The Internet is a time eater. No matter what you're doing on the web, the hours seem to slip away and suddenly it's dawn. Another day has passed and you're no farther along in your progress than you were yesterday or the day before. Somehow, you've lost control over time.

Your experience is normal. Lots of people have it hard when it comes to managing their day, especially the self-employed. Adult webmasters have it very hard because there are so many tasks involved in running a successful porn site. The newbie adult webmaster might have it the hardest of all because he/she often has to do his/her work while still holding down a day job.

Adult webmasters have it very hard because there are so many tasks involved in running a successful porn site."

There is so much to do in a webmaster's day. There's email, content shopping, stats checking, site building, gallery submitting, image optimizing and marketing marketing marketing.

Some of us are lucky to be able to spend a few minutes on the message boards because they are a part of being in this business as well. Who has time to eat, exercise, or even get some fresh air? What's worse is it never quits. Tomorrow brings a whole new day of site building, image optimizing, gallery submitting and marketing marketing marketing.

Yet somehow, our peers get things done. They have mastered time. They have succeeded in doing their work and fulfilling their responsibilities. They sleep regular hours, eat at regular intervals and they even find the time to have a little fun.

How do they do it, these wizards of time? Pact with the devil? Some magic pill?

No. They do it by applying time management to their lives. You can too.

From simple post-it notes to full-blown Personal Information Management software, there is a way to tame the beast of time. Here are some steps that can help you better organize those ticking minutes.

1. The first step you need to take is one of observance. Watch yourself for about a week. Carry a pad of paper and pen with you and write down how much time you spend doing everything that you do. Make note of even the small things like brushing your teeth or going to the store. Catalogue your entire week, even when you sleep. After you've got it all on paper, study it. That will bring you to the next step.

2. Calculate your hours. All the tedium of personal hygiene and daily cleaning, add it up. All the time spent asleep, add that too. Figure in the time that you need to prepare and eat your food. If you have a regular job, better put it in the tally. Got a family? You know what to do. Do you want to have fun? Add it in now. When you have all that added, subtract the figure from the total hours in a week. The remaining hours are the hours you have to dedicate to building your adult Internet business.

3. Plan and prioritize. What goals do you have for the week? What tasks are the most important? How long should each task take? Do you really need to check your stats ten times a day? Wouldn't that time be better spent on building some galleries or tweaking your layout? You need to shop Ebay for a new monitor but do you have to spend two hours there? Figure out what needs to be done and determine the amount of time it takes to do it.

4. Plot your week. Get a desk calendar. Get a wall calendar. Buy a datebook. Make some lists. Put your plans in motion and create a schedule. Then, follow that schedule.

Fortunately, we live in an age where there's a software program for every need and time is no exception. Go to a site like Download.com or ZDNet and search for PIM or Personal Information Management software. If you own a copy of Microsoft Office, then you're in luck because you already own one of the best PIMs around: Microsoft Outlook.

If you don't have Outlook or you can't find the time to shop for software, then here are some sweet programs that might give you the time management that you need:

TaskPlus
(http://www.contactplus.com/products/freestuff/task.htm)

This is a nice program with a small footprint. Set appointments and reminder alarms. Chart your progress. Schedule by the day, the month or the year. You can even run queries with this great little application.

CorkBoard
(http://www.pcdynamics.com)

It's technically a screensaver but it's so much more than that. You can attach notes and to-do lists to the virtual backboard. You can add a clock and a calendar. You can set reminders that either pop up, sound an alarm or both. You can even set a timer that lets you know when it's time to stretch your legs.

Post-It
(http://www.3m.com/market/office/postit/com_prod/psnotes)

Post-It notes are a swell invention. Just the same, those handy reminders can fill a wastebasket pretty quick. Why not save a couple of bucks and a trip to the office supply? Get this fun little program and you'll be posting interactive notes on your desktop. No paper to toss. No more refills to buy. Now that's a time-saver!