Stawicki - How to Change Your Life in 10 Minutes a Day 4 Minutes a Day: Time Management Tips for Anyone Struggling With Work-Life Balance

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."

- William Penn

I won't bore you to death by preaching about the importance of time management, about how time is your most precious commodity and cannot be bought or reclaimed, about how we all have the same amount of it, or how the thing setting us apart is how we make use of it and blah, blah, blah . Enough has already been written about that, by visionaries and eggheads alike. I do not need to reaffirm the importance of your own life, your own time. Chances are, if you are reading this book, your life and time are already of great value to you.

Whatever your goal may be, I assume you are not in the position to drop everything else and commit all your resources - especially your time - to fulfilling it. Your life is an ongoing project, not something to make from scratch starting today.

Theoretical ruminations have their place, but this book will not be one. Since you are committing some of your valuable time to read this book, you likely have some questions: does the author of this book know more about time management than I do? How effectively does he use his time? Is he a person I can follow? Is his advice applicable in my situation? These are good questions to be asking; they show that you put energy into determining if something is worth your time. Well, fear not

I think you can relate to me. I'm what you might consider an ordinary person, not an ivory tower guru. I commute, work a 9 to 5 job, have a family and attend church regularly.

As far as my qualifications go, I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. I don't know you and what you can squeeze into 24 hours, but have a look at my typical day and compare it to your own:

I'm a full time employee and my total daily commute adds about three and half hours to each workday.

I know the importance of sleep to ones overall state of being, so I try very hard to sleep at least seven hours a day (which usually means I get six and a half).

Every day for me also includes 20 minutes of prayer, 60-90 minutes of writing and at least 30 minutes of reading.

Additionally, I spend about 15 minutes on meditation and self-analysis every morning.

I exercise 20 to 30 minutes per day and listen to educational and/or motivational materials for 20 minutes.

Every day, I review my 1,300-word personal mission statement. I study the Bible, read professional literature and practice speed reading, each for about 10 minutes per day.

I keep three different gratitude journals - one about my wife, one about my kids and one about my life as a whole. I have a very personal blog, (another journal, really) and I post there daily, taking another 5-10 minutes.

I'm involved in a few online communities on a daily basis, and I learn about writing, publishing and marketing by following a few blogs.

If you have been doing the mental math, youve seen that my daily commitments (sleep included) add up to at least 23 hours of each day. Yes, I do still find time to breathe. To track my progress and dedication to my daily tasks, check me out on Lift, https://www.lift.do/users/360e9cc8df81879e1935

Many people set goals to build new habits, but then abandon them too quickly. The power of daily habits, if sustained, is immense. I've written about 150,000 words in 2013 - just for my blogs, short stories and books. I've read more than 40 books and hundreds of blog posts. I have a whole notepad full of the self-knowledge Ive gained - my goals, plans, desires, motivations, obstacles, dreams, doubts and beliefs.

In addition to the tasks I complete every day, I also have other weekly, monthly and irregular commitments. For more than 16 years, I have been an active member of my church community. This adds three to five hours of commitments weekly. Additionally, every month I take the time to make a financial statement for the past month and budget estimation for the next.

You might think, with all of those regular commitments, I would be tapped out at the end of each day. But, as you will see, my productivity doesnt end there. In addition to all my daily tasks, I've launched 3 WordPress sites since the beginning of 2013 - a personal blog, a blog for me as an author, and also a project thats a little harder to define - www.onedollartips.com . I manage all three sites on my own. First, I had to learn how to create and manage WordPress sites. Then it was off to learn how to buy a domain and hosting, how to merge different domains onto one hosting platform, how to remove spam comments, how to install and manage plugins, updates and widgets. I had to discover how to make sense of my website analytics. And the list goes on.

Ive made a lot of personal development materials for my own use. Ive recorded several hours of audio and rewritten the book, The Science of Getting Rich, in its entirety to make it more congruent with my faith and values.

I overcame my shyness. I talk with strangers from time to time and always send a smile their way.

I also published five Kindle books in 2013. That process involves so much more than just writing - research, cover design, formatting, marketing, payment, and tax issues. And, the list goes on.

I have a couple of other projects which haven't seen the sunlight yet.

Ive even found time to devote to my hobbies; in August 2013, I organized and participated in a collectable card game tournament.

Last, but certainly not least, I've been married since 2000 and I have three kids. My family is important to me and I give them as much of my time and attention as I can: dates with my wife, games with my kids, reading to my daughter, doing homework with my boys. Walks, chats, going to the circus, cinema, theatre or swimming pool.

I also found time to take a two-week vacation. While on vacation, I took a complete break from working and writing. It was enjoyable and refreshing.

I didn't share this background with you just to impress you. I wrote all of this because I imagine that you can relate. Take a moment to compare your story with mine. If it sounds similar and you want to learn my productivity concepts, then this book is for you.

If you have more obligations and projects, if you find that you are already more productive, reading this book might not be an effective use of your time. My goal is to serve you, not disadvantage you, so if that's the case - skip this book.

I want to show you how to extract more value from your time and find more fulfilment in your life. So, if you are now curious how I do all this and reconcile it with a full time job - read on.

This book has recently gotten a few negative comments with one common theme: "Nothing new here." All I have to say in reply is: This is a book about mastering your time, not about fashion. If youre looking for novelty, look somewhere else!

-Read the introduction and make four lists (actually write these down):

- Daily Obligations

- Weekly Obligations

- Monthly and Irregular Obligations

- Goals

-Compare our lists and see if your time constraints and aspirations look similar to mine.

-If you feel you stand to benefit by reading my methods to time management, read on!