Racing time …

I’m an efficiency nut.

I love learning new ways of saving time, shaving time off existing methods and generally doing more with the time I have each day.

A few great books I read recently on the subject are David Allen’s book Getting Things Done and Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneuers.

Here are a few gems:

1. Every action you take in your business should be expressed in behavioral terms. Good: “Call Joe at 3 pm to see where the new product marketing package is.” Bad: “Follow up on new marketing package.” Behavioral items are focused, specific, and they tell your brain exactly what you need to do next.
2. Create actionable folders in your email system. I use “@action and @waiting for” as two basic folders — almost all the email I get during a day gets put in one of those. I only check email a few times a day, and I clear it out completely each time.
3. Do 2-minute tasks immediately. If you have an email you can respond to in two minutes or less, do it. You’ll save the time of going back to it later, and you’ll clear the “mental clutter” out sooner!

If you have your own favorite efficiency tips or authors, post them as comments!