Are you time-challenged? Do you feel there is never enough and yet, you also feel you are sometimes wasting time? You aren't alone. I find this is one of the major challenges that my coaching clients face.

How often do you find you have only a few minutes and instead of using them to accomplish as small task…you let them go by without seizing the moment, so to speak? Think how your productivity and feeling of accomplishment would increase, if every day you found three or four of those unused productivity possibilities!

Some of these 15-minute time nuggets can be planned and others will be spontaneous. What is important is that you quit allowing these opportunities to drain out of the hourglass of time. Or as Ernest Hemingway said, “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”

Great ways to use15-minute time nuggets:

Update your databases. Do you have complete email information? Is everything current? Who should be added? Are clients able to be filtered by several options (anniversary date, interests, location, etc.)

Do R&D on the Web. Successful businesses are always doing research and development to see what the competition is doing and to get fresh ideas.

Learn a new email feature. Are you using filters to manage your mail? Do you have a great signature file? Do you have frequently used replies set up in your signature files? Do you have groups set up for easy mailing?

Learn one more thing about your real estate software. Have you set up systems and checklists for every part of your business? Are you fully utilizing the action plans? Tweak or fine-tune one plan.

Write five thank you notes. As much as I believe in using email…there is still something very special and, these days, unusual, about getting a notecard.

Call someone you haven't talked to in a while. Let them know at the beginning you'll be having to get off because of an appointment (or whatever, but it is a great way to keep a conversation from taking forever!)

Call a FSBO or Expired!

Take care of one thing that you've been tolerating. Organize that corner of your desk, do some filing, make that phone call for information

Learn something!

Take an action on your most important priority or biggest project. Baby steps will get a big project done over time.

I'm sure you can make a list for yourself of things to do in a 15-minute window. By having a list & posting it somewhere obvious, the next time you are faced with only a few minutes, take an action, instead of getting another cup of coffee or wasting your time.

Over a year, the amount of learning and progress made on projects will increase dramatically even if you just use one of these “found” times each day. Your effectiveness will increase and you be amazed at what can be accomplished by taking small, consistent action. It's the tortoise beating that hare!

Published: August 25, 2000

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Joeann Fossland ePRO, GRI, MCC, PMN, SRS is a dynamic speaker and business coach. Co-creator of THE REAL ESTATE GAME® and NoBloggerLeftBehind.com, she provides coaching solutions to enhance your effectiveness and life balance. You can subscribe to her free weekly tips, attend free monthly tele-seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting Joeann.com or email her at .