7 TMTips

7 Successful Time Management Habits For Online Entrepreneurs
Table of Contents
Preface ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Habit #1: How To Create Habits of Success ......................................................................................... 5
Habit #2: One Word To Ignore And You Will Fail ................................................................................. 8
Habit #3: 4 Ways To Focus On One Project At A Time ....................................................................... 14
Habit #4: 5 Reasons To Turn Off Your Computer And Improve Your Productivity ............................ 16
Habit #5: Why You Need To Create A System And Follow It Every Day ......................................... 19
Habit #6: Why You Should Do Your Most Important Task First Thing In The Morning ..................... 23
Habit #7: 4 Spare Moments To Take Advantage Of When Building Your Business ........................... 25
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Preface
Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.
- Alan Lakein
There may be many ways why we humans are non-equal, but one thing is equal for all of
us: time! There is no more or less than 24 hours in a day for each one of us.
However, how that time is spent during those 24 hours is a completely different story.
For example in my case I go to sleep around 11 PM, wake up around 6 AM, have my day
job from 8 AM to 4 PM and have my personal time off between 4 PM and 11 PM. On the
other hand, on weekends I have all the free time available, since Im not working.
I think that the most valuable part of my day during the weekdays is between 4 PM and 11 PM. And it is not
all the same, how you spend it. This is especially true when you are working on your online business part-
time (like me) and try to get it off the ground.
How did I realize the importance of time management?

Years ago I didnt have any goals in my life, because I didnt realize the importance of goal setting.
At some point this changed. I set some goals and now the way I spend my 7-hour free time period makes all
the difference (as well the time on weekends too). When you have limited amount of time at your disposal,
you try to take advantage of it as much as possible.
In order to fully take advantage of my free time, I had to create a system to follow. I have been an athlete
for couple of years (in age group, 35 >) in very time consuming sports like marathon and triathlon, so there
had to be a schedule to follow in my everyday life. Also, my distant dream has been to become a full-time
athlete and a full-time online entrepreneur. This means squeezing all the time possible out of my free time,
so that I have time for other parts of my life as well.
The first book that I read on time management was David Allens Getting Things Done (GTD) in 2007 and
that has been a huge influence on my own time management practices. Although Im not a GTD advocate,
David Allens book and its lessons have been the first steps towards being more organized and managing
my time better.
Based on a true story

This report is based on the habits and practices I use in order to make most of my free time. My tasks are
mostly goal-driven, so those are the tasks that show up on my daily work list. Setting goals in general gives
you good guidelines in what to do in your everyday life. Especially when breaking those high-level ones to
smaller steps (tasks on your daily list), it makes this process even smoother and much more sense.
In my case, family life, sports (triathlon/marathon), personal development and starting-up a personal
business compete from my time. That is why it is essential to have a plan and know what you are doing.
This is also a report of self-transformation. Rather than letting others to control my life (work at the office
for someone else), I have decided to take the responsibility of my own future. Currently, Im going through
a transformation phase, which I believe so many people do, when they get tired to their 9-5 jobs. In order
to pull this transformation through, there has to be a set of daily schedules and structures to follow, so that
things progress as smoothly as possible every day. However, please be aware of, that the structure I apply
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here is based on the limited time available. Until you are your own boss and start doing the things you love
to do full-time, you can set your own schedules as you wish.
Sure, everything is not perfect and tweaking and testing has to be done constantly, but with the tips in this
report, I have been able to reach some of my goals already. Others, while not reached yet, are much closer
now and Im confident, that I will reach to reach them at some point.
Who should read this report?

I have named this report as 7 Successful Time Management Habits For Online Entrepreneurs. Although the
report is geared towards online entrepreneurs, everyone benefits from this information not just
entrepreneurs.
However, I feel that in order to finally move from your 9-5 job to full-time online business owner, you need
to have certain core habits in place to make the shift from 9-5 to full-time online entrepreneurs as smooth
as possible. This makes sure that we make most of our time and eventually reach our goals, instead of end
up noticing, that we have spent years watching TV and gaining nothing but extra pounds.
Im currently building my online business part-time. Since I have formed habits that have enabled me to
take most out of my free, I figured I might want to share them with you.
You may be questioning if some of the habits in this report are true habits. Maybe not, but at least they
lay a foundation for forming one. For example Build a consistent system may not be a habit itself, but it
gives good information about creating a structure, which eventually leads to forming habits.
These are the habits that I have been using. I hope that you find them usable as well!
Have a productive day!
Kind Regards,
Timo Kiander
Web: http://www.timokiander.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/timokiander
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kiander
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/timokiander
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Habit #1: How To Create Habits of Success

The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: I did
not have time.
- Franklin Field
It is easy to form a bad habit, but I think it is difficult (at least in the beginning) to form a
good habit that sticks. This applies to time management as well.
There are certain ways that can help you to become more efficient in your everyday life.
Some of the habits that I currently execute on daily basis are:
Planning my day the night before

Having a morning and evening routines
Having my goals clear in my mind
Doing the most important task the first thing in the morning
Batching as much as I can (batching means grouping as many similar tasks together and do them at
once)
Exercise
It seems that there are lots of habits to follow, but on the other hand, once you nail them down, you do
them automatically on a subconscious level. You dont necessarily even think about those things
anymore, because they have become your second nature.
So why do you need your habits anyway? Because, if you are like me and have a 9-5 job, it becomes
important to take advantage of your time outside the work, the best way possible. By creating these small
habits, your life has structure and you get things done faster and easier. You are not wasting your valuable
time to small things, which eventually eat all your time when being out of the office.
How to form a habit?

