How do you feel when you get to the office in the morning?  Do you arrive at your desk with a clear sense of purpose, an uncluttered inbox and a well-defined series of daily objectives to meet that will best serve your company’s needs?

Or do you arrive – already stressed – to an email inbox that’s stuffed full of new messages, a seemingly never-ending list of “to do” items and a queue of employees waiting outside of your office for their daily assignments?

Certainly, these are two extreme examples, but they highlight an important distinction that all entrepreneurs must deal with at some point in their careers.  You’re the business owner – so why does it feel like your business is the one running your life?

If you feel like your business has taken on a life of its own – one that’s threatening your ability to get the things done that you need to – put the following process into place in order to reclaim your business schedule and your life in general:
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We all like to think that we’re constantly pressed for time, but the reality is that most of us waste this vast resource simply by remaining unaware of how we spend our days.  So if you need to find more time in your day – whether to take on a new fitness program or to make some major progress on a business goal – check out the following 17 tips on how to get more done in less time:
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Welcome to 2013!  I hope you had a relaxing holiday season and that you’re looking forward to a happy and productive new year.

That said, if you’ve set up specific goals for yourself, you’re probably already aware of the huge failure rates that come along with New Year’s Resolutions (just take a look at the empty gym parking lots come February if you don’t believe me).  To help you avoid the common stumbling blocks that throw off would-be self-improvers, I’ve put together this huge list of ways to get motivated.  I hope you find them useful when it comes to sticking with the goals you’ve set for yourself.

Let’s get started!
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How to Regain Control of Your Work/Life Balance

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you already know how much I love living in San Francisco and participating in its startup culture that values hard work and productivity on projects that have the potential to change the world in some positive way.

Unfortunately, one of the issues that I see all too often in this city is the tendency to become so wrapped up in these exciting work projects that the concept of a fulfilling personal life falls entirely to the wayside.  If you’ve ever found yourself checking email before you’re even out of bed, leaving the office so late that it’s technically the next day or turning down plans with friends to get in a few more hours of work, you already know what I mean!
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I don’t know about you, but I’m sick to death of all the articles out there that beat the principles of time management into the ground without even once referring to the importance of proper energy management!

Here’s the deal…

Too many time management practices treat time as if it’s an infinitely manageable resource – as if, by simply scheduling your allotted hours more effectively, you’ll be able to maximize your productivity and get more done than ever before.  But as anybody who’s ever tried to implement a rigorous new schedule just because some nameless, faceless productivity guru recommended it knows, it just isn’t that simple!
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Worried about having packed on a few pounds over Thanksgiving?  Still struggling with a larger weight loss goal that seems even further and further out of your reach?  Although there are a few weight loss hacks you can use to speed up the process, the reality is that – for most people – losing weight takes time.

But while you’re working towards your overall goal, there’s no reason you need to look like an overweight slob!  Instead, try using any of the following techniques to help you look skinnier immediately while your body catches up to your overall weight loss goals:
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Of course I know that you can’t really speed up time.  Life isn’t some cheesy 80s movie montage where inspirational music blasts as you accomplish incredible feats in a few short minutes.

But did you ever notice that there are people out there who do get a hell of a lot more done than you do?  People who have started companies, climbed mountains or completed charitable missions – all while you struggle to find the energy just to make it to the gym a few times a week?

While you might not be able to increase the amount of time you have or make time move slower, you can definitely improve the ways in which you use the time you’ve been given.  Check out these tips for a few ways to live life 3x as fast as normal. Continue reading

This summer marks both my 10^th year out of high school and my 10^th year working in the digital marketing world.  I always like to use milestones like these to reflect on where I’m at in my life, and one thing that always comes up for me is just how useless some of the things we’re taught in school actually are.  I mean, is it really more important to learn cursive writing than personal finance?  Or to spend time preparing for standardized tests rather than learning project management skills?

With these deficiencies in mind, the following is a list of fifty lessons that I wish today’s schools would put more emphasis on.  You might not agree with all of them, but I hope they at least get you thinking about how we can improve both the educational system and the lessons we carry from it. Continue reading

Given the competing demands of owning a business, managing a team of employees and trying to keep my personal life together, I spend an average of about 4-5 hours a day answering email messages.  I answer emails while I’m in and out of calls, sitting in meetings or working from coffee shops, using everything from my iPhone to my Android phone, my iPad and my computer (though most of my email activities are carried out on mobile devices these days). Continue reading