As I describe in my article for LifeKraze, an online motivation tool, sharing your time with the community can be just as beneficial and inspiring for you as those you help. As you reflect on your personal definition of success, you want to be proud about how you invest your time.

Check out my “Giving Time” article, and see how making the time to invest in something that could make a positive difference in the lives of others in your community is a worthy achievement.

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress. Elizabeth contributes to blogs like Lifehacker, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the 99U blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of the Year by Stiletto Woman.

Whether you’re filling your time with everything but what needs to be done to accomplish the task at hand, or just feeling too overwhelmed to even get started, you can make real progress on your projects by checking out my advice in this 99U article,  “Victim No More: How To Stop Self-Sabotaging.”

Acknowledge avoidance, focus on small easy wins, and get the job done! Read more insightful tips here.

You’ve got this!

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress. Elizabeth contributes to blogs like Lifehacker, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the 99U blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Womenof the Year by Stiletto Woman.

A great resource, this comprehensive list ranks productivity sites by ratings, reviews, and site info. Plus, with a quick summary of each blog, you can easily skim the list and then check out the blog that most appeals to you. Find the list of Top 10 Productivity Blogs here!

1.) 43 Folders: Indie Writer and Speaker, Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work. A very simple guide so you can get back to making something awesome.

2.) Lifehacker: Tips and downloads for getting things done, With articles, stories, and instructions on topics galore.

3.) Zen Habits: Leo Babauta’s site about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.

4.) Stepcase Lifehack: Articles and blog posts on productivity, feeling good, and lifehacks to get things done

5.) Dumb Little Man: Tips for Life: Ideas to make the everyday person more productive in life. Tips on finance, saving money, business, and career productivity.

6.) Unclutterer: Website for home and office organization. Includes Organization strategies, product reviews, and answers to readers’ questions

7.) Productivity 501: posts on personal productivity, including business, technology, and development

8.) Marc and Angel Hack Life: a couple sharing practical thoughts on a broad range of topics pertaining to life, hacks, productivity, aspirations, health, work, tech and general self improvement

9.) Get Rich Slowly: Personal Finance That Makes Cents: sensible advice on personal finance and money management

10.) Study Hacks: Decoding Patterns of Success: articles exploring inner patterns of success for career, education, and personal growth

Check out these blogs for inspiration, but don’t spend too much time in front of the computer screen  –Get out there and put ideas into action! To your brilliance!

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress. Elizabeth contributes to blogs like Lifehacker, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the 99U blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of the Year by Stiletto Woman.

Plus, we especially love The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress.

With a quick reference guide, and over 30 online tools and over 40 done for you routines, The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment takes you beyond simple time management to provide you with the skills and outlook you need to completely revamp the quality of your life.

So, check out my book, and explore these others to find just the right fit for you!

Top 10 Business Time Management Books

1.) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity:

Time management consultant, David Allen’s premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. Plus, check out his, ”do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it” rule to empty your inbox.

2.) Becoming the 1%: How to Master Productivity and Rise to the Top in 7 Days

In his seven day program, Dennis Crosby explains how to realize your dreams, obtain success and join the 1% of the most productive people in the world. Plus, do you know what you can have in common with Olympic athletes in order to excel?

3.) What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings– and Life

4.) The Complete Guide to Evernote: Including Tips, Tutorials and other Evernote Essentials

Do you have a hard time keeping track of notes, emails, receipts, and all of your great ideas? Designed for both beginners and advanced Evernote users providing them with tutorials, strategies, tips, and Evernote essentials to maximize your time and productivity. It tackles the two biggest issues that Evernote users face: what is Evernote, and how can I use it effectively?

5.) What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: A Short Guide to Making the Most of Your Days Off

Continuing her series on What the Most Successful People Do, Laura Vanderkam shows how we can take control of our weekends to get necessary R&R, while also using our downtime as a springboard to a productive week.  She reveals the kind of weekend activities that make people happiest why Sunday night may be the most important part of any weekend.  

6.) The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, Gawande explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. Plus, he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds.

7.) You Can Beat Procrastination: You Just Don’t Know It…YET!

It’s easy to laugh about if you’re in a social setting, but procrastination is more than just a bad habit, it’s a time stealer.  In this book, author Michael Finlayson covers all aspects of procrastination, from how it affects you as an individual, to how you can turn things around to start moving forward.

8.) Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Using “eat that frog” as a metaphor for tackling the day’s most challenging task, Brian Tracy shows readers how to zero in on these critical tasks and organize their time. He details 21 practical, doable steps to stop the procrastination treadmill and get more of the important tasks done.

9.) The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

Forget the old concept of retirement. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book by Timothy Ferriss is the step-by step guide to luxury lifestyle design.

10.) 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think

After interviewing dozens of successful, happy people, author Laura Vanderkam realized that they allocate their time differently than most of us. With a little examination and prioritizing, you’ll find it is possible to sleep eight hours a night, exercise five days a week, take piano lessons, and write a novel without giving up quality time for work, family, and other things that really matter.

