Nicole Jensen's Events Career Blog

Do you know when the last hour of your day is? If you do, then you’ll know when you have to get everything done. If you don’t, your hours in between the first and the unknown last hour will not be as productive.

1. Reflect on the day by journaling.

This is rather sound advice that I don’t adhere to. Journaling forces you to think about what you’ve done, and provides some understanding of what you should do in the future.

2. Write a list of the top three things you want to accomplish the next day.

Kenneth Chenault, CEO and Chairman of American Express, creates tomorrow’s “top three” list at the end of the day and then uses it to start his next day, Abbey Reider said.

3. Exercise.

Many like to start their day with exercise, others like to use it as a cool down from a stressful day. Do what works for you.

4. Excuses don’t make you successful.

All of this sounds great, if I had all the time in the world. But … no one became successful with excuses. You’re not supposed to do everything on this list. You’re supposed to find what works for you, and do it.

5. Know what the last hour of your day is

This is probably the most important piece of advice to maintain your work/personal life sanity. While having an active mind about work can be good for you and your business, don’t be a work “grazer.” If you trickle your work day off by answering one more email or one more Facebook update, you’ll constantly feel exhausted and you’ll never get any truly “free time,” which is key for reenergizing.