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"When it comes to time management, nothing is more important than prioritization."

But I'm not going to "proactivate" you with a bunch of management buzzwords, and that's mostly because I think the majority of hyper-detailed time-management stuff is a bunch of bullsh*t.

It's not that scientific

A former employer of mine had a policy where all management staff had to take a well-known two-day self-help course on being exceptionally productive through adopting a [lucky] number of mannerisms. I'm being deliberately obtuse because I'm going to slam the course now, and I've had enough threats of lawsuits about my writing to know I don't enjoy the experience.

The course was the most mindless drivel I'd ever been exposed to. Two days of having common sense that you should've learned by the age of six twisted and "paradigmed" and "proactivated" into management mumbo jumbo until my brain turned into protoplasm. Then they try to sell you on day planners and software and… and you just want to barf. I'm skeptical if a time-management guru has ever really helped anyone manage their time better.

Nevertheless, I didn't want to crap on the entire industry after taking just one course, so I read a couple of the most popular time-management books and they just confirmed my suspicions that this is common sense overcomplicated so someone can sell a book or a course, along with a bunch of add-on crap. I worked over a decade in marketing, and I know a scam when I see one.

Anyway, I guess I can't just rant about how it's all a bunch of crap and not give you any advice at all, because that wouldn't be terribly productive, so here is my common-sense-based time un-management advice.

Prioritize

Also, know that being in great health can make you more productive at everything else you do. If you're in shape, then you can be a better husband, a better dad and even a better employee.

If you make exercise and healthy eating a high priority, you'll find the time to do it.

Plan

Figure all this out, then make a schedule and endeavor to stick to it.

Adapt

Remember what Field Marshal von Moltke said: "No plan of battle survives contact with the enemy."

Be Efficient

Efficiency doesn't just apply to exercise. You can pack an entire week's worth of gym clothes and take them to the office on Monday so you never have to worry about missing a workout because you don't have fresh attire. I found that lunchtime is a good time for weightlifting, and it allows me to skip those fattening coworker trips to the Chinese food buffet.

If you get creative, you can think of other ways in your life to exercise efficiently.

Think!

Time management: You figure it out.

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"As with all things, when it comes to training, everything works, but nothing works forever."

When guys attempt to decide on a training program, one of the first questions they ask is: “What’s the best set and rep scheme for gaining muscle?”

Trainers get this question all the time, and it is one of the most difficult to answer accurately. You’ve most likely read a variety of training articles, each claiming to have the best formula for muscle growth. And while some are better than others, most of them work pretty well.

So the simplest and most accurate answer to this question is “all of them.”

Unfortunately, that's also the most complicated answer.

See, it's like this: Your muscles are made up of various types of fibers, and the rep ranges you best respond to is going to be a factor partially determined by your particular fiber make-up.
Of course, without dissecting you (which, while undoubtedly fun, would not be very efficacious in terms of your training), there really isn’t any way to tell you what your general fiber make-up is, or what type of rep and set schemes you’re going to respond to. None of which really answers the question, of course.
Looking at it from a different angle, we can begin to decide on set and rep schemes based on a goal -- some are better for pure growth, and others for a mix of both strength and size.

Option 1 - Size and Nothing But Size

It helps to think of things in terms of total volume. If you are training with higher reps, I would try to limit a specific muscle group to around 120 reps per workout.

Here is an example using chest exercises:

-Bench Press - 4×15 (60 reps)
-Incline Dumbbell Press - 3×12 (36 reps)
-Dumbbell Fly - 2×10 (20 reps)

We’re looking at a total of 116 reps there, give or take any extras your were able to squeeze out or reps you were unable to complete.

The reason for the high reps if your focus is primarily on hypertrophy is, once more, fiber make-up. You are training for what is sometimes called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, or fluid hypertrophy, a term that is sometimes debated.

Either way, high rep training is the simplest, fastest and most visibly obvious way for beginners to pack on mass. The drawback is that the higher rep schemes used in this type of training necessitate very light (in relative terms, at least) loads to complete the set.

As a result, strength tends not to increase. In fact, in some cases, you may even notice a decrease if you attempt heavier training.

This is typical “bodybuilder” type training -- all show and no go, as they say.

