1) Plan ahead.

As any architect or engineer will tell you, you can not start a job without first drawing up a plan. And really, every day of your professional life is a catalogue of logistical problems which must be anticipated and overcome. The key is not just to map out your day, but to implement the schedule. This entails being very realistic and accurate when it comes to predicting all the usual hindrances to your work, and knowing in advance exactly how you will overcome these.

2) Incorporate your social life.

The most effective time management is catholic... in other words, all-embracing. Rather than 'finding time' for your friends and family, and for the activities which you enjoy, or allowing them whatever time is left, you should incorporate this leisure time into your schedule. A healthy balance between your professional and your private life is essential to your effectiveness in both, so don't leave it out of your plan.

3) Under-promise, over-deliver.

A very easy rule of time-management to implement is the over-generous estimation of time and resources to get the job finished. This ensures that unforeseeable circumstances won't throw a spanner into the works, and when all runs smoothly, you are seen to be giving best value for your efforts by exceeding expectations.

4) See the wood for the trees.

Often a job will be put off too long because it is too daunting to consider for the time being, then as the deadline approaches, not enough time is left to complete it to the best of your ability. Clearing out the neglected garage, for example, starts with finding the key to open the door. By setting yourself manageable goals for each small step of a project, the result can be easily and painlessly achieved, piece by piece.

5) Monitor your progress.

Recording and assessing your progress throughout a project is a vital component to its successful completion. Recording your progress, even in the form of short notes, allows you to assess your actual state of progress against your perceived state of progress, and affords you the opportunity to calculate if you are behind or ahead of schedule, and make appropriate adjustments accordingly. The idea is to stick as closely to your original plan as possible.

6) Delegate.

Many people have great difficulty in delegating responsibility. "If you want to get a job done properly.... You have to do it yourself". All too often this is the fatal attitude of poor time management. The best place to start is to delegate the time-intensive, every-day jobs which anyone can do, but rob you of valuable time for the jobs which only you can do. After these, are the jobs which will actually take time out of your schedule to teach someone, but you should see this time as an investment, incorporate it into your overall plan, and reap the benefits of increased productivity later.

7) Draw the line.

You need to establish parameters for what constitutes your job. Most of us will end up taking on board extra responsibilities above and beyond our job description at some point or other in our professional lives, and a certain amount of flexibility is indeed called for if we are to get on in our careers. But if taking work home or staying late in the office starts to become a habit, then you need to make some changes. Draw up an accurate and realistic job spec for yourself, and when tempted to