You may think you're getting your life under control by becoming a master mutitasker, but that habit actually may hinder your progress.
It can take up to 50% more time to complete tasks when you switch between them than to complete one thing at a time, according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. Why not begin practicing the "10 minute rule" where you work on each task for at least ten minutes? Once a task is started, you just may be able to finish it in ten minutes.
Managing your time comes down to organizing, prioritizing and planning, including figuring out how you will handle those inevitable interruptions. Taking time to do a quality job and doing that job right the first time may take more time up front, but can eliminate the errors caused by rushing or multitasking which take longer to correct.
Productivity experts offer a strategy for the clutter addicts that seek their help: the "D" system. It's a series of steps to prioritize your tasks, says Laura Stack, president of Productivity Pro, a consulting firm in Highlands Ranch, CO, specializing in productivity improvement. Stack suggests that every document and email you receive should be discarded, delegated, done, dated (when you will do it), drawered (immediately filed), or deterred (from returning to you again and again). "Be more decisive and stop shuffling paper," says Stack.
Create a time budget by determining what tasks you do daily, weekly, and monthly, and how much time it generally takes to complete these tasks. You can hurry through this step and guess, but you may be surprised at how much time some duties are eating up. For one week, record everything you do in a day and how long it takes. Your time budget will give you an idea of where you can save time...and...then use this saved time to prioritize and plan.
Source: BusinessWeek SmallBiz, February 2008