Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich runs a very useful blog. His book is one of the most powerful books I read all of last year, and I would HIGHLY recommend it to just about anyone.

There is a post here that includes an interview with Gina Trapani, founder of Life Hacker. She shares some simple tips on increasing personal productivity and time management. These kinds of skills and habits can have a tremendous impact on your productivity and therefore your performance on the job, your opportunities for advancement, and your career as a whole.

A few nuggets from the interview:
“One simple but powerful habit is this: To act immediately on things as they come up.

For example, if I have an idea while I’m on line at the grocery store, instead of thinking “oh, I’ll write that down as soon as I get home,” I force myself to take out my phone and send myself an email or jot it down on a piece of paper in my pocket. If I get an email that requires a quick response, instead of moving onto the next one, firing off that response immediately and archiving the message. If I see a web page that looks like it might be a good Lifehacker post at some point, instead of just bookmarking it for later, creating a draft post in Lifehacker’s publishing system on the spot. This practice requires some discipline to develop, especially when you’re feeling lazy or distracted, but it can make a huge difference.”

“…keep a to-do list that I update and review daily and weekly. It’s my map. At the top, there are 3-4 things that are most important, that I need to get done outside my regular daily writing deadlines.”
Mostly, it’s about putting things in the right place as soon as you possibly can, to avoid having random stuff hanging around your mind and space.”

Read the comments on that post for more tips from readers of the 4-Hour Work Week blog - many of them are also very useful.

To your success,

David B. Wright
Author, Get A Job! Your Guide to Making Successful Career Moves
www.thegetajobbook.com