To great reads, time management success, and to your very own brilliance!

Enjoy reading and implementing, and check out The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress, today!

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress. Elizabeth contributes to blogs like Lifehacker, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the 99U blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of the Year by Stiletto Woman.

Step 1: Define What is “Fun” For You.
Sometimes you don’t end up doing “fun” activities when you have the time and energy for them because you haven’t clarified what you find enjoyable. Then when you don’t have clarity, you tend to slip back into either doing more work, surfing the Internet, or watching a TV show you don’t care about simply because it’s the path of least resistance.

In Chapter 4 of my book, I talk about clarifying your action-based priorities. “Fun things to do” can be part of those. Here are some examples of what could be on your “fun” list:

• Go to a jazz concert.
• Invite friends over for dinner.
• Read a book.
• Practice guitar.
• Talk with my significant other or friends.
• Cook a new dish.
• Walk along the shoreline.

Step 2: Decide When These Activities Fit
Different activities can happen at different types of times. Here’s an example of how you could group the above items to make them easy to reference:

Week Night Fun Activities:

• Read a book.
• Practice guitar.
• Talk with my significant other or friends.
• Cook a new dish.

Weekend Fun Activities:

• Go to a jazz concert.
• Invite friends over for dinner.
• Walk along the shoreline.

Step 3: Make Doing These Activities as Easy as Possible

If you have weak play muscles, it’s especially important to make having “fun” as frictionless as possible. Here are some ideas of how to make these activities an easy and natural part of your life:

Week Night Fun Activities:

• Read a book: Always carry a book in your handbag or on your e-reader.
• Practice guitar: Make it a ritual to practice for a few minutes before bed.
• Talk with my significant other or friends: Call on your way home from work.
• Cook a new dish: Choose a day of the week when you try a fresh recipe

Weekend Fun Activities:

• Go to a jazz concert: Join a MeetUp group where they remind you about events.
• Invite friends over for dinner: Each Monday, invite a few people over for the following Friday or Saturday.
• Walk along the shoreline: Head over to the beach on Sunday afternoons.

By thinking about how to have more fun, just like you would think about how to get more done, you can enjoy the journey more.

Finally, if you’re a parent to one or more boys, I implore you to go through the above exercise with them. I recently read this article on Alarming Trends About Guys and Technology and realized that giving children, especially young men, healthy outlets for their time and energy is so essential. You teaching your sons–or any young men around you–how to have fun in healthy ways could literally mean the difference between their success and total failure in all parts of life. Empower them to make the right choices.

To your brilliance!

Elizabeth Grace

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill is publishing my first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress to help you make and keep your time management New Year’s resolutions in 2013.

Elizabeth has appeared in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes and on NBC and is a monthly contributor to the99Percent.com blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of 2010 by Stiletto Woman and as a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council featured inThe New York Times, The Huffington Post, Mashable, and many other media outlets.

Elizabeth’s time coaching clients have the opportunity to go through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ life transformation process through phone coaching and custom action guides or in-person training.

Heaven or Hell…

when your relationships are going well, life can be really, really good. When they’re not, it can negatively impact your entire life. To do my part to help you have better relationships with those around you–especially those with different time personalities–I’m sharing with you one of the recordings from the “Achieve Your Resolutions, Relax & Reduce Stress” training I put out in conjunction with my book launch.

In just 20 minutes, you’ll hear me talk you through some of the key concepts from Chapter 9 “Time Peace: Reduce Time-Caused Drama.” Plus I cover these topics not included in the book: 

• The #1 Truth You Need to Accept to Instantly Reduce Stress
• Why It’s You, Not Them
• Understanding Your Spontaneous Boss When You’re a Planner
• Why You Fight With Your Significant Other About When You Get Home
• Four Other Books You Can Read to Reduce Stress

You can download your free mp3 HERE.

Plus as a bonus, here are some books (other than my own that I recommend:

I’m not making any affiliate commissions off these recommendations. I just want to help you to have the best life and relationships possible!:

• The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts
• For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men
• For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women
• The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse
• The Worry Free Life: Take Control Of Your Thought Life By Weeding Out the Bad and Nurturing the Good
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
• Crucial Confrontations
• The Exceptional 7 Percent: The 9 Secrets of the World’s Happiest Couples
• The Love Dare
• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
• Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs

Once again, click here to listen to my 20-minute sharing on reducing time-caused drama, and look above for books with lots of awesome advice.

To your brilliance!

Elizabeth Grace

********************************************

Where to learn more about this topic in The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment:Flip to Chapter 9 for a description of the Spontaneous and Planner personalities, ideas on how to work together, techniques for communication, and ways to recover when you’re disappointed. Chapter 5 also includes lots of ideas on expectation negotiation.

