Day-Timer offers a list of 15 ways to save time – with tips around reducing clutter, planning ahead, clear priorities and more. Here’s tips 11 and 12:

“11. It has been said that the two-letter word no is the single most effective time management tool there is.

12. Are you a “morning person” or a “night person”? Each of us has a biological clock — that is, certain times of day when we are most alert and at peak energy and other times when we’re not. You will save time if you do your most difficult or demanding work during your high-energy hours. Postpone your routine chores and low-priority tasks until your “down time.”“

My Comments
1. Some people debate whether it’s possible to “save time.” If you fall into that camp, think about these as “ways of reducing the time you take to do common things.”

2. Tip 8 touches on checklists. With all the long-haul international travel I’ve done recently, I have developed a pretty comprehensive packing checklist. Rather than feeling pressured in advance of this last trip, I felt … pressured that I wasn’t feeling pressured. It was weird – the checklist made the process so easy, that I wondered what I was missing.

3. Over the long term, I believe the biggest time waster is being unclear about priorities, or having “cluttered thinking” about what your priorities are. Because then you/I spend time on the wrong things – or at least, the sub-optimal things – and we miss out on working on those projects and initiatives that would move our lives, careers, and businesses forward.

4. Right, I have my #1 priority targeted for tomorrow. What about you?