Update: My friend Alia will be leading a meeting with a Memorial Day theme. She asked me for some ideas. I mentioned the picnics, barbeques and summertime activities. And then I suggested not to forget the reason why we have Memorial Day—to honor and remember those who have fought bravely for our country so we can enjoy our freedoms. Happy Memorial Day.

Feature Article: Seven Time-Saving Tips

Resource: The Day that Turns Your Life Around

Subscribe: Sign me up for this e-zine and qualify me for the 5-week Secrets to Website Mastery e-course.

America's Foremost Business Philosopher

One of my first mentors is a former farm boy from Idaho named Jim Rohn. He has recently been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, is irreversible scarring of the lung tissues that separate the millions of air sacs making it difficult to breathe. Aside from full lung transplants, there are no known treatments without side effects.

Jim has always said that we all have been given about the same amount of time. The big question now is what we do with that time. Will we waste it, kill it, spend it or invest it?

In today's article we'll look at reclaiming some of that time. For now I'll keep Jim in my prayers. In the meantime, let's decide to become the best person we can with the time we have available.

Seven Time-Saving Tips

Dear Associate,

I was filling up my car when I noticed a lady in a mini-SUV walk in to see the cashier, walk out to the display sign to double-check the price, and then drive off without filling up her vehicle. What she didn't realize when she pulled in was the credit price per gallon of gasoline was four cents higher than the cash price. Something told me she only read the cash price.

But come on: it was only four cents per gallon difference. The nearest same-brand gas station is three miles away and charges eight cents more per gallon. And you couldn't find a better price for name-brand gasoline in the vicinity that day.

Evidently she must have plenty of time to spare. Because at the end of the day: what did she really gain? Not much. A better question to ask is, "What did she lose?"

Many of us are busy with projects and daily to-do lists. We'd normally pay a bit more if we could save time. We're often guilty of spending too much time focusing on minor things. And then we ask, "Where has the time gone?"

Let's start reclaiming some of that lost time with seven tips I find helpful:

1) Watch out for your TV. It's probably the most dangerous time-consumer in your life because you've come to love your TV. Fortunes are spent on programs, shows and movies that have one common end goal: to withdraw money from your wallet. You don't have to live without TV—but you do get more things accomplished if you go on a TV diet.

2) Scheduling Internet and e-mail. The Information Superhighway is claiming more major time from our daily lives. I've been guilty of spending too much time reading e-mail messages, replying to them and forwarding information that may or may not be relevant. Then I procrastinate on the important stuff because I've been too busy surfing Cyberspace.

If you want to get more important stuff done—set a scheduled time for e-mail and web surfing (9 to 9:45am and 8:30 to 9:30pm) and STICK TO IT. You may be tempted to return to your old patterns once you've regained more time, but resist it as often as possible. That's how your time got tied-up in the first place.

3) The postman cometh. You can live without most mail because the majority of it is junk. Toss it in your trash without opening it up. But save your bills, newsletters and love letters.

4) Curbing phone calls. I get a little concerned watching normal human beings turn into inconsiderate monsters every time their cell phone rings. Aside from their loud, let-me-show-the-world-how-cool-I-am ringtone, they want you to listen in on their half of the conversation. Don't join them. Don't let your phone calls dictate how you spend your time. Show people how together you are by reducing your talk time and making good use of your voicemail.

5) Hiring out. For example, it's only common sense that if your professional fees are $100 an hour: why would you spend two hours cleaning your house when you could hire someone at $12 to $15 an hour? Even if you have the entire day off, those two hours could be spent drumming up new business, building your brand or completing another project.

6) Friendly no. Learn to graciously say no to your friends. Select only the events you want to attend. Or else you'd end up wasting time at places you don't want to go, hearing things you don't want to hear, with people you may not even like.

7) Planning in advance. If possible, plan your appointments and errands for a single day or morning trip. Avoid bouncing back and forth all over town. And especially avoid the rush hour congestion.

Bonus: Healthy eating habits. What does this have to do with saving time? Especially since I just downed a pair of McDonald's Double Cheeseburgers, which saved me more time than stopping in at a restaurant. If you can, stay away from junk food. Just because you'll end up spending time you don't have dealing with adverse health issues later in life.

In the movie Wall Street, one of the ways Gordon Gecko leveraged his time was by checking his blood pressure in his office. You don't have to take it to that extreme but you must admit, he was a master at time management. Time did not escape him without his permission. We can learn a few things about managing our time from Gordon Gecko.

Warm regards,

Master Motivator Jim Rohn invites you to hear the stories of how some people reached the success levels they've attained. Where were they when they started? What motivated them? What pushed them over the edge? But most important of all—can you duplicate their success? The Day that Turns Your Life Around