15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. – Carl Sandburg

Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose. – Thomas Edison

All great achievements require time. – Maya Angelou

1) Do what you love and you will be beyond productive—you will be driven; 2) Start your day by taking care of YOU; 3) Learn what are your own productivity/creativity cycles and accept and work with yourself when you are in an up or down cycle.

Set yourself up for success and for the life that you really want, by taking just a few minutes at the beginning of your day to get into your power, set your intentions, and THEN take action with the end goal (the vision you have for your ideal life) in mind.

use to keep myself on track, but as simple and possibly cliche as it sounds, knowing myself is far more important than any one tactic. I have to know when I'm at my best for my most important work (morning, for writing fiction), when I tend to slack off (after meetings or podcasts), and when I can get by with relatively mindless work (afternoons). It's not about getting maximal amounts done; it's about ideally matching my capacities vs. my occasional need to screw around with what needs to be done at what time.

Give each minute a name and make sure you are spending it wisely in the categories you planned on instead of your day spending you.

PLANNING from EXECUTION. The act of planning out what you're going to do is a SEPARATE action from actually doing it. One of the most effective ways to WASTE your time is to attempt to be productive while planning it out on the fly. Or to just "jump in" without planning it first.

My biggest productivity tip is to stop trying to do everything yourself. It doesn't matter if you're a manager, a solo business owner or the CEO. Creating systems and processes that are well documented lets you get lower value tasks off your plate so you can focus on where you're most strategic and valuable.

If you want to be more productive, start using a free tool called Rescue Time.