Ben Franklin once said, “Time is money.”   That’s a good quote.   However, I have come to the conclusion that time is much more valuable than money.

Very few things in life are as valuable as time.   In fact, I think it would be correct to say, “Time is life.”   It should not be wasted.   If lost, it will never be found.   We never seem to have enough time – but most of us would have to admit that we fail to make the best use of the time we have.

A few years ago, Tyson Pharo and I were meeting monthly with a coach from the E-Myth program.   I realized I was not as good at managing my time as I could be.   Therefore, I attempted to create a few life-changing habits that would give me more control of my time.   When I have control of my time, I can accomplish much more than I ever thought possible – and still have plenty of time left over to spend with family and friends.   When I do not have control of my time, I don’t accomplish much and I feel guilty about spending time with family and friends.

Empty Your Head…   Good time management requires that you have the ability to empty your head.   I don’t care who you are, you CANNOT carry everything around in your head and be efficient and productive.   The older you get the more you realize this to be true.

To make the most of your time, you have got to minimize distractions.   How often do you find yourself in the middle of one task when another need-to-be-done task pops into your head?   I am often reminded of several need-to-be-done tasks while I am working on another task.   When that happens, very little gets done.   I am so busy worrying about what needs to be done I have trouble finishing the task that I was working on.

When a need-to-be-done task pops into your head, take time to write it down and schedule a time to get it done.   Now, you can forget about it (empty your head) – and concentrate on the task at hand.   If you don’t write it down and if you don’t schedule a time to get it done, it will stay in your head and hold you hostage – and it will render you incapable of getting much of anything else done.

A lot of people (including me) have trouble switching from work mode to non-work mode.   Those who are involved with production agriculture may be the worst.   We mistakenly think we live to work.   That is wrong!   We work to live (enjoy life).   We need to have a quitting time.   When quitting time comes, we need to remove all of our “work” thoughts and need-to-do items from our head.   If we don’t, we will have trouble enjoying our non-work mode.