A. Search, don't file.B. Make an appointment right after work.C. Figure out your core work activities.D. Avoid instant messaging and turn off phones.E. Say no. What would you do if you had an extra hour a day? This is a common barrier I run into when I write about making positive life changes: people don't have time to pursue their dreams. People don't have time to exercise. People don't have time to get organized. Well, it's time to make time. By using some combination of the following, you can free up an hour or more a day. Find the ones that work for you (not all will work for everyone), and then carve out that hour a day. Then make sure you use that extra hour a day in the best way possible—book that hour on your calendar for something you really, really want to do, whether that's work on a goal, write a book, start a business, exercise, read more, or whatever. Don't squander this gift of time! 【R1】______ Whether it's exercise or working on some other goal, make an appointment to do it right when you get out of work (at 5 p. m. , for example). This works especially well if you have to meet someone else, such as a workout partner or other group or team or coach or partner, you'll be sure to meet the appointment, which means you won't stick around work too long, and you'll be sure to finish all your tasks on time so you can leave on time. This makes you more efficient in the afternoon especially. 【R2】______ I'm not saying these types of instant communication don't have their uses, but if they're always on and you're always available, you're always at the mercy of others. Instead, just make yourself available at set times if necessary, or not at all if it's not necessary. You don't have to turn off phones all day long, but you should have some unbroken blocks of time when you don't take calls, so you can concentrate on your important tasks. This allows you to get more done in less time, as phone calls can eat up chunks of your day if you let them. 【R3】______ I used to spend a lot of time filing all my computer files and all my emails into nice, organized folders. I'd spend time every day doing this. Now, I just archive everything, on computer and email, and search when I need something. With Quicksilver on the Mac, every file is within a few keystrokes. With Gmail, every email is accessible instantly. No time spent filing! 【R4】______ What is it that you really have to do each day? I mean, the stuff you have to do or your job would fall apart. If you really think about it, a lot of the tasks you do each day (and phone calls and emails, mentioned above, are included in these tasks) don't really need to be done each day. Sometimes you can do them less often, sometimes you don't need to do them at all. If you can learn to focus on your core activities, you can get your work done in less time. 【R5】______ One of the biggest groups of time eaters is requests from other people. All day long we get requests, in person, on the phone, in email, through paperwork. Meetings, assignments, requests for information, requests to be on a committee or team...these are all requests that will eat up your time. Say no to all but the essentials. Get to the point. While I'm a fan of long, slow conversations, if you're trying to make time for goals, you need to whittle down needlessly long conversations—especially if it's just with a coworker who isn't a close friend. In person or on the phone, you need to get straight to the point with a minimum of chit-chat, and if the other person isn't getting to the point, politely ask what he needs from you.