Photo by tyger_lyllie

1. Use a Planner

Whether you keep a written planner or use an organizing app, keeping a written schedule is imperative if you hope to keep all of your appointments and meet all of your deadlines.

My personal favorites are the Google calendar and CalenGoo app.

With automatic syncing and multiple calendars in one, I’ve been able to keep track of every start time, homework deadline and appointment with ease.

2. Prioritize

When it comes to using your time effectively, you’ve got to prioritize.

With so many things to do, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.

Each morning, sit down with your planner and create a list of things you need to do during the day.

Once you’ve made your list, prioritize your list in order of importance.

3. Complete One Task

One of the biggest time wasters is starting several things at once and never finishing any.

When you sit down to complete a task, make sure that you do, in fact, complete it, before moving on to another.

Trust me, you’ll find that you get much more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.

4. Eat a Frog

You may never have heard of eating a frog, or even ever considered eating a frog, but it’s a great time management technique.

The idea behind the “frog” is to imagine all of your tasks as frogs. If you were asked to eat frogs, would you eat the biggest one first to get it over with or would you save it for last?

Most people would choose to eat the biggest, ugliest frog first; do the same with your tasks. Get the biggest, most dreadful task out of the way first and you’ll not only feel as though you’ve accomplished something huge but it will set your pace for the rest of the day.

5. Know Yourself

Not everyone works best first thing in the morning and not everyone works best last thing at night. It’s important to know yourself and work when you will be most productive.

Are there things you can accomplish on your lunch hour? Or will you be too distracted?

Do you work best when you get up a few hours earlier or when you stay up a few hours later?

Knowing these things will help you get more done.

6. Schedule Free Time

It can be overwhelming when you are busy all of the time and don’t take a moment for yourself.

When you don’t schedule free time, you’ll find yourself taking breaks more frequently than you would otherwise.

Whether it’s a half hour to take a hot bath, an hour before bed to read your latest book or just 15 minutes to sit behind a closed door with a mug of tea, put some “me” time in your daily schedule and make yourself take it!

Remember: multitasking equals decreased productivity. If you don’t manage your time properly, you’ll be spinning your wheels in the sand. Get a great organizer, practice making to-do lists and complete one task before you move on to another; you’ll soon find that you there are actually enough hours in each day.

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Recommended Resources

FREE Time Management eBook: Work The System – The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less – Discover The Exact Blueprint Used By Sam Carpenter To Reduce His Work Week To Just 2 Hours And Multiple His Income By More Than 20 Times…

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This article was contributed by Tanya Peterson, who resides in NYC and is a content contributor for watchrepairny.com, a Manhattan provider of fine services such as Omega watch repair and engraving since 1978. Tanya's grandfather was in the antique watch business and it's been a fascination with her since childhood.