I have heard many times being said, that it takes somewhere between 21-30 days to form a habit. That
means, you are consistently (on daily basis) doing something, and if you break the chain (fail to execute
your new habit even in one day), you have to start all over.
However, I can tell from experience, that sometimes it takes more time than 30 days to make a habit stick,
so this may be dependent on the habit you are trying to achieve.
Also, doing just one change at a time rather than multiple at once is the better way to succeed. However, I
feel that this depends on the situation and what kind of habits you want to execute in your daily routines.
For example, getting rid of too many projects (first habit), so that you have time to exercise (second habit),
goes hand in hand and support each other (you free up your time to exercising activities).
Sometimes it takes more time than 30 days to make a habit stick
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Planning your habit

Before you start creating a new habit, you should have a plan in place. Maybe an overview of the next 30
days before you begin, so that you can see what is going to happen in your calendar and if any of those
events are going to have effects on your habit project.
Lets say that you want to start waking up earlier every day (6 AM). It means that you should get to bed
earlier as well. When you look at your calendar, you realize that next week you are going to throw a party
to your friends, which probably means that you are not going to go to bed early enough. Also, you realize
that you are going to take a small trip with your spouse to visit your relatives in another town and you are
going to stay there for a weekend.
Those two events (hosting a party and visiting relatives over the weekend) may cause you to break the
habit of going to bed at 10.30 PM and waking up at 6 AM, if that was your original plan.
If this was the case for me, I would start as normal, but acknowledge the fact, that it may not be possible to
keep up with the new pattern each day. Instead, realizing that as soon as the situation is over, you can get
back to the original plan and continue to go to bed at 10.30 PM (so that you can wake up at 06.00 AM)
Eventually when you keep doing this, your new habit is being formed. You then realize that when going to
sleep some other time than 10.30 may feel weird.
Be consistent and persistent

It takes some time to reach the state where you can say that you have formed a new habit, but the path
there is something, that should be taken, if you want to change yourself at least a bit. By being consistent
and persistent, you can achieve this.
You can even have an accountability partner, to whom you report your daily actions related to this new
habit (did you go to bed early or not), so there is a small pressure on you to do it as you promised.
Also, you should realize why you want the habit in the first place. You should have a very strong motivation
behind your new habit, so that you find it compelling to work on until it sticks.
For example, working on your business every day before going to work, may not be good enough. However,
when you associate that with a fact, that if you dont do that, you will be in your same job after 5 years as
where you are now, gives a bigger incentive to work hard on your goals every morning.
By being consistent and persistent, you can make the habit stick
Unlearn the bad habits

Not only is it important to learn new habits that help you in your time management efforts, but you should
also unlearn the bad habits as well. The key here is to replace a bad habit with a good one.
For me, these bad habits have been for example:
Getting too little sleep

Eating too much sugary foods
Being involved in too many personal projects simultaneously
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I can say that Im still learning away from these bad habits (especially the first one), but also I have already
acknowledged that I have them, so that is a start. And actually, I have started forming good ones to replace
the bad ones already, so things are already going forward
Main takeaways from this chapter are:
Acknowledge your bad habits and replace them with good ones
In order to form a habit, it should be done consistently and regularly
Plan your habit before you start building it can you execute new habit consistently in order to
make it stick?
If you break the chain, start over enough repetition will eventually form a new habit
Some new successful habits to form in your business are:
Wake up earlier to work on your business before getting to work

Have enough rest to boost your productivity and creativity
Make a regular schedule of what to do when for example dedicate certain time for creating blog
posts, promoting your content or network with other entrepreneurs
Exercise regularly physical fitness improves your stress handling capabilities
When you work, you work and you are not doing anything else then. For example, checking your e-
mail, Twitter or Facebook while you work is a big no-no.
Figure out if there are any parts of the business that could be automated or outsourced. If you are
working 9-5 you can for example budget some (or all) of the expenses by your salary
Work on a small chunks and have breaks in between like 30 minute chunks with a 5-10 minute
breaks between the sessions
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Habit #2: One Word To Ignore And You Will Fail

Time stays long enough for those who use it.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Do you know what you are going to do tomorrow? Do you know what you are going
to do next? In order to be more effective, you should have a plan for the next day
and what tasks you are going to do then (so, now you know what word you shouldnt
ignore ;).
However, this depends (at least partly) on your goals.
Your plan depends on your goals

