T I m e m a n a g e m e n t

“ W H AT I S T H E
most valuable use of my time right now?” 
Because it is the most important question in all of time
management, ask it over and over again until it becomes an
automatic guide that motivates and drives you to focus on
your highest-value task or activity. When you organize all of
your time and work activities around the answer to this
question, you will be astonished at how much more produc-
tive you become, and how quickly.
Sometimes I ask my audiences, “What is your most valu-
able financial asset?”
After they have thought it over and given me a couple of
answers, I point out that the answer is actually “your
earning ability.” Your ability to earn money represents as
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much as 80 percent to 90 percent of your financial value in
the world of work. 
Think of yourself as an “earning machine.” Every task
that you work on contributes a value of some kind, either
high or low. Your job is to focus on the most valuable use of
your time and to discipline yourself to continually work on
those few activities that contribute the greatest value to your
work and to your business. 
A Lifestyle Principle
This selection of the most valuable use of your time applies to
every area of your life as well. Sometimes, the most valuable
use of your time, especially if you are working extremely hard,
is to go home and go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.
Sometimes the most valuable use of your time is to spend it
face-to-face with the important people in your life. Sometimes
the most valuable use of your time is to take excellent care of
your physical health, by eating the right foods, taking time to
get exercise regularly, and getting the proper rest and relax-
ation that you need to perform at your best.
Sometimes the most valuable use of your time is just to
spend it with your family or to read a good book rather than
watching television. At other times, the most valuable use
of your time will be to socialize; to get together with family
and friends whose company you enjoy so that you can relax
and de-stress.
What matters most is for you to always be asking yourself
this question: “What is the most valuable use of my time right
now ?” And then you discipline yourself to start and complete
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that activity, whatever it is. When you begin to incorporate
this one suggestion into your time management skills and
your day, you will become one of the most efficient time
managers of your generation.