Time Management

In order to be productive and use your time efficiently, it’s important to be very diligent about managing your time. You have a limited amount of time in which to accomplish at lot, so every minute is precious and must be protected. This may require you to be as disciplined as a drill sergeant when guarding your time and preventing anyone—including yourself—from sabotaging your schedule.

When it comes to being as productive as possible, a little bit of planning can make a big difference. As this article notes, making a habit of devoting ten minutes every morning to planning your day may really help you become more organized and productive.

In her new book Who Says It’s a Man’s World: The Girls’ Guide to Corporate Domination, author Emily Bennington shows how working moms can save themselves a lot of heartache by clearly defining and scheduling priorities, both for their kids and their work. Here, the career-success expert and mother of two offers some strategies for making this work-life balance happen:

Normally, the words productivity and procrastination don’t seem to go together, as putting things off is the opposite of getting things done. But if you have a big problem with procrastination, you may need to try unconventional tactics in order to start accomplishing things.

Ever find yourself at quitting time wondering where your day went, because it feels like you didn’t get anything done? It’s a common experience for many of us. Or you may have trouble figuring out how much time you devoted to specific projects or tasks.

When you have a lot to do and never seem to have enough time to get it done, the idea of taking breaks can seem to be counter-intuitive. But it actually makes a lot of sense. Experts often stress the importance of taking breaks in order to be productive.

You need to take breaks periodically to recharge and give your mind and body a breather. Even just a short period of time away from the computer when you can give your brain (and your eyes) a break can help you feel refreshed and energized.  

A to-do list a mile long, requests thrown from various directions, changing deadlines -- sometimes office professionals can become overwhelmed by job demands. Speaker, author, and coach Darla Arni calls the feeling of having too much to do and too little time to do it “having a full plate with no fork.” The good news is that there are ways to stay sane and begin tackling that mound of work. Here are some of Arni’s suggestions:

1. Start with a Clean Plate