Do you know what your goals are? If not, you should take some time now and start putting your thoughts
on paper.
Take some time in quiet environment to see where you are now and where you want to be in the future.
Then just put those goals to a list. Eventually, the sub-tasks that you have to take in order to reach those
goals become partly the basis of your weekly and daily action lists.
You might have many goals and if this is the case, you should then review this list often to see have you
already accomplished them or not.
For example, lets say that you have a blog, but dont have an e-mail list yet. However, your goal could be,
that in 30 days from todays date, you have written your 10-page free report, started to capture e-mail
leads and have 30 readers on your list.
From the previous example you could see, that the goal was exact. It addressed what you wanted to do and
when you wanted it to happen. The more specific the goal the better (I didnt address an exact time goal
here, since running your first marathon its all about crossing the finish line first :).
Task list is the key

I like to keep three kinds of lists available. First, there is my goals list, which is divided between 1-3 year
goals and 5 year goals. These goals give me much broader view of where Im heading and they in turn help
me to realize what steps to take on weekly and daily basis.
I keep these goals always easily accessible, so that I know where Im headed. However, Im always willing to
tweak the list if necessary. For example, if I realize that a certain goal doesnt resonate with me anymore, I
take it out from my list.
Then, there is a weekly list, which consists of all the tasks I like to accomplish that week and from those
tasks I create the daily list (I have to thank Scott H Young and his e-book called Think Outside The Cubicle
for realizing the power of weekly lists). I try to list these tasks on each Sunday.
Finally, there is my daily list, which consists of daily tasks. I create it the night before I go to sleep.
I have three lists: Goals list, weekly list and daily list
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You have different ways to create and manage your task list, for example on paper, as web-based list,
mobile phone version or having a whiteboard. For the sake of simplicity, Ill describe a paper version here,
since it is the simplest one to implement. All you need is a pen and paper.
Task list characteristics
My task list has these certain characteristics:
It describes what Im doing outside the office hours on my free time

Only a maximum number of tasks per day
Non-working day (*)
Certain tasks are grouped to a certain day of the week
I dont include self-explanatory things to my list
When the task is done, it is crossed-over
If a task is not done, it is moved to another day
(*Exception to the rule: Normally I take Sundays off and dont work on my business. However If I have a
deadline I want to meet, I might work on Sundays as well.)
As an example of this, lets take a look at three days and their task lists, where two of them represent the
typical work day task lists (Monday and Friday) and another represents weekend (Sunday).
Monday:
Promote my latest blog post (AM)

Gym (AM)
Comment on other blogs (PM)
Create video or audio content for my blog (PM)
Go through a product that Im about to review on my blog (PM)
Running (PM)
Reading a self-help book (PM)
Friday:
Write an guest post (AM)

Gym (AM)
Comment on other blogs (PM)
Continue writing a guest post (PM)
Finalize my blog post by scheduling it, finding images for it, proofreading it (PM)
Cycling (PM)
Reading a self-help book (PM)
Sunday:
Cleaning our home (AM)

Ideas and outlines for the articles to be published next week (AM)
Goal reviews (AM)
Read a self-help book (PM)
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From those two examples you can see that:
Only a maximum number of tasks per day: 7 (the total number of tasks depends of the day)
Non-working day: Sunday is my day when Im not working on any projects or there are no sports
activities (*Exception to the rule: if the deadline requires, I might work on my personal projects on
Sundays as well)
Certain tasks are grouped to a certain day of the week: For example all the household chores are
done on Sunday
I dont include self-explanatory things to my list: I could include things like have a lunch or take
out the trash, but why bother, since I know when to do those things anyway.
Tasks that are done are crossed-over
Also, I try to do some low-value tasks on Sundays: for example installing the speedometer to my
bike
Limit the amount of tasks on your daily task list
Now that you saw my daily list, my weekly list might look like this:
My weekly list:
Read a self-help book: Name of the book here

Clean my home
Install the whiteboard
Install the speedometer to my bike
Go through a book or a product for review purposes:
Training course 1
Write blog post and schedule it
Create a video for my latest blog post
Weekly exercise routine
My goals list (part of it):
1-year goals:
Run a marathon under 3 hours
Finish the full-distance triathlon
Improve and have a super strong self-confidence
Quit my day job and start my own business on 31.12.2011
Have my own products and services related to the niche I have a blog about
3-year goals:
Have a second home in Mediterranean
Have a successful business which enables me to work whenever I want, whoever I want with,
wherever possible, how much I want
5-year goals:
Be debt-free
Donate $10 000 for supporting organic food organizations
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You need to decide what is important and what is not

One thing that is very important is to decide what task on your list is worth your time.
The problem I had when I started putting my tasks to a daily list was that it included too many small tasks,
which eventually consumed all my energy and I had hard time of accomplishing everything. Right then I
needed to decide, which of those tasks were the most important related to my goals, and which ones could
be done at a certain date, by batching (grouping tasks together).
Im actually a big fan of big rocks metaphor (told by Stephen Covey in his book First Things First). Its
about how you should fill up an empty jar with big rocks first (your most important tasks). The rest of the
content that fits in is smaller rocks, less important tasks.
The point being, if the smaller rocks were already in the jar and you tried to put all the bigger rocks after
that, they wouldnt fit in. So, your important goals/tasks would be left out. Thats why my principle is to
focus on big rocks first and group all the smaller tasks together if possible.
3 characteristics of a good daily to-do list
There are certain characteristics that I like in a well-balanced daily plan (or to-do list if you will). As a matter
of fact, the previous sentence already revealed one good characteristic that it needs to have: well-
balanced.
1. Its well balanced

