The Baraka Institute is the brainchild of the fiery Feroshia Knight, an entrepreneur, life coach, and teacher. She’s new to Twitter, but wanted to take a brief break from her entrance into the social world to give me (and the world) five time management tips.

As an instructor at Baraka Institute, Feroshia illuminates the classroom with her vibrant energy. She understands the meaning behind practice makes perfect and creates powerful learning environments in which students thrive, leaving inspired and ready for action.

Five steps to better time management

Tip #1:

Know your priorities for the day.

Tip #2:

Have a system to check that you’re on task.

Amber: What kind of system do you use to keep on task? I often use a legal pad, or a notebook with check boxes.

Feroshia: Actually, in addition to having a list, I use a timed device to make sure I’ve stayed on track in alignment with the day’s plan

And a timer can be as easy as an egg timer. Anything that keeps ticking.

Tip #3:

Have a criteria list for when time becomes sparse to make the right decisions as how to best use your time.

Tip #4:

Check in with yourself — Ask: “Am I on fire in a good way or a stressful way? Am I on target?” Because a lot of people try to grind without actually making progress. There’s a difference between working hard and working smart

Tip #5:

Pre-plan your day the night before with the long term future in mind. People tend to focus on the moment, getting stuck in the details.

When people get stuck in the details, life becomes prey ANALYSIS PARALYSIS! The key is to look at different ways to see and do things.

Amber: How long have you been coaching businesses and organizations?

Feroshia: Since 1989. I initially had a marketing and communications agency called Foto:Grafika/Agent 47. I moved from the “expert model” of consultant to the “harness the collective intelligence” model of coaching. Of course there is a mixture of consulting in there, where relevant.

Amber: Brilliant. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and advice. Good luck to you in the future! How can people interested in learning more about being productive, happy people contact you?

Feroshia: Catch me personally at feroshia@barakainstitute.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/barakainstitute

There’s also the Baraka Institute Website, which is http://www.barakainstitute.com/