One of the best ways to protect your time is to prevent time wasters.

After all, it takes less time to prevent time wasters than it does to extricate yourself from the crisis situations they inevitably produce. It's literally true that a few seconds spent in performing a routine habit pays off in the saving of many minutes or hours later on. Make some of these preventive measures routine:

· Keep you work area clean and neatly arranged. A desk stacked with today's correspondence, files on long-range projects, stacks of trade journals, and a miscellaneous array of sentimental mementos is overwhelming. It may become difficult to discipline yourself to tackle items on your "to-do" list.

· Store only materials needed to accomplish your work, or to meet the needs of a particular meeting, in your briefcase. A salesperson whose briefcase is cluttered with bills to pay, personal letters, and training materials risks losing the prospect's interest while hunting for needed items. A 30-second delay could cause a several hundred-dollar loss.

· Take responsibility for keeping your possessions in their proper place. Dropping things wherever you happen to be when you finish using them is false time economy. Putting things back where they belong takes only a moment but saves you time later. This principle works in the home, office, car, or anywhere people live and work.

· Say "No" to activities that don't benefit you. One of the most widespread time thieves is over commitment. It's easy to make too many commitments for activities that contribute little to the achievement of your important goals. When you have a clear sense of how to invest your time, you can easily refuse unprofitable tasks.

· Listen carefully to others. You'll be amazed at how much you can learn from words, tone of voice and body language. Learn to concentrate, ask pertinent questions, and think about what you hear. Active listening is vital for coworkers, friends and family.

· Write down appointments and important information. When you fill your brain with information like appointments, telephone numbers and miscellaneous errands, you siphon off concentration power. Use your planner to record important information.

(Compliments of Rutherford Publishing www.Rpublish.com)