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So how was your weekend? Ours was busy and we really did work our fingers to the bone but when we switched our laptops off on Sunday night we were happy. We knew at the start of the weekend that we had a lot to accomplish spread over a diverse number of projects and at the end of Sunday we had achieved all our goals.

Unfortunately today is going to be another very busy day. Steve has six goals he definitely has to accomplish ... plus a few other things that he needs to work on today ... and I have a similar list too. That may sound rather daunting but we know we can achieve those goals because we can stay focused ... we have a really great little tool that really helps us.

Do you have trouble achieving your daily goals? Do you set out in the morning with high hopes of getting a whole bunch of stuff done only to find that, by the end of the day, you've achieved very little? Do you get distracted or do you just plain forget some of those things that you wanted to achieve?

Then maybe you need to use the same tool we do. There's nothing secret about it, it's very inexpensive and requires very little training to be able to use it. I must admit that you do have to replace parts of this tool every day but replacement parts can be recycled from other uses so maintenance and replacement costs are almost non-existent.

Even though this tool comes in two pieces and there are rarely any instructions on how to put those pieces together assembling the parts is really very straightforward and anyone can do it. And once it's together and you've figured out how to use it then it won't take long before you'll wonder how you ever managed to survive without it.

And what is this wonderful and almost magical tool that only requires two parts and can turn your days from a waste of time into an orgasm of productivity? It's called a list and all you need to make one is a piece of paper and a pen.

Now if that sounds too simple then you obviously haven't tried it yet because a list will help you to stay focused. It will help you to work your way through a myriad of diverse tasks each and every day and a list will even give you a great sense of achievement and satisfaction as you cross completed tasks off the list.

If you haven't tried using a list before then and you really are under-achieving with your goals for each day then perhaps it's time you did have a little play with one. Of course you can find plenty of printed lists around the place but you can just as easily use a scrap of paper as we do.

All you have to do is jot down those goals that you want to achieve for the day. You can write them down in any order and it's best if you just do a brain dump onto the paper rather than trying to put them in order in your head. Once you've got everything down on paper then go through prioritize the tasks by putting a number against each item with the number '1' alongside the most important task on the list

Alternatively put a mark against those items that definitely must be completed today so you can see at a glance which tasks need to be done first and which tasks can be left for later in the day.

Once you have your list prepared then put it on the desk where you can see it. Maybe stick it to your monitor so it really is in your face and it's there to remind you of all the jobs you want to finish off today. As you complete the task then draw a line through it so that you can see clearly what is left to do.

Once you get into the habit of compiling a list for each day and you stick to the things you have listed you'll find that your productivity does increase. Not only will you see that your productivity is increasing but you will also notice that it drops away on the days you don't compile a list.

Obviously there will be some days where you only have one or two goals and a list simply isn't necessary but on the days when you want to achieve a lot your list will help you finish the day with a smile on your face.

2257 and the New York Times
The New York Times has published a brief article on the changes that the US government wants to make to the 2257 regulations. Unfortunately the reporter who wrote the article seemed to be unable to think beyond the end of his nose and accepted the government line that it's all about protecting children.

As we all know, the fact is that these regulations are going to do nothing to stop the exploitation of children. Those who do exploit children aren't going to be impacted by these regulations at all because it does nothing to stop them at all.

So much for investigative journalism!