Time is nature’s way of keeping everything from happening at once! Woody Allen.

Leave it to Woody to put a funny spin on a serious subject. How many times have you caught yourself saying, “I can’t believe how fast time is going.”

In these, the dog days of August, that familiar refrain seems especially poignant, for we’re only a couple of weeks away from September and the last holiday of summer – Labour Day Weekend. Then it will back to work – en force.

Time does appear to be in short supply. Weren’t you singing Auld Lang Syne just yesterday?

Of all our possessions, time is the most precious. When it’s gone, it’s gone. The demands of work and your personal lives are ceaseless. Everyone wants some of your time so you need to do all you can to protect and make the best use of it.

The secret of managing time is managing yourself. There are 168 hours in the week. How wisely are you using them? Are there ways you could better spend them? Here are three helpful tips:

No. 1. Learn to say “no.” It’s difficult, but not impossible. If someone asks you for your time, check out your calendar before you commit… and try to work out a time that is better for you, or at least, time shared equally. If they can’t wait, immediately decline. Usually another time can be arranged. Could you text, phone or email instead?

No. 2. Don’t be a slave to the Internet and Social Media.

No. 3. Review and constantly update your to do list. Keep asking yourself, “Is what I have scheduled to do moving me away from or towards my objectives(s)? If the answer is no, cancel or reschedule it at a less pressing time.

“Time,” said Carl Sandberg, “is the coin of your life.. be careful lest you let others spend it for you.”