3. Ruthlessly protect your time.

The Stoic philosopher Seneca stressed the importance of not wasting time. Jean-Pol Grandmont/Wikimedia Commons

"Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach on our lives — worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We're tightfisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers." — Seneca, "On the Brevity of Life," 3.1–2

Today there are endless interruptions in our days: phone calls, emails, visitors, unexpected events.

American civil right leader Booker T. Washington observed that "the number of people who stand ready to consume one's time, to no purpose, is almost countless." It is no surprise that a lot of us can't get any work done.

A philosopher and a business leader, on the other hand, both know that their default state should be one of reflection and inner awareness. This is why they so diligently protect their personal space and thoughts from the intrusions of the world. They know that a few minutes of contemplation are worth more than any meeting or report. They also know how little time we're actually given in life — and how quickly our stores can be depleted.

Buffett intuitively understands this: "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything." Because when you say no, you're protecting your time and your energy to focus on the big and important items in your life.

Seneca reminds us that while we might be good at protecting our physical property, we are far too lax at enforcing our mental boundaries. Property can be regained — there is quite a bit of it out there and some of it still untouched by man. But time? Time is our most irreplaceable asset, and we cannot buy more of it. We can only strive to waste as little as possible.

Today, when other people and events try to steal time from you and your work, remind yourself of what the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, has observed: "You can do so much in 10 minutes' time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity."