But you can be more organized and focused.

Every now and then I stumble upon some ideas on time management and project management that make me take notice.

One of the resources I return to with respect to time is Inc.

Here are 22 tips to manage your life!

And these are my favorite.

6. Don’t check e-mail first thing in the morning. The first thing I used to do after waking up was read e-mails and reply to urgent ones on my iPhone. My brain went from sleep to start-up mode in only a few seconds. That was killing, so I forced myself to not read e-mail first thing in the morning. The funny thing is that if you allow yourself to wake up gradually, it feels like you slept better and longer. Now I shower and have breakfast before reading my e-mail. – Ronald Mannak, founder and CEO, Yobble, creator of the Air Guitar Move iPhone appcessory.

1. Start dancing. It’s physical, it’s fun, it’s social, and you can’t check your phone or be working on your laptop while you’re out dancing. Find the coolest place wherever you live, and go out dancing once a week. You’ll feel completely renewed, energized and ready to tackle the world, or at least your start-up. – Vivian Rosenthal, founder and CEO of GoldRun, an augmented reality iOS application.

15. Communicate constantly with your spouse. Then you will know how to  best support each other. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, says the biggest decision you’ll make in your career is who you decide to marry. I think this has really been true for me. Start-ups are not just physically challenging but also emotionally challenging, with amazing highs and equally strong lows. Having a spouse that you know is in your corner is a huge source of comfort and confidence. – Anishiya Taneja, founder and CEO of TravelDNA, a travel planning site.

21. Be schedule driven. If someone has not scheduled a meeting with me in advance, including my daughter, it won’t happen. We text each other using a free texting program called Jaxtr that I hope will allow me to soon phase out AT&T texting (I’d save $360 a year!). I also use Microsoft Outlook with Google Calendar. At mADtivity we also use a SmartSheet for scheduling, timelines, and project management.” –Stan Weitzman, CEO of mobile ad network mADtivity.

I think this Inc. list is a useful starting point for the real world transition of students.

The big question is always how do we take our book smarts to the curb and become street smart.

There is no magic solution unfortunately.

1. you either cut things out of your time that are unnecessary, freeing up time (not a bad idea)

2. you get more organized with what you are doing to fit more into the day

I think # 2 is the option.

In my own life I continue to strive to be better organized and this is what I am doing.

a. I only read my email between 9 and 10am and then work through the todo list.

b. I try to minimize distractions in the office which even means cutting back on the time I visit others.

c. I have converted my office into a work and liesure environment with lounge seating, I like to be in my office!

d. I get up early and exercise daily before getting to the office.

e. I now almost exclusively start projects that relate to my environment, in this case Zayed University, making them easier to organize and deliver given that I spend my day at the University.

f. I say NO, as hard as that is to do it has to be done.

Sure there is more to do and my list may not work for you but I have made a start to take control of my time and it seems to be working!

I am a full time associate professor at Zayed University, do some radio broadcasting on DubaiEye and also manage to engage in the community with a number of small projects from TEDxDubai to school radio at Wellington International School.

The question people ask is how do I have the time and energy to go from about 5am until 10pm all week?

Here is my guide to getting the most out of your day.

1. exercise

I exercise one way or another everyday.  I walk or run at 5am most mornings. If I cannot walk or run int he mornings I swim a kilometer at lunch.

2. eliminate redundancies

Get control of your email! I answer mine only once a day in the morning. If people really need to contact you they can call and few if anything needs an immediate answer.

Cut down your surfing the net, again give yourself an hour and then turn off the computer.

Set times for your activities and respect them.

3. Juice

Fresh fruit and vegetable juice is essential to your well-being! I have a juicer that I use at least 2x a day.  It is easy, healthy and fun!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s79A23YddHk[/youtube]

4. You Time

There has to be a time during the day when you do your thing, something that has no connection to work!

No work phone calls, turn off the mobile!

You need a distraction.

While this is not an exhaustive DIY list it is a guide to how I manage to pack my week with many varying activities and for the most part succeed at them all.

I am sure you are repeating those words, time theft and wondering what can I be talking about.

Well, if you are anything like me you spend a bit of time on the email. messages come in and people think, dream and hope really, that you will put your life on hold and tend to their needs!

Not so long ago, 15 years maybe, we got the mail a couple of times a day delivered to the office, a few memos and probably a stack of phone messages that we worked our way through and then re-started the next day!

Life was good, life was easy, life was organized and we lived with reasonable time expectations.

So why do we put up with the demands on our time that are unreasonable?

I want to go back to the better days!

Tim Ferriss author of the 4 hour work week he did this long ago, went back to the old way of dealing with demands on his time, he looks at his email once a day!

It is liberating in more ways than one!

This past weekend I did it!

Here is the new auto reply on my email account!

Thank you for contacting me via email.

I only look at my email account weekdays in the morning before 10am.

You can expect a response by tomorrow.

Alternatively weekdays I am in my office and can be reached at 00971 4-402-1455. Leave a message on the machine I do listen and return them.

I am also on twitter JAMESED_ME and Facebook, James Piecowye, these are alternative ways to contact me.

Again thank you for your message.

James

I cannot tell you the liberation I feel by just telling people that I own my time and I will get to their needs in good time!

And if a person really needs something they can call me, they can come to the office but they cannot just send an email and expect me to jump.

I fell like I have gone back to the future!