Time is great equalizer. Everybody has exact same number of hours in each day. For most people, hours available are usually less than hours needed to get everything done. However, by using following principles of creativity, you should be able get more done in less time, while making certain that you are doing what's most important and moving yourself closer to your goals.

1. Start with quiet focus

When you have a lot to do, your first instinct is probably to hit ground running. If you feel you have a tremendous amount to do, you may feel urge to jump in and get started on your work. Rather than doing that, take a few minutes to get calm and organize your thoughts. Think of this as a short form of meditation - just try to empty your mind. After you have done this, your focus, energy, and perspective will all be improved. Taking a few minutes up front to center yourself can make you tremendously more productive.

2. Brainstorm your day

Take a piece of paper (it can be a loose sheet, but it can be helpful if it's part of a designated notebook or planner) and write down everything you need to do that day. Let your mind flow, and get everything out. As with all creative exercises, don't criticize your ideas - don't think of something you'd like to do and then not write it down because you think you won't be able to do it or that you shouldn't do it. The most important thing here is that you get everything onto page.

3. Apply 80/20 Rule to your List

Take this list you've created and apply 80/20 rule to it. Remember, 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your effort. Circle only 20% of items that will yield 80% of those results. This step will focus your day down to critical tasks you must get down.

4. Chunk Up

For each circled activity, chunk up. Put bigger picture in perspective. This will refocus and motivate you to work on it. Or, it may make you realize that task is not as important as you thought. Having a 'why' is very helpful in getting us to work towards our goal, especially if task is something we're not excited about doing.

5. Chunk Down

For each circled item remaining on list, chunk down. Break items down into smaller parts. You should strive to get them to a point where each task is broken down into a series of single action items. How big each item is depends on your work style. I like my action items to be things I can complete between 15 minutes and 1 hour.

Improving asset productivity may be part of answer.

Enhancing stakeholder value is tougher in a growth-restricted economy, however strong management of asset productivity will give most organizations more financial options. When many companies are pulling in their horns, seeking ways to protect profits, and basically trying to survive, finding ways to make idle or under-utilized assets work harder will strengthen company's financial health.

Total asset productivity is basically sales divided by average difference between operating assets and operating liabilities during a given period of time expressed as a percentage. Financial people understand this concept well, but somehow it doesn't easily translate into line management - very people responsible for effective use of corporate assets. Global Marketing finds that many companies work hard at portions of asset management such as inventory control, but this is more of a piece-meal approach. Asset management including improvements, timetables and expected results should be a key part of any company's on-going business strategy.

Case in point...

A mid-size industrial instrumentation company benefited from a new strategy that focused on increasing asset productivity. After a number of years of explosive growth, sluggish economy significantly reduced growth-rate of firm. Profits came under pressure, cost-cutting measures were implemented, but shareholder value continued to decline. Together with senior management, Global Marketing benchmarked present asset productivity. The results yielded a stunner! Barely 40% of company's assets contributed to 100% of profits. Basically, 60% of their assets were idle or significantly under performing.