories of time usage.
For example, in my spreadsheet, I have a specific category of Stupid Stuff (email, politics, etc.). If you know what you're doing with Excel, you can also add or subtract categories.
Erica has generously allowed me to re-share these spreadsheets with you here.
So What Kind Of Day Can You Have?
Do you go through your days unconsciously - one day being just like the one before it?
Do you know how you spend your time? Do you act purposefully and productively, or is your path more like the useless zigzagging of a fly in the middle of a room.
A time log can help you see into how you utilize your time.
Whether you use a pen and paper like Lynn or download the spreadsheets, there's no time like the present to get started now.
Go Even Farther
Beyond this, do you know how much your wasted time is costing you in terms of monetary value? Do you care?
If you do care, I wrote a special free report - just for you - called ShatterTime.
Among other things, ShatterTime shows you a list of common activities that many of us engage in, which are really wastes of time. How many items on my list are on yours too?
You can pick up my report - for FREE - at http://applythistoday.com/shattertime.
