When you don’t have a plan for how you are going to spend your day, you’ll usually find yourself wasting the moments you have to make a difference.

That’s the secret of being busy. That’s why busy people get more done. Because they are already moving.

When you already have things to do it’s easy to see what is a priority and what can wait until later. When you’re on the go, your brain and body are focused on one primary thing, getting things done.

Everything else is just a distraction.

When you have all the time in the world, nothing really matters. Urgency isn’t pounding at the back of your brain. You don’t have to make decisions about priority and effectiveness. You can sit and wait and think and plan and procrastinate.

Which is why being busy matters. Being in the office longer than everyone else doesn’t matter. Staying until your boss goes home doesn’t matter. Having a long to-do list doesn’t matter. Being busy pursuing your dream does matter.

Busy people use every opportunity to be productive. Here are a few ways to managing being busy:

1. When you have an idea about a new product to check out or an idea about doing something more efficiently, write it down and schedule a time to complete your researching of that idea.
2. Schedule daily and monthly times to review through your list of big ideas and prioritize what can be done now. Start working — even a little bit — on what matters.
3. Stay on a schedule. Get out of bed at the same time. Start working on the hardest thing you have to do that day first.
4. Ask for help from those who have a track record of getting things done despite being busy. The advice you hear will be invaluable to your ongoing success.
5. Use smart tools to remind you of your priorities. Take anything that needs to be remembered and a sign it ado date and priority and your technology.