We’ve often heard it said that "time is gold". Indeed, time is precious, and when it is wasted, it is wasted forever. There’s no way you can stop it or turn it around. Yet, in the midst of that many of us tend to sleep on the job, and let the days pass by without really accomplishing anything. We don’t have to wait to get to our golden age and be hit with this sad realization. Right here and now, let us learn to make better use of our time.

Let us start with the reasons why people "sleep on the job". One of the major reasons why people fail to do something really productive with their time is the lack of energy. It does make sense, doesn’t it? When you feel tired most of the time, all you want to do is to lie or sit around, and neither of that will let you have any work done. Hence, in order to make better use of your time, work on increasing your energy levels first.

Start your day right with good nutrition. Include in your diet foods that easily convert to useful energy, and scrap those that only make you feel full longer but actually do not have a lot of nutritional value. Highly processed foods, red meat, and sweets must be avoided. A bowl of cereals and fruits, plus a glass of milk in the morning will jumpstart your energy levels and enable you to carry out your tasks efficiently and effectively.

Make exercise a daily habit, too. By increasing body metabolism, exercise facilitates the removal of toxins from the body, which are often the reason why you feel listless.

Get around to sleeping at least seven hours every day. Do you know that it is during sleep that our body cells recharge themselves? At the end of the day, our cells also need a break, and this is the time when they do that. So give your cells the chance to recover from the stresses of the day and prepare your body for yet another day. According to health experts, the best sleeping time is from 10 in the evening to 4 in the morning. It helps to eat before 6 in the evening, then. This way, your body is able to digest all the food by the time you are ready to sleep, thus enabling you to have a restful sleep.

Don’t think, do it, and do it now. People spend great lengths of time thinking - sometimes about nothing in particular, and procrastinating. There is danger when you allow your thoughts to wander, so try to avoid that as much as possible. Make a "To-Do-List" the night before to serve as your guide the following day. So even if your mind takes a temporary break, you will still be able to get right back on track.

Organize your tasks, prioritize, and learn to delegate some of them. You don’t have to do everything yourself; give others the chance to take responsibility, too, and be credited for them as well. Remember that you are not a machine; your body can handle only so much at a particular time. If you need to hire help, do it. You’ll soon realize that you have achieved more important things with less effort on your part.

If you’re "sleeping on the job" because you don’t know how to go about it in the first place, don’t hesitate to get expert advice. If you need to enhance your skills and knowledge, do that, too. Don’t say you don’t have time for this, because while spending time over this is necessary, it will eventually work towards your benefit.

Time is precious; it is more precious than gold in fact because it is something you cannot buy, not with all the riches of the world. Value it well and make your life meaningful.