Procrastination might be the subject of many jokes, but wasting time is no laughing matter. Every person is equal in one thing — a limited amount of time. How people use that time determines their lifestyle and income, separating the Oprah Winfreys and the Donald Trumps from the rest of the rat race. In an interview with SUCCESS Magazine (www.successmagazine.com), Dr. Mehmet Oz, vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University, writer and a regular on T.V. and radio, said, “It’s not about time management. It’s about energy management. The things you do should give you that zest for life.” If you love what you are doing, you are far more likely to do your job efficiently and effectively. Darren Hardy, publisher and editorial director of SUCCESS Magazine, suggests approaching time management as an investor, and looking to get the best return on expended energy. “Your management task,” says Hardy, “is to spend more time on what gives you energy and to guard against, eliminate, delegate or mitigate your time on those things that take energy away from you.” Hardy offers the following advice for Americans looking to use their time more effectively: – Discern wasted time. According to one study, American employees working 40 hour weeks waste 50 percent of their time on unproductive, low-priority tasks, and then another 37 percent working on personal business, surfing the Internet, eating lunch, taking breaks and chatting. Most people are productive for only 10 hours each week. Take an honest look at the amount of time you waste, and imagine what you could accomplish with those extra hours. – Prioritize energy. Urgent tasks are deadline-based, and important tasks are those on which you want to utilize your time. Finish urgent tasks first. If a task is urgent but not important, try delegating it. – Set standards. Life is a series of trades — we trade time for money, work time for family time, gym time for television time. Define your values, and always trade your time towards those values.