We never seem to have enough hours in the day, yet it is integral to manage your time effectively if you want to get ahead. You are not going to get anywhere if you are constantly running out of time, and in order to manage your time, you need to start by disciplining yourself! Because if you think about it, while you physically cannot stop time, you can manage how you spend your time to have more of it!

You need to start by looking at your habits. What time do you get up in the morning? Do you take a lot of coffee breaks? If you make a concerted effort to control your habits, they will soon become second nature. Here are a couple of habits to think about in order to manage your time more effectively:

Don't delay

Get it done now - don't put it off until later. The more tasks you leave till the last minute, the more stressed you will find yourself trying to do it all in a short space of time. Aim to keep your momentum going by setting short-term goals and deadlines for yourself, and stick to them. Keep check of your progress, and you will feel encouraged when you see things being done and deadlines being met on time.

Keep note of how you spend your time

Make a note as to how you spend your days and see what you can eliminate to save time. Do you spend a lot of time surfing the web or chatting on the phone? Keep phonecalls short - use email where possible so that you get everything down in one message. If you need to surf the web, have a set goal and try to do it early in the morning when there is less traffic and your connection will be faster. Don't be distracted by irrelevant links - you can waste hours surfing sites that may be interest you, but are not part of your current research. Aim to use your time constructively!

Focus on the end result

Make sure that at the end of the day you have achieved what you wanted to. Don't waste hours working on something that doesn't produce a worthwhile result. Make sure that you concentrate on the right tasks, and prioritise your tasks and spend time on what is important.

Make use of travel time

If you spend a large amount of time travelling between cities, go by bus or air and make use of the time spent travelling. Take some work with you and try get some done, even if you are only able to catch up on some reading that you have been meaning to get to. Make sure that you have everything you need for your trip, so that everything that needs to be completed on the trip is, so that the time is well spent.

Create a plan of action

Create a "to do" list, focussing on the end result that you need to achieve. Break the task down into manageable bits, each with their own deadline, and complete the task bit by bit. This will enable you to manage the task more effectively while monitoring your progress - and big tasks will also look less daunting if broken down.

Act quickly

Deal with queries, email and messages straight away. If you allow correspondence to pile up on your desk, it will take much longer to get through it all in the middle of other deadlines. Clear our your email-box regularly and make sure that issues have been resolved. And remember - not replying timeously could result in a lost client!

Be assertive

Your time is important and you are ultimately responsible for what you do with it. Learn to say no and delegate where necessary - you should not have to waste your time doing other people's work because they are too disorganised or lazy to do it themselves. Avoid distractions where possible - ask someone to screen your calls and close your office door until you have completed what you set out to do.

Take time out!

Don't become a complete workaholic. When organising your time make sure you set time aside for yourself. If you know that you have some relaxation time to look forward to you will be more likely to stick to your schedule and not procrastinate when something better than work comes up. Work towards your goals and reward yourself when you reach them!

Focus on your schedule and treat time as a valuable commodity - once it is gone, it is gone forever! Be proactive and positive, and you will soon be able to keep track of your time - rather than it keeping track of you!

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