Ok, we have to admit it. We are busy—too busy.

There are meetings to prepare for and participate in. There are reports to write, read, review, comment upon, and process. The day’s schedule is often controlled by someone else or at the very least, torpedoed by unplanned activity. In my time-management seminars, I challenged my students to keep a daily log for two weeks before they even thought about becoming a more efficient manager of time.

Why? Because some portion of our time every day is controlled by others. Just how much depends on where you are and whom you work for. Keeping a log, writing down everything you do in no longer than 15-minute blocks, and monitoring it for two weeks will begin to reveal just how much (or how little) of your day you can actually plan.

Try to plan too much, and you will soon become frustrated with yourself for not getting more done.

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