I have been tweaking and optimizing my daily plans for years and I now have a good idea what does a well-
balanced list looks like. It covers various aspects of your life, which in turn provides wellness and clarity for
your daily activities.
For me I get the most satisfaction of including these elements to my daily list:
Learning
Working on my personal projects
Exercising
The balancing part is important whether you work on your business full-time or part-time. I believe that
each of those three elements support each other and nurture your creativity which enables you to develop
your business even further.
2. Its not overstuffed

Good to-do list is not overstuffed with gazillion tasks in it. This is something that I had to learn by tweaking
and optimizing it for couple of years, until I got it right.
Fewer tasks there are and more meaningful they are related to your goals, the better you feel about
yourself when you have taken action on those things.
You could overstuff your list with tens of tasks and even if you accomplished all of them, you would just feel
overwhelmed and exhausted. You dont want to choose that route.
For example, when Im working on my business part-time, it is important that I want to include tasks which
bring me the biggest rewards. These include for example blog commenting on other blogs or publishing
content (written/video) to my blog weekly.
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3. It has daily important tasks in it

If you havent really figured out what goals are, please do it now. Constructing a daily to-do list is much
easier after this and it brings clarity into you daily actions.
Once you have nailed down your goals and where you want to be in the next 1-3 year timeframe, you
should consistently include sub-tasks related to your goals in your daily plan.
This is the only way to keep the ball rolling and even if you did just something small related to you goal, it is
still much better than doing nothing at all.
Businesswise, those important tasks are the ones that will bring you biggest returns. These could be for
example getting traffic and exposure to your blog, relationship building with others, e-mail list building or
creating new products and services for your audience.
Dont spend all available free time on your tasks

How much you can do on a daily basis (after 5 PM anyways) depends also on your life situation. Are you
single? Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife? Kids maybe? Depending on your answer, you
may know how much you can work on your tasks.
For example, if living single, you can pretty much control 100% of your time and how you spend it. Even if
this is the case, you shouldnt tie yourself up completely to your own world in the sake of productivity. You
dont want to become a hermit!
Go outside, exercise, relax and take breaks and have a social life. By this way you can actually energize
yourself and get more things done.
If you live in a relationship or if you have kids, its equally important to spend time with your loved ones.
Have set times when you are working and the rest of the time is spent with your family. When you are done
working for that day, thats it. Close your computer, so the temptation to start doing something again is
not so big.
Take advantage of available time slots or mutual possibilities

Here are some tips to make things even smoother, when living with someone else while you are building
your online business.
1. Utilize the time your partner spends on his/her hobbies
What does your spouse do which in turn gives you time to do your tasks at the same time? Think of those
as opportunities to do your own stuff as much as you can.
For example, my wife is studying a foreign language every week. I have seen this as an opportunity to do
my own tasks at the same time. These include doing my workouts, creating content for my blog and
collaborating with others.
2. Television time
Does your spouse watch TV shows that you are not watching?
This is another time-slot to work on your tasks. There are certain times of the week, when I know that my
wife is glued to the television and that gives me a chance to build my business at the same time.
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3. Sleeping time
When writing this report, I like to do it the first thing in the morning. This is possible, since on weekdays I
tend to wake up earlier than my wife.
Each day after waking up and having a breakfast, I spend 30 minutes of my time in front of the computer to
do something that is related to my goals (like writing this report).
Morning time in a quiet home is something that I find to be one of the most productive parts of my day.
Plan, plan, plan! You need to have goals and your daily tasks are action steps towards your goals
Have three kinds of lists: Goals, weekly list and daily list
Have a balanced task list dont overstuff it!
Fitting together a family life and building your online business may be tough. Try to find time slots
when you can work on your business, for example when your partner is on his/her own hobbies.
Give time for your family as well they are the most important people around you
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Habit #3: 4 Ways To Focus On One Project At A

Time
To do two things at once is to do neither.
Publius Syrus
Although the sentence on focusing on one project at a time may sound like a
clich, it is still a fundamental part of getting your things done on your business.
Focus is everything. Without it, you cannot get anything done or if you could,
you would be spending much more time to do it than necessary.
Naturally, the first level of focus is to have a goal, which you work towards, which in turn dictates what
your daily action list looks like. But on a smaller level, it means how concentrated you are to do the task at
hand.
Focus is everything. Without it, you cannot get anything done or if you could, you
would be spending much more time to do it than necessary.
Are you able to concentrate on one thing at a time and move on to the next? What can you do to make this
happen?
1. Use certain periods of time

