Do you ever feel like you have more and more to do but less time to do it? Feeling stressed at the thought of all the things that need to get done? Effective time management will help you accomplish more each day, and by maximizing productivity, you can save time and cut down on stress.

Here are 5 tips to make the most of your time:

1) At the start of each day, take 10 minutes to plan your to-do list.

Planning your day can help you feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes. By prioritizing your tasks you will be able to ensure you work on tasks that are the most important first. Also, by having a written to-do list, you eliminate the possibility of forgetting to take care of an important task, thereby decreasing your stress level.

2) Keep your desk and e-mails organized.

Having to search for what you need adds up to many wasted minutes each week as well as increasing your stress levels. Instead, save time by organizing your desk, computer and e-mail system so information is easily accessible.

3) Take breaks and eat lunch.

No matter how busy you are or how long your to-do list is, take short breaks and eat lunch. Study after study has shown that everyone works better with an occasional break, and no one can continue to function at peak efficiency without food. You might not feel hungry, but your body (not to mention your brain) needs nourishment.

4) Do not multitask.

There is an illusion that we will accomplish more if we multitask, but several studies have shown that this isn’t true. Be sure that you work on only one task at a time. Focusing on one task allows you to have the necessary concentration to accomplish the task with the highest possible standard.

5) Practice the 10-minute rule.

Work on a dreaded task for 10 minutes each day. Once you get started, you may find you can finish it. Also, if you divide large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks you can work on them a few minutes at a time until you get them all done.

I’ve been eyeing the iPhone since it first came out, but the pricetag kept me away. Then the price dropped to $399, and I started to reconsider it. And finally, after months of procrastination, I decided to get one. And just before I bought mine, I got the heads-up on a special hush-hush deal that AT&T had. Get an 8GB iPhone for $249, or a 4GB iPhone for $199. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Here’s the deal. Right now, you can go on Apple’s site and pick up a refurbished 8GB iPhone for $350, and save $50 over a new one. Certain AT&T stores in the Northeast are now selling these same refurbished 8GB iPhones for only $249! They are absolutely MINT, and come with the same 1-year warranty that the new phones have. They’re SUPPOSED to be for new AT&T customers, but a number of people have had luck getting the phone without a contract (and subsequently jailbreaking the phone for use on another network).

I was with Verizon for the past 8 years, so I was reluctant to switch carriers, but there really is nothing else that holds a candle to the iPhone. So I made a few phone calls, found a store that had the refurbs in stock (an AT&T kiosk at the mall, go figure!), and ran down to get mine. It’s everything I expected, and then some!

Deal not sweet enough for you? If I refer you to AT&T prior to you purchasing your iPhone, you’ll get a free $25 AT&T gift card! All you need to do is contact me with your name and e-mail address, and I’ll send you the referral link..

Enjoy!

A good friend of mine left his full-time job about 4 years ago, and has made his living through his e-commerce site since then. At the time, this particular niche didn’t have a huge presence online, and he was able to make a decent living from it. But over time, more and more competition has threatened his business, and as such his profits have diminished. Couple that with a soft economy (dare we say Recession?), and his business is hurting. The business model is solid, and I believe that with the right SEO, SEM, and Social Marketing initiatives, he could make a name for his business and do VERY well. In the meantime, he’s dabbled in affiliate marketing, making around $9000 last year from his efforts..

The million dollar question: “What do you do?”

The question is made all the harder, as a recruiter recently contacted him and offered him a 2-year contract position that pays $130K/yr! But after 4 years of working without a boss, the thought of going back into the corporate world is daunting.. Yet it’s hard to argue with guaranteed income, especially when it’s paying that much.

I honestly don’t know what to tell him. On the one hand, I truly believe that he has a solid business, and with the right amount of time and nurturing, he’ll be able to make a GREAT living with it - Or even sell it to one of his competitors for a mountain of money! But things aren’t always as simple as they seem, and he might regret not taking the guaranteed money that comes with this contract.

Napolean Hill would have you believe that the mere thought about an exit strategy is setting yourself up for failure, and that you must have absolute faith and determination in order to succeed. What do you think?

As we near April 15th, the question that keeps coming up is, “Do I have to pay taxes on my affiliate income?” Of course you do!!

This topic came up today on Shawn Collins blog, and was also covered by John Chow a few days ago. They both covered it in-depth, so I’ll spare you the rehash. The bottom line is this: If you’ve got a question, contact an accountant. A blog is treated like a business, and as such, you can take a number of deductions.. But no one is more well-versed in IRS deductions and loop holes than a certified tax accountant, so it’s definitely worth the expense to have a professional handle your taxes.

Should you setup an LLC or Corporation for your websites? Should you buy a Hummer H2 (like Zac Johnson or Shoemoney) for the Section 179 tax writeoff? (Did you know that the amount of that deduction changed, and might even be phased out this year?) Should you lease instead of buying a car? Should I be paying quarterly taxes? These questions can only be answered by an accountant that knows your current financial situation.

My accountant was able to save me $5000 last year compared to TurboTax or TaxCut. Considering his bill was only around $300, I’d say that was money well spent!

One thing that many small business owners fail to consider when going out on their own is dental coverage. Most people will get some sort of health insurance, but people tend to forget about their teeth. If and when you do need work done on your teeth, you’ll see that without insurance, things can get VERY expensive in a hurry. And when you look at the different dental insurance plans out there, you’ll find that most have 12-18 month waiting periods before any major work (root canals, bridges, etc) will be covered by them. Not to mention, the insurance plans are quite pricey.

An alternative that you might not have considered is a discount dental plan. These are plans that offer you full coverage almost immediately, and offer a significant savings over regular dentist pricing. There are many plans to choose from, so do your homework before jumping into a new plan. DentalPlans.com has been an industry leader bringing individuals, families and groups affordable and comprehensive discount dental plans. You can go on their website and search for your preferred dentist, and see which plans they accept. Then you can compare the plans, and see which one works best for you.

There are no sign-up fees, and plans start as low as $79/yr! So don’t delay, check out DentalPlans.com and get enrolled today!

Over the years, I’ve gone through a number of different web hosting companies. It’s a tough business, built on razor-thin margins, and often service and performance suffer as a result. Some hosts try to cram too many users on a single server, which results in pages coming up very SLOOOOWLY.. Worse yet, many places skimp on their support staff. Of course, you’ll never notice this when things are working correctly, but when your site goes down and you try to contact support, you’ll soon discover what a hellish experience it really is!

Thankfully, there are still some good guys out there giving us great service at reasonable prices. How does this sound?

10 Gigabyte Hosting Space
Host 6 Domains on 1 Account!!!
2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts
250 GIGS of Transfer
SSL, FTP, Stats
CGI, PHP, MySQL
2000/2002/2003 Front Page Extensions
Free Domain Forever!
Free Site Builder (NEW)
Superb/Responsive Support Engineers
$6.95 Per Month

And BlueHost specializes in customer satisfaction.. Sure, I wouldn’t mind more domains hosted on one account, but most people don’t have such needs.. For $6.95/mo, nothing can touch it.. If you’re serious about your website, then sign up with BlueHost and put those worries to bed!