Many people stop developing their raw talent once they become embedded in workforce. Mistake! In today's job market, we have to be flexible, ready to move to new areas, within a company or outside of it. Also, people are demanding higher levels of fulfillment, which requires investment of personal and career growth. Or perhaps career you thought you wanted-or were told you wanted-is no longer for you. This is where your raw talent can be your strongest asset.

Let your preferences lead you. We all excel at what arouses our interest or passion. The energy you feel when yelling for your favorite team can be focused into commitment to developing an area of raw talent.

Revive past interests, such as hang gliding, a daily walk at sunset with your partner, painting, or writing. Nurture underused skills, such as public speaking, animal breeding, mentoring, or a flair for research. Keep in mind raw talent that you begin with may lead you to raw talent you really want to build on. You have to start somewhere. Another indication of raw talent is hearing others talk about some activity and wishing you could try it. You can! Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself where you will be in ten years, if you stay with same job. Look around at co-workers who have already achieved those ten years-do they seem happy? Finally, would you advise younger people you care about to follow your exact life?

If answers are negative, you may be ready to make new choices. Think of feelings of freedom and possibility you had at college graduation. Think what it would be like to again experience that excitement, learning, and growth.

* Focus on one day at a time.

* Live moment.

* Forget yesterday and look forward to tomorrow. If you are guilty about what happened yesterday, or are anxious about what might happen tomorrow, your energy will be dissipated.

* Plan your work, then work your plan.

* What good and bad habits have you developed? Reinforce good daily patterns and break bad.

* Be an "early bird".

Habits start as consciously made decisions, eg.. what time to get up. Once established, good habits become second nature.

Success is result of habit. It depends not so much on doing unusual, but on doing commonplace unusually well.

DON'T PROCRASTINATE - DO IT NOW

Don't confuse being busy with working efficiently - activities can be tension-relieving, not goal achieving. By concentrating on fewer, priorities regularly on a fixed schedule, you can achieve a lot more in less time.

IS TIME THE PROBLEM OR ARE YOU?

Draw up a daily "to do" list. Rank priority tasks (the important few), as well as trivial many. This allows you to focus on fewer things and achieve more. Sort into A, B & C's

A's are important and urgent. Must do today.

B's are important and not urgent. Want to do today.

C's are not important. Today, if possible or delegate.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS:

1. LIST YOUR GOALS AND SET PRIORITIES:

* Life Goals * Work Goals * Identify Short Term A's. 2. MAKE A DAILY "TO DO" LIST

* Set A B C's * Don't schedule every minute of day.

3. Start with A's - NOT WITH C's

A's are 80% of everything. Make inroads into A's every chance you get. Use 'Swiss Cheese' approach, ie. Identify small tasks that will poke a hole in a big one. Do these in your odd moments. Do anything that moves A along.

4. ASK YOURSELF: WHAT IS THE BEST USE OF MY TIME RIGHT NOW?

Why waste time on C's if you've an A to do? Fight habits and just filling in time.

5. HANDLE EACH PIECE OF PAPER ONLY ONCE

Have a C drawer

6. DO IT NOW!