One way that I have found effective is to do a task within a certain scope of time. For example, this text that
you can see is written on a train. I have a timer application (Free Countdown Timer) to keep track of the
time spent, so as soon as my 45 minutes is up, I can stop working on this and do something else.
You can do the same with any mobile phone set an alarm going off after a certain period of time to notify
you when to stop working.
Setting a timer counting down the seconds and minutes is a very powerful tool, I have experienced that this
helps me to fully concentrate on my tasks and do nothing else during that time.
2. Eliminate distractions as much as you can

Although this is self-explanatory, I still decided to bring this one up. Since majority of people are not able to
concentrate well or are jumpy because of distractions, you have to make sure that your environment is as
distraction-free as possible.
Turning your mobile phone to mute (and turning it so that the display is facing the table surface), turning
off e-mail or at least turning off the notification and turning off the instant messaging client are something
that should be done as soon as you get started.
3. Use certain part of the day

One thing that is closely related to previous section, but which I feel that should be mentioned separately is
using a certain part of the day for getting things done.
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For me, this means early mornings, before going to work. When working on a computer, our home is still
very quiet, since Im the only one awake. It is a perfect time to work on my own projects fully concentrated,
with no distractions.
4. Get some sleep

There is one thing that is absolutely the most important thing, when it comes to focusing on your projects:
sleep!
Try to work tired and even if you focus on one project at a time, it becomes merely impossible to get
anything done. Therefore it is vital to get enough sleep every night.
If you have troubles of sleeping at night, take a 20-minute nap during afternoon. It boosts your
productivity, focus and creativity tremendously!
Work in an distraction-free environment: no mobile phones, e-mail notifications or other

distractions allowed
Try to find out the most quiet part of the day and dedicate that to working on your projects
Have enough sleep, so that you can focus well enough when working
Have fixed blocks of time when working use a timer to improve your focus
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Habit #4: 5 Reasons To Turn Off Your Computer

And Improve Your Productivity
A man must be master of his hours and days, not their servant.
William Frederick Book
You can increase your productivity by doing something that is completely

different than your task you want to accomplish. Many times people
neglect this part completely, since this may feel a bit illogical.
However, when applying these habits, you can actually improve your
productivity, sometimes even dramatically.
1. Eat nutritious food on regular basis

You can control your energy levels by making decisions on your nutrition on daily basis. The following list
describes some of the core principles of my diet that Im using. This diet works for me. However, this is just
me, so you should consult your doctor for advice if this nutrition is suitable for you or not:
Regular eating times: 3 hours between meals the maximum

Less sugar: Almost no sweets, only occasionally
Fish and Omega-3 fatty acids: Whether by eating fish or taking Omega-3 pills
Vegetables, root vegetables, raw food: Salads, carrots, tomatoes, seeds
No fast food at all (on very rare occasions maybe): I have cut down french fries, burgers, pizzas,
potato chips
Fewer but better carbohydrates: Whole grain bread instead of white bread, whole grain rice, whole
grain pasta
As much organic food as possible
Coffee 2 cups per day the maximum (I used to drink 6-7 cups per day)
Cutting down alcohol to minimum
Drink enough water
Does this look like a too difficult diet to follow? I would say that this is something that you have to get used
to first, but eventually things get better. However, as mentioned earlier, we are all individuals and as such,
everyone should consult their doctor or nutrition expert first to learn what kind of nutrition is the most
suitable for them.
This kind of diet makes me more energetic and because of that, I am able to be more productive.
2. Exercise enough
This cannot be stressed enough; you need to exercise regularly in order to keep yourself fit and productive.
I have noticed that exercising is a great way to make me feel good and energized. It has been said that for
regular people, 30 minutes, 3-4 times per week should be enough. But the core principle here is the
consistency.
So what kind of exercise is good then? Naturally as a runner and triathlete, I like to run, drive bicycle and
swim throughout the year. During the winter months I like to go to the gym, cross-country ski and aqua-jog
as well.
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But the best way for you to exercise is to try out different sports and figure out what works out the best for
you. Also, you should consult your doctor or hire a personal trainer to discuss what kind of sport is the most
suitable for you. We are all individuals, so what might be good for me, might not be good for someone
else.
Although exercising is physical activity, it is mental activity as well. I get many good ideas during my training
sessions and feel just awesome after the work-out.
Also, getting some fresh air on daily basis is important too. If you work on your computer all day, it is highly
recommended that you go out and grab some fresh air.
3. Take naps
Sometimes I feel tired after getting back home from work. That is why I may take a nap after coming back
home. Your nap doesnt have to be that long in order to be effective.
The 20 minute nap is the best for me. If you are really tired, you can fall asleep for 15 minutes and wake up
refreshed. However, when the napping time gets longer, my productivity goes down.
I used to sleep one hour (or even more) naps in the afternoon and I was really feeling stuck after waking
up. Also, it took me quite a while (like 15-30 minutes) to recover from my nap. Thats why I was really
excited to realize, that you can feel refreshed even by taking 20 minute naps only.
I have gained the most dramatic increases in my productivity after napping. I believe that napping just 20
minutes maximum does the trick. You are able to load your batteries enough and able to work on your
personal tasks for that evening much easier than without napping.
The last thing to note about napping is the time when you take them. I like to nap sometime between 2 PM
and 5 PM. If it gets later than that, it may be too close to the time when Im getting to bed later in the
evening. So this is something that you should take into consideration, when you decide to take a nap.
4. Taking breaks (10-15 minute)

