Do you wish you had more time in your day? Doesn't it always seem that if we just had a few more minutes, we could finish a task or project? Welcome to the fast fifteen!

Usually we think of fifteen minutes as negligible in view of the larger projects and tasks that surround us. Let's examine different ways that 15 minutes could be more productive.

Are you a victim of other people's agendas? If we are in `reactive' mode, then our fifteen minutes may be something like this: on hold on the telephone, waiting in line, in a traffic jam, waiting to talk with a colleague in the office, waiting to use the fax machine or to make copies, waiting for fresh coffee at the office, or waiting for a signature. I'm sure your list could go on and on.

What you do with your time is your choice. You can choose to allow time wasters to eat up your `free' time or you can resolve to implement better time management habits that will actually allow you to create more free time.

Are you looking for more free time? We all are! Looking for free time isn't difficult, you just have to know where to look for it. Most often, you will find it in little snippits throughout your day. Small amounts of time can prove to be very productive and help to keep you on track with your goals and projects.

Take back control of your time now. Let's take a look at our fifteen minutes as a `proactive' participant. In fifteen minutes, you can make several phone calls, schedule an appointment, make out your `to- do' list, dictate a short letter, read an important article, place an order, take a brisk walk or clean up your desk.

Imagine if you were productive during those small moments of time. You would actually be creating more `free' time to do what you enjoy.

Plan to create personal time. Think about your day and how you are actually spending your time. Hopefully you are using a good calendar system and schedule appointments accordingly. However, don't forget to leave some `white' space in your day to allow for the usual crisis or the unexpected interruption.

Many of your `white' spaces will be converted to the fast fifteen. By using this time management technique, your day will be more productive and effective. More tasks will be completed, projects will continue to move forward, and you will be operating at full speed.

Don't you wish you could accomplish so much every day? Well, you can. Continue to practice and tweak the time management skills to compliment your workstyle. You can do it!