The Dumb Little Man blog has almost taken the place of Zen Habits and Life Hacker in my reading list. I know that many of us are stressed with too much to do and too little time. The link takes you to a recent post on time management.

There are six steps listed. Visit the site to check them all out. I’ll just highlight a few and throw in a few of my own tips.

Tips 1 and 2 are to use an organizer and write a to-do list. As a follower of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done,” I go along with that. I’ve tried lots of organizers. I was using a program called Thinking Rock, but found it too complicated. As an automation geek, I learned long ago that if your automation system is too complicated, people won’t use it. So, I switched to Nozbe as my online organizer (affiliate link) and task manager. Print out a to-do list based on context (on the phone, online, running errands, etc.) if you like. Powerful. First GTD system I’ve tried that I actually use.

Tip 4 is understand your peak times of day. He’s right. Study yourself and know when you are most creative. Set aside time for thought work and (if at all possible) turn off the phone and don’t check email.

Tip 5 is to take regular breaks. Get up every 30-45 minutes and stretch. Walk down the hall or outside for a few minutes. Then go back at it.