Working hours and hours without taking any breaks is just madness (at least for me). I seem to be able to
get more done, when I do things in certain time chunks (like in 30 minute chunks) and then take a quick
break between another 30 minute session.
Taking a break clears your mind. Especially if you do something completely different than what you were
doing right before the break, the more effective your break is going to be.
5. Enough sleep
I think that this is self-explanatory, but I still wanted to include this here. Getting enough sleep is
mandatory in order for you to be productive.
Getting enough sleep is mandatory in order for you to be productive.
The amount of sleep depends on the person, but the regular amount for a normal adult is between 7-8
hours. I have noticed that if I get less sleep than this, I have hard time of concentrating on anything and also
I might get a headache because of lack of sleep.
In order to sleep better (thus increasing the chances for better quality sleep), here are some things I have
done personally to improve the quality of my sleep:
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17
Buy new quality bed and linens (if possible)

Have a room that is dark enough buy new darkening curtains if necessary
Quiet environment (even with earplugs)
The temperature is right (not too cold, not too hot)
Ventilate your bedroom before going to bed
Read a book before going to sleep
Dedicate the bedroom only for sleeping (and other activities if you live in a relationship ;) )
Have only the essential furniture keep it decluttered
Try to avoid working there instead, have a dedicated space for your work-related matters
Keep the air flowing to your bedroom through the night (for example, we have the door open
to entrance hall all night rather than keeping the bedroom door completely closed)
With these steps, you can make improvements to the quality of your sleep.
Eat healthy, nutritious food. However, consult a doctor or nutritionist to see the right diet for you
Exercise enough. Figure out the right sports for you (for example, hire a personal trainer)
Take naps, 20 minutes max, if you feel tired during the afternoons
Take breaks between work sessions
Try to sleep at least 7-8 hours per night
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18
Habit #5: Why You Need To Create A System

And Follow It Every Day
Dont watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.
Samuel Levenson
In order to move towards your goal, you first need to have a plan in place. Then
you break it down to daily task lists, which includes not only important tasks, but
some less-important as well.
However, I have realized that if I have the same structure of the days and weeks all the time, and it gives a
good foundation on consistency.
You have to find out the optimum structure for your days, but once you have done that, you can keep
working with that blueprint day after day, week after week, and you know quite well, what you should be
doing next.
It is like a template that you use on a daily basis and then just apply some moving parts here and there.
If I have the same structure of the days and weeks all the time, it gives a good
foundation on consistency
For example, my structure of tasks is pretty much the same on a weekly basis:
Monday- Friday:
Morning Office Hours Afternoon, back from work

Content creation Office hours (nap)
Workout 1 Workout 2
(Swimming/going to gym) (Swimming/Running/Biki
ng)
Working on my business:
Content creation,
promotion, relationship
building
Reading a book
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19
Saturdays:
Morning Afternoon, back from work

Workout 1 (nap)
(Swimming/going to gym) Workout 2
Miscellaneous stuff from (Swimming/Running/Biki
my weekly list ng)
Working on my business:
Content creation,
promotion, relationship
building
Reading a book
Sundays:
Morning Afternoon, back from work

Planning next weeks task (nap)
list Workout 2
Brainstorming for future (Swimming/Running/Biki
post topics and outlines ng)
for them Random tasks from my
Household chores weekly lists
Reading a book
As you can see, there are certain things are repeated over and over again. Im building my business every
day except on Sundays.
For example, from Mondays till Fridays I work on my business by creating content, promoting it,
networking with other bloggers and building my list. On Saturdays I work only during the afternoon hours.
On Sundays I work only on brainstorming new ideas for my online business.
(*However, as I stated that if I have a deadline like when writing this report, I work on Sundays as well)
My exercise routine is also very consistent. I do certain exercises on a certain day. Also, my book reading
happens almost daily and during the weekends I try to concentrate more to book reading than during the
weekdays.
Weekends have a different structure than the weekdays and especially the Sundays have the biggest
differences than the rest of the days.
I want to take a complete day off from exercising or and off working on my business (at least lot less than
during the weekdays). Also, that day is dedicated to household chores or random tasks that I want to get
done (but which are not urgent). Sundays are for relaxation as well.
When to do what
You may be wondering, how is it possible for me to have two training sessions in a day and all the other
tasks as well, if I have a 9-5 job? The answer is simple: I take advantage of the early hours of morning to do
some of the tasks.
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20
There would be no way for me to accomplish everything, if I didnt wake up earlier and do some of the
tasks before going to office. These tasks are basically the first exercise session of the day and working on
my blog.
Becoming an early riser may be something that takes time to get used to, especially if one hasnt got used
to that earlier. But once that becomes a habit, you then appreciate it.
I take advantage of the early hours of morning to do some of the tasks.
I could wake up later, but then I would feel awkward, because I didnt work on tasks that eventually lead to
my goals. That is enough motivation to wake me up early enough (05.45 AM thats during the weekdays,
but NOT on weekends ).
There is another benefit when doing certain things (the most important ones) early in the morning. If I left
all the tasks for the afternoon and for somehow I wasnt able to do any of those then, nothing would get
done that day. However, since I do some of the work already in the morning, Im relieved to know that I
was at least able to proceed a bit, when I did these tasks during the morning time.
Build routines that support your system