Want your book signed?: Click here to request a personalized book plate to be mailed to you for free: Book Plate Sign Up

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill published my first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress to help you make and keep your time management New Year’s resolutions in 2013.

Elizabeth has appeared in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes and on NBC and is a monthly contributor to the99Percent.com blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of 2010 by Stiletto Woman and as a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council featured inThe New York Times, The Huffington Post, Mashable, and many other media outlets.

Elizabeth’s time coaching clients have the opportunity to go through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ life transformation process through phone coaching and custom action guides or in-person training.

Real Life E would like to thank its supporters by offering you the chance to win a signed copy of Elizabeth Grace Saunders’ new book, The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment.

Entry is easy and only takes a moment. Follow these quick steps to participate:

1. Follow Real Life E on Pinterest and Twitter.
2. Repin any quote from Real Life E’s “Quotes from the Book” board onto your personal Pinterest page.
3. Share the link of your repin via Twitter, making sure to include #RealLifeEQuote in the tweet. You can easily share the link by clicking on the pin’s thumbnail and clicking “Tweet” on the right.

…and that’s it! Pick one quote or pick them all; there is no limit to how many quotes you can repin. Keep in mind, though, that a repin does not count as an official sweepstakes entry unless there is a tweet including hashtag #RealLifeEQuote to accompany it.

The sweepstakes period is March 8 to 22, 2013. A winner will be randomly selected by the Real Life E team following the end of the sweepstakes period and notified via Twitter Direct Message. There is no purchase necessary to enter or win. Purchase will not increase odds of winning. Anybody can enter; must be a legal resident of the 50 states of the U.S. (including the District of Columbia) and Canada, 18 years or older, to win.

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill is publishing my first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress to help you make and keep your time management New Year’s resolutions in 2013.

Elizabeth has appeared in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes and on NBC and is a monthly contributor to the99Percent.com blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of 2010 by Stiletto Woman and as a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council featured inThe New York Times, The Huffington Post, Mashable, and many other media outlets.

Elizabeth’s time coaching clients have the opportunity to go through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ life transformation process through phone coaching and custom action guides or in-person training.

I can barely find time to have five appointments a week and get all my paperwork done correctly and turned in on time.

“How does she manage to champion strategic initiatives, network with executives, and only work 40 hours a week?,” a manager ponders about his colleague on the corporate fast track. After a day full of project meetings, the best I can do is reactively respond to e-mail at night instead of proactively developing my department.

Here’s the secret: Your colleagues that zoom ahead of you with seemingly less effort have learned to recognize and excel in what really counts…

Intrigued?

Discover the secrets to increased productivity with less effort in my recent article for The Huffington Post, “How to Allocate your Time, and Your Effort.” I’ll give you a hint- sometimes all it takes is a little, INO. Allocate some time to check out this article today!

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill is publishing my first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress to help you make and keep your time management New Year’s resolutions in 2013.

Elizabeth has appeared in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes and on NBC and is a monthly contributor to the99Percent.com blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of 2010 by Stiletto Woman and as a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council featured inThe New York Times, The Huffington Post, Mashable, and many other media outlets.

Elizabeth’s time coaching clients have the opportunity to go through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ life transformation process through phone coaching and custom action guides or in-person training.

I answer these questions and more in my recent Lifehacker article “How to Prevent Time-Caused Conflict at Home and at Work.”

With perspectives and empowerment tips for the spontaneous and the planners, I create a firework-worthy (the good kind!) strategy for calmer, positive relationships. Take a peek at this article today!

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill is publishing my first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress to help you make and keep your time management New Year’s resolutions in 2013.

Elizabeth has appeared in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes and on NBC and is a monthly contributor to the99Percent.com blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of 2010 by Stiletto Woman and as a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council featured inThe New York Times, The Huffington Post, Mashable, and many other media outlets.

Elizabeth’s time coaching clients have the opportunity to go through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ life transformation process through phone coaching and custom action guides or in-person training.

I’d love to see an article taking the opposite position: How do I start pleasing other people and caring about their needs? I’m kind of a cynical, misanthropic [jerk] and apparently that’s not OK in most lines of business. Do I change, or do I find a new line of work?”

In response, I explored the perspectives of both types of people in: “To Please or Not to Please, That is the Question.” Outlining the two different perspectives, I explain how we can all empower ourselves and redefine authenticity in our approach to the world and other people. Are you a people-pleaser or a self-pleaser? Check out my tips and the fascinating comments they’ve sparked.

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill is publishing my first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress to help you make and keep your time management New Year’s resolutions in 2013.

Elizabeth has appeared in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes and on NBC and is a monthly contributor to the99Percent.com blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of 2010 by Stiletto Woman and as a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council featured inThe New York Times, The Huffington Post, Mashable, and many other media outlets.

Elizabeth’s time coaching clients have the opportunity to go through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ life transformation process through phone coaching and custom action guides or in-person training.