You’ll look strong, but you won’t be strong. However, if all you’re going for is a good look in a tight shirt, this may sound like something you might be interested in.

In most cases, when new trainees hit the gym, they do some incarnation of this, although in many cases it’s as simple as three sets of 10 for four exercises. (As an aside, even in this case, they’re hitting 120 reps.) They progress a bit and then stall out. As with all things, when it comes to training, everything works, but nothing works forever.

From there, trainees look to change it up, and that bring us to option two.

Option Two – Size and Strength

Strength increases are the result of training with heavy weight, which by default will place a pretty stringent limit on the amount of reps you can perform on a given set. Strength-oriented training relies on performing sets of 1-5 reps, with the average being 3.

Heavy training is not only optimal for strength gains, but it can also be used to accrue a serious amount of muscle. Training with high weight recruits what are known as Type II b muscle fibers, which are the densest fibers and have the most potential for muscle growth. By lifting heavy, we activate these quickly, which can potentially lead to mass gain -- fast.

As you might imagine, it becomes necessary to change things around in a given workout to meet your goals. It’s quite possible to increase size without strength, and the reverse is true here: You can get a lot stronger without getting bigger.

Once more we need to look at things from the perspective of overall volume. In order to allow for the necessary weight, we need to keep the reps per set pretty low. If you followed the generally bullsh*t training most clueless meatheads drop on you, the upper limit for sets would be 3 or 4 per exercise. With heavy training, this would leave you at about 9-15 total reps. Your strength would increase, but this is just not enough to stimulate growth. Next Page >>

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HARRY REDKNAPP
He's got the backing of the media. And, perhaps more importantly, Wayne Rooney. His work at Spurs ("Two points in eight games," anyone?), canny press operating and nationality mark him out as the sensible choice. But would he want to quit an irresistible Spurs squad who adore him and the day-to-day club management he claims to crave? And as Daniel Levy showed during Luka Modrić stand-off with Chelsea last summer: he's a stubborn bastard.
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SIR TREVOR BROOKING
No long-term fix, but Sir Trev's the man on the inside, hugely popular with the public and has (albeit) brief experience fighting managerial fires. Granted, his one dip into management didn't end with glory, but his attempt at guiding West Ham out of relegation bother in 2004 was admirable. Could easily see England through to the Euros.
SKYBET ODDS: N/A

STUART PEARCE
Perhaps the most uninspired choice the FA could make. Which might make him the most obvious. Installed as the Olympics team boss, which would prove a fairly sizable hurdle, but the England job would surely trump even London 2012. Qualified success with the Under-21s has somewhat buried his fairly bleak tenure at pre-billions Manchester City.
SKYBET ODDS: 5/1

JOSE MOURINHO
Once claimed he was "hours" from accepting the job before Capello, José's the one starry name that would sate the masses should Redknapp stick with N17. Short term? Probably not, with Real Madrid finally set to overhaul Barcelona's La Liga stranglehold. However, post-Euro 2012: perhaps. And if not England, then there's decent money on him succeeding 'Arry at the Lane...
SKYBET ODDS: 10/1

ROY HODGSON
A sort of Poor Man's Harry, Uncle Woy's likely to be feel far more comfortable ditching West Brom than Harry is North London and has a robust CV featuring some commendable international stints. However, his Anfield debacle flung him down the pecking order and he's not a name to reboot fan interest.
SKYBET ODDS: 10/1

GUUS HIDDINK
The wily old Dutchman loves a bit of ad-hoc freelance work, and is out of work after failing to negotiate Turkey's Euro 2012 entry. Vast, vast experience and with his stock still high on these shores after his impressive half season at Chelsea, he could be the canniest short term appointment. He'd certainly know how to handle those Stamford Bridge rebrobates...
SKYBET ODDS: 5/1

DAVID BECKHAM
An utterly bonkers proposition, but hear us out a minute. Who else could command this current England squad's respect and attention like English football's living, breathing, pants-flogging icon? Of course, if he's even halfway intelligent, Becks wouldn't risk harming his legacy by considering such a job. But, as his odd stint as chief cheerleader at the South Africa World Cup showed, he'd certainly spruce up our bench sartorially.
SKYBET ODDS: 66/1