There are things in life that, if we lose or damage them, we can always get more. Time is not one of them. When it is gone, there is no way to get it back. But if you realize that a certain period of your life was less productive or was lost in some way, there is no point in rehashing it. There is nothing you can do about it but learn from your mistakes.

Meditate on why you feel that time in your life was unproductive. Analyze what you did wrong, what kept you back, what contributed to your failures, etc. The information you gather will be useful when it comes to establishing new goals for organizing your time more efficiently. Here is some valuable advice to think about when making your plan:

Decide your priorities, desires and aspirations and make time to accomplish them. You’ll get the feeling that your time has been used in the best way. Concentrate on choosing things that you always said you wanted to do, but which you never did. That will give you the impression that you somehow made up for lost time.

Don’t postpone duties, taxes, apologies to people you hurt, time with your family. These actions have a certain charm and offer a certain feeling of wholeness and serenity.

We have busy lives, and we have many things to do each day. It is important to make good choices and focus on the priorities. You won’t be able to satisfy everybody, but you will be able to focus on the people you really care about. It is them you do not want to let down. That does not mean you must neglect people seeking help or support, but do not try to please everybody all at once. You’ll become exhausted, and you’ll end up disappointing everybody.

Try to deal only with people who are also efficient with their time. Don’t waste your time with people who are often late, who postpone or miss meetings. Be in contact only with serious people who understand how precious time is. Otherwise, you’ll permanently feel slighted. If your job obliges you to deal with this kind of person, have a back-up plan, something else to do, so you don’t waste precious time.

Learn to do more than one thing at a time. Do not to turn into Napoleon, but keep your options open. For example, do your nails while in the bath, exercise while watching TV, listen to the news while cooking, read the newspaper on the bus, have breakfast while you’re answering e-mails. Don’t forget that there is not time for all the things we must do, so combine them.

Use these tips with a correct diet, frequent exercise and sleep no more than eight hours a night. Remember that time is a gift. You can live as you’re supposes to – like every day was the best day of your life.