Sometimes I seem to gain tempo and have no idea what to do next. If you guys could give some pointers that would be great.

Look up famous Danish Gambit games where the full gambit is played out (1.e4 e5 2.d4 cd 3.c3 dc 4.Bc4 Bxb2) ... there cannot be a better lesson about tempos vs. material than games like these :)

Tempo is more important in open positions than in closed ones. If you have gained a lead in development, often the thing to do is to seek to open lines with which to exploit the time advantage. Another strategy sometimes is to trade in the time advantage, which is temporary, for a permanent space advantage.

It depends on the position and the stage of the game. In the opening, in general , extra tempi is very useful for quick development and the ability to prepare for an attack. In the endgame sometimes either gaining (or losing) a tempo is key to winning. With an attacking position every move is more important to deny your opponent the ability top defend. In a closed position sometimes tempi are useless.

Well, the question is a bit more complexed than what can be covered in just a forum post. Max Euwes Chess Master vs Chess Amateur talks quite alot about tempo and shows some beautiful ways of turning the extra tempo into material or positional advantage. A really usefull book.

attack?