It’s the one thing that everyone, everywhere shares equally.

It is TIME. Right?

The way we manage our time is one factor that can make a significant difference in our success. It can be the deciding factor between becoming a huge success or having an average life. If you maximize the way you use your time, then you are actively leveraging your success.

Use your time wisely, and you will find that you can reach an amazing level of success. How you manage your time is far and away the most critical decision you will make in business.

One of my clients can never seem to get anything done. He is constantly putting out fires and dealing with issues that his employees have been trained to handle. Does this sound familiar? Sometimes my client gets frustrated and calls me looking for advice. Recently I asked him how often this “putting out fires” happens, and he told with me “almost every day.”  I suggested that he try the following steps to managing his time better.  Maybe they will work for you, too.

Use some type of time planner. A “schedule planner,” whether loose-leaf or electronic, will help you to plan for each day, week, month, and year.  Your time planner should contain a master list where you can keep track of every task, goal, and required action as it comes up. It should also contain a calendar and daily “must-do” list. If your planner doesn’t have these things, then it’s not as useful as it should be.

Always write and use a list. Make out a detailed list of every single task you will have to complete to reach your goal. A list will allow you to think on paper. You can get organized faster with a list than you can with any other time management tool.

“A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.”
– Segal’s Law

Select the single most important task on your list, and gather everything you will need to start and complete that item. Set a specific time when you are going to begin working, and then work single-mindedly on that task until it is finished.

Some days you will feel like there are too many things to do. When this happens, make a habit of writing down every single thing.  Then work at finishing and crossing items off of your list.  The simple step of making a list allows you to take control over your time and your life.

Start each day by prioritizing your list. As you begin each day, organize your list of things-to-do by priority. Rank each task according to its potential consequences. Start with what you must get done.  Break your largest tasks and goals down into bite-size chunks, and then concentrate on starting and completing one piece of the job at a time.

Continue working down your list to those things that would be good, but certainly not necessary, to get done. Once your list is arranged, it becomes a road map to guide you from dawn until dusk in the most productive manner.

Refuse to do anything unless you have written it down on your list and assigned it a value in comparison to the other things you have to do. This will help you to stay on task.

Commit to using any time management system that fits your life style. You might select a smart phone with personal digital assistant (PDA) software such as a “iPhone” or “Blackberry,” or a computer-based system like “ACT!,” or “GoldMine.”  You might even prefer one of the paper based calendar sys¬tems that offer an array of forms that let you write everything out by hand  (Examples include: “At-A-Glance,” “Franklin/Covey,” and “Day-Runner” planners).

It doesn’t matter what type of time management system you choose. What does matter is that you perfect your chosen time management system and use it all the time until it becomes a natural habit.

“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.”
-Douglas Adams

Accept 100 percent responsibility for starting and finishing your major tasks; refuse to make excuses or rationalize putting them off.  Be hard on yourself.  It will pay off.

Visualize yourself working with a sense of urgency. Program your mind by repeating the words “Do It Now!” over and over.

What are you doing to get yourself organized?

Nine Secrets To Email Marketing Success

Admit it.  The key you utilize the most when going through your email is the delete key.  First, you start deleting all of the email from senders you don’t recognize.  Next, you delete the email you know you’ll never read.  Finally, you read the emails that grab your attention.

So, is it the sender’s name, URL or subject line that grabs your attention?  
Often, it’s that and more. 

Read on to discover nine ways to get your own emails opened and read so that your recipients will be enticed to take action.

1. Be consistent with your “From Field” so your recipients see exactly from whom the email is coming.  Setup your name, company or brand name in your email management program by referring to your help guide for setup instructions.
2. Ask your recipients to white list your email address to avoid your emails being blocked or routed to their spam folders.
3. Always stuff your emails with value. Your recipients will gladly open them because they will expect something interesting.
4. Be creative with your Subject Lines.  Create curiosity.  For example:  “They don’t want YOU to know!” creates more curiosity than “The marketing experts don’t want you to know.”
5. Test your subject lines on small segments of your lists.  One subject line will always get a higher open rate than another.  Use the best one to email to others on your list.
6. Be careful to avoid list rot.  People change email addresses, get new spam filters and lose interest because of your lack of contact or old content.
7. Email once a month at minimum.  Most marketers simply do not email often enough.  
8. Surprise your email readers every so often with something completely new.  Make your emails fun so your recipients will want to open them.
9. Always ask for some action on the reader’s part.  Get your recipients to do something like clicking on a link to your website or blog.

If you’re not totally convinced that these tips can pay off, let these email marketing stats marinate a bit:

• 35% of email users open messages because of the subject line content (Juniper Research, 2007)
• 17% of Americans create a new email address every six months  (Juniper Research, 2007)
• Those who buy products marketed through email spend 138% more than non-readers of email (Forrester Research, 2008)

Email marketing can really pay off by focusing on the right elements.  By always delivering valuable information to your readers, you’ll rarely have to worry if you’ll get a favorable response.