As you know, I have the privilege of working with Mike Eagan. I've suggested that he guest post several times over the past two years. I was finally able to close the deal. Herewith his first thoughts. Enjoy!

I believe we folk come to each day’s table with three basic tools working for us:

• What’s in our head . . . knowledge and wisdom;
• Who we are . . . our character/self worth;
• Time. The first two are pretty well set and change slowly over time.

Time, on the other hand, is like putty. We can mold it into whatever shape we choose at any given time in the day, e.g. I’m playing golf today from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (I wish).

So what’s the point? The point is that most people I talk to complain that there aren’t enough hours in the day. And those that complain the loudest predictably don’t have a daily plan driven by an overriding goal with supporting objectives and a strategy to achieve each objective. God forbid they should run their life and business in an organized fashion to the beat of a strategic plan. Strategic plan . . . what’s that/what’s a good one look like?

So now what? Following is a simple recipe to add taste to our daily productivity stew:

• What activities do you enjoy most . . . business and personal?
• What are your needs . . . business and personal?
• What activities most meet your needs . . . business and personal?

Based upon your answers to the above three questions:

• What new activities should you begin?
• What activities should you stop?
• What should you do more of?
• What should you do less of?

Your time should ideally be dedicated to having fun and meeting your needs in order of importance on a daily basis.

And it’s none of anybody else’s business what works for you.