Looking for ways to save time? Well, forget it. You can’t “save” time. But you can spend it wisely.

First, accept this premise:THERE IS NOT NOW AND THERE NEVER WILL BE ENOUGH TIME FOR ALL THE WORTHWHILE AND IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE.

Think of all the places you’d love to see, the books you’d like to read, the people you’d enjoy being with, the activities you’re fond of and the thousands of other things you could do.v There’s not enough time! Once you accept that premise, you’re on your way to better time and activity management. Begin by separating your HIPO’s: “high-payoff” activities, from your LOPO’s: “low-payoff” activities.

HIPO’s are directly related to your goal. They can’t be delegated to anyone else. They tend to be risky and might be difficult or unpleasant, but they give you a high return on the time invested.

LOPO’s, on the other hand, are activities not related to your goal. They’re often comfortable, may be routine or trivial, and offer you only a small return for your investment of time.

Since you can’t do everything, the logical solution is to begin eliminating tasks from your list of LOPO’s. Then decide which activity to do first by categorizing them this way:

1. Urgent and Important (do these first)
2. Important, but not Urgent
3. Urgent, but not Important
4. Not Important and not Urgent

Then see how many of the “D’s” you can eliminate entirely. Efficiency, as everyone knows, is doing things right. Effectiveness, however, is doing the IMPORTANT things right! Ask yourself many times during the day: “Self, is what you’re doing right now the most EFFECTIVE way to use your time?”