With small changes in your daily actions (when done daily), you eventually create new habits, that support
your productivity and your consistent system as well.
I have noticed that these small changes in my daily life make all the difference:
Clean your desk after working. It is much easier for you to start working again with a clean
table.
Have a fixed routine for mornings and evenings; pack your stuff and prepare your clothes
the night before. Create a routine to start your day the same way the same goes for
evenings as well.
Take down notes. This is especially important, if you do something the first time and are
still in the learning phase of something new. Once you have the instructions jotted down, it
is easier to do that thing again perhaps even use that checklist when outsourcing that
task to someone else.
Make checklists. I think this is widely underutilized task that people do. For example,
I set up a new blog by using a checklist I have already created before to make sure
everything necessary is in place before I hit the production phase.
Store your ideas when you are on the move. Or at least if not taking care of them right
now, make a calendar notification, for example to your mobile phone. I use my mobile
phones calendar as a place to store my ideas which can be then used in my future blog
posts or for other content purposes.
Be selfish. Sometimes you just need to dedicate some time to yourself in order to get
things done.
With some small tweaks like these, you can improve your personal productivity in certain situations even
dramatically.
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21
Keep on tweaking and optimizing your system and routines all the time
You should keep tweaking and optimizing your system whenever you can. Try to see what works and what
not. For example, I have tweaked and optimized my afternoon routines quite a bit, in order to find the most
effective one.
If you think that you have come up with an idea, that would improve your productivity even a bit, test it
and then decide, if it is something that you want to keep.
For example, during my morning activities, I used to watch television when I eat my breakfast (at least
during the weekdays). I decided to stop doing that, because on the other hand I would be able to better
concentrate on my breakfast, but also, because that meant taking couple of extra steps away from my
morning routine, which in turn took some extra minutes away.
Also, there was a much bigger risk for me to actually start watching the television intensively, rather than
just putting it on, thus loosing time.
Because of those reasons, I decided to tweak my own system a bit and see how it works. So far, it has
worked perfectly and Im continuing to execute this habit in the future as well.
Build a consistent system that works for you tweak it whenever necessary
Take advantage of early morning hours to work on your business
Build routines to support your system
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22
Habit #6: Why You Should Do Your Most

Important Task First Thing In The Morning
If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, the rest of your day will be
wonderful.
-Mark Twain
Mark Twain understood it perfectly: If you eat a frog first thing in the
morning, the rest of your day will be wonderful. I have kept this idea as
one of the core principles of how I prioritize my day or my week.
Eating a frog means doing the most important task first thing in the
morning so that the rest of your day is much less stressful. The task may
be hard to do physically or it can be mentally challenging.
For example, sometime ago I was told to keep a customer presentation in an event. I was a bit nervous
about it as I would imagine most of the people would be, when presenting something to 20+ people and
you are in the middle of the attention.
However, I was relieved to know, that my presentation in that event (that lasted couple of hours) was first
one in that morning, so I knew that once I get the task done, I can relax a bit and watch the other
presentations after that.
Eventually, I finished the presentation and felt just great. Not only because the presentation went well, but
also because I was the first one to do the presentation.
How to spot the most important task in your list

I think the easiest way to do it is to check you daily plan, identify what feelings are associated with each
task and how important that task is for reaching your goal.
Easiest way to sport your most important/difficult/boring task is to check you daily
plan, identify what feelings are associated with each task.
For example, I know that I love to learn more about internet marketing and blogging, so I rather spend all
my day by hanging out forums, blogs and watching online training. I feel excited about that topic.
However, I also know that I have to put it as last thing on my list for a given day.
Rather than spending all day just learning, I have to take action on the important things first (like creating
content for my blog).
The reason for this type of order is, that the doing part is the most important task for me, instead of just
watching or learning. However, the feeling associated to doing part may sometimes be less excited, but I
know that I have to do it, in order to progress in my online business efforts.
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23
Identify your most important task by checking out how you feel about it. Do the important one first
Put the fun activities as last things to do on your list get the work done first and then enjoy some
play However, be sure that there is the fun part as well. Although you are building your business,
occasional pleasure is needed
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24
Habit #7: 4 Spare Moments To Take Advantage

Of When Building Your Business
To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.
- Eva Young
Many times we find excuses of not doing something, because we dont

have time to do it. However, when looking at the schedule of peoples daily
calendars and task lists, this reveals that they may have some periods of
time during the day available after all, when something important could be
done.
There are empty slots available, but for the most parts, they are just
wasted, because they are ignored. Your job is to learn to identify these slots
and decide how they can be taken as your advantage.
The empty periods I have identified

