In preliminary:
- This article is a follow-up to my "How I Increased My Productivity 333-767%... Literally Overnight!" article, an exclusive "members-only" article, which you'll find under All or Self-Development in the Articles section of the left navigation panel in the Tony Mase's Inner Circle "Fast-Track Coaching" Member Area.
- As you read this article, please keep in mind it's somewhat of a "snapshot in time", in that I'm continually refining what I do and adapting it to changing circumstances.1,2
- Look at this article, and its predecessor, as a "buffet", if you will, in that you should feel free to "pick and choose" what you want from it. Everybody's life is different and the specifics of what I do and how I do it may not be applicable to your life. However, the principles here are what's important, *NOT* specific techniques, times, and/or tools.
With that...
In a television interview, not long before she passed on, my childhood sweetheart, Shari Lewis of Lamb Chop fame, said:
"The day begins the night before."3,4
And went on to explain how a successful day begins by being organized and ready for it and getting a good night's sleep the night before.5
You know what?
She was absolutely right! 
I've discovered, in recent years, there are two things that will almost (the key word here being *almost*) guarantee a successful day:
- Being real clear about exactly what I'm going to do that day and exactly when on that day I'm going to do it, the day BEFORE!6
- Getting a good night's sleep the night before.7
The lack of either of which almost (again, the key word here being *almost*) certainly guarantees a day of failure.
That said...
Let me walk you through a typical workday...
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1. For example...
You'll notice some of the times I do things now have changed since my last article on the subject.
2. This article chronicles a typical workday. I have special schedules for special days (half-days of school, school vacation days, etc.) and days off. Same principles, just different schedules.
3. Shari Lewis had a television program that aired on a local station after school when I was a kid...
God, how I loved her! 
And, I've since found out, so did a lot of other little boys.
Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, has an article on her at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shari_Lewis
4. I may be mistaken here, but I do believe she credited this "life lesson" to her mom.
As a matter of fact...
Interestingly enough...
Years later...
In an online interview, Shari's daughter Mallory said:
"It was great having Mom as a mom. I didn't learn as much from her as I should have when I was younger. It wasn't until I had to be her that I understood the lessons that she was trying to teach me. She used to say things like, 'The day begins the night before.' Okay, well that made me want to barf. You know, I was just a normal teenager. But what she meant was, I had a 5:30 wakeup this morning and I was lights out by 9:30 last night because the day begins the night before. I had my clothes laid out, I was ready and I was organized."
You can read the full interview at:
http://www.oychicago.com/article.aspx?id=7886&blogid=132
5. Worth noting...
In Chapter 12 of The Science of Getting Rich ("Efficient Action"), Mr. Wattles wrote:
"Every day is either a successful day or a day of failure; and it is the successful days which get you what you want. If everyday is a failure, you can never get rich; while if every day is a success, you cannot fail to get rich."
The same can be said of getting anything you want.
When you stop and think about it...
A successful life is really nothing more than a series of successful days strung together.
Just thought I'd throw that in here. 
6. I'll share with you when I do this and why a little later in this article.
7. In a misguided effort to cram more things into less time, many folks make the mistake (and a big one it is!) of cutting back on their sleep.
I've learned from experience that I can get far more done in far less time and do it far better with a good night's sleep the night before; whereas, if, because of lack of enough sleep, I wake up feeling like a bag of **** (insert the appropriate four-letter expletive here), what might take me ten or fifteen minutes to do well with a good night's sleep the night before, could drag on for hours and, if I do manage to get it done, I usually end having to redo it when I'm well rested, because I didn't do it well when I wasn't.
How much sleep is enough?
In Chapter 3 of The New Science of Living and Healing ("To Use Sleep"), Mr. Wattles wrote:
"There are certain other things which are pretty well established. In a vast majority of cases eight hours is about the right length of time to pass in sleep every day. More than eight hours is too much. It is generally better to sleep six hours than ten. Don't ask me why, because I do not know."
Neither do I...
But I've found the eight hour "rule" generally works well for me. Much less than that and I'm pretty much "worthless" the next day, much more than that and I'm equally so.
In my experience...
And...
I might add...
It took me a long time to finally accept this...
A good night's sleep is worth more than all the so-called "productivity techniques" combined and multiplied tenfold.
Really!
So...
If you want to be more productive...
My advice, before you do anything else, is to straighten out your sleep situation.
You'll be glad you did.
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