Start every day with a list?  Yawn.  Actually refer to the list throughout the day?  Okay, sure.  Start every day by crossing off most of what is on that list?  Now we’re talking!

People who manage time for a living say the best list is the one that frees us up to tackle the items that matter:  what will have the most impact over the shortest period of time?  In three quick steps, you can have more summer in your days, more vacation in your summer and more productive work hours when not working isn’t an option.  Simply decide, delete and decline.

Something everyone knows, but it’s nice to be reminded:  People who interview people for jobs enjoy asking questions.  They do it naturally, and enjoy it, actually.  So, the next time you’re in the interview hot seat, refrain from telling lengthy, exquisitely detailed stories, and instead let the interviewer lead the conversation.

Anna writes, “I won a fellowship to attend a weeklong conference.  I am overwhelmed.  My resume is pending critique from the career services department at school, I am waiting to find out which companies will be at the conference so I can figure out how to woo them into hiring me, and I have finals right when I come back.  I know this conference will be highly educational but I am most nervous about how to dress business casual.  I should be studying my wind power and electrical engineering knowledge, but I am more worried about finding shoes to go with the suit my sister sent me.  The whole concept is foreign to me!”

Have you heard?  Best Buy has printers on sale this week.  General Mills was named one of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women.  You can hear Conversations with Al McFarlane on Tuesdays at 9am.  How do I know? Somebody told somebody and somehow the information found its way through to me… it’s called Marketing, and it can be the primary difference between success and failure in business.  Because effective marketing has such a critical impact on a company’s bottom line, marketing is everyone’s responsibility.  Owners and employees alike, who want to keep the doors open and the income flowing in, can contribute by paying attention to what people see and hear and understand about their organization.