I have noticed that there are four situations occurring in my calendar frequently, which enable me to do
something else than just being unproductive. Naturally you may have some other situations in your daily
life which can be filled with your important tasks, but this is my list. Also, this list is not definite, so other
spots can be identified as well.
1. Riding in a train
Taking a train ride used to be boring, because I just used to sit in my seat and watch scenery. Maybe I went
to restaurant cart to grab a cup of coffee, but that was it.
Then I realized that this was a perfect time block for creating some content for my blog but also for going
through some online training material as well. The way I prepared for this was that I downloaded all the
material to my laptop the night before the trip and I was able to go through that material while sitting on a
train. Also, I started to carry reports and books with me, so that I could read as well.
This has reduced the amount of travelling time dramatically at least this is how I feel. Im fully
concentrated on the training material, content creation or educating myself with books, so the train ride
goes much quicker and the time is not wasted.
2. Early mornings
I tend to do some work on my projects, before going to work. This has ensured that I can progress in my
projects at least a bit every day.
Morning time (especially when everyone else is sleeping) is a perfect time to work on your business,
because you can fully concentrate on your tasks. No noise, no distractions just silence.
3. When your spouse is off

My wife and I have our own hobbies and that means that sometimes Im alone at home, while she is
participating to her hobbies. This is a perfect time for me to work on my projects.
The benefit is, that I can make progress on my projects and finally when she comes back home, Im more
than happy to finish my work and spend the rest of the time with her.
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25
4. Television
I dont watch television on weekly basis that much. Although we both have the same favorite shows that
we love to watch, she might also have a show she is watching but that might not be that interesting to me.
This is something that I take on my advantage. Every time this kind of thing occurs, I work on my own stuff
instead.
Also, I think that in general, watching less television has been a good thing. For example, I have cut down
the amount of news Im watching and that has given me additional time for my weekly tasks.
Main takeaway from this chapter:
Find out the empty spots in your daily calendar. By this way you can realize the times when you can
work on your own stuff
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26
Final Thoughts
I hope that you have enjoyed this free report and can take most out of it! Like I mentioned, these habits are
based on my own experiences and I wanted to give some ideas for you as well, that can be applied in your
daily tasks.
Before I let you go and start implementing these habits, I have two wishes I wanted to say:
1) After reading the report, send me your feedback of this report. Im more than happy to receive
feedback on how to improve this report even further
2) Share this report with your friends and peers
3) Visit my blog and leave comments there
I hope that I could make your day more productive!
Kind Regards,
Timo Kiander
Web: http://www.timokiander.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/timokiander
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kiander
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/timokiander
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7 Successful Time Management Habits For Online Entrepreneurs

How did I realize the importance of time management?

Based on a true story

Who should read this report?

Have a productive day!

Habit #1: How To Create Habits of Success

Planning my day the night before

How to form a habit?

Sometimes it takes more time than 30 days to make a habit stick

Planning your habit

Be consistent and persistent

Unlearn the bad habits

For me, these bad habits have been for example:

Getting too little sleep

Main takeaways from this chapter are:

Some new successful habits to form in your business are:

Wake up earlier to work on your business before getting to work

Habit #2: One Word To Ignore And You Will Fail

However, this depends (at least partly) on your goals.

Your plan depends on your goals

Task list is the key

Task list characteristics

My task list has these certain characteristics:

It describes what Im doing outside the office hours on my free time

Promote my latest blog post (AM)

Write an guest post (AM)

Cleaning our home (AM)

From those two examples you can see that:

Limit the amount of tasks on your daily task list

Read a self-help book: Name of the book here

My goals list (part of it):

You need to decide what is important and what is not

3 characteristics of a good daily to-do list

1. Its well balanced

2. Its not overstuffed

3. It has daily important tasks in it

Dont spend all available free time on your tasks

Take advantage of available time slots or mutual possibilities

1. Utilize the time your partner spends on his/her hobbies

Main takeaways from this chapter are:

Habit #3: 4 Ways To Focus On One Project At A

1. Use certain periods of time

2. Eliminate distractions as much as you can

3. Use certain part of the day

4. Get some sleep

Main takeaways from this chapter are:

Work in an distraction-free environment: no mobile phones, e-mail notifications or other

Habit #4: 5 Reasons To Turn Off Your Computer

You can increase your productivity by doing something that is completely

1. Eat nutritious food on regular basis

Regular eating times: 3 hours between meals the maximum

4. Taking breaks (10-15 minute)

Getting enough sleep is mandatory in order for you to be productive.

Buy new quality bed and linens (if possible)

Main takeaways from this chapter are:

Habit #5: Why You Need To Create A System

Morning Office Hours Afternoon, back from work

Morning Afternoon, back from work

Morning Afternoon, back from work

I take advantage of the early hours of morning to do some of the tasks.

Build routines that support your system

Main takeaways from this chapter are:

Habit #6: Why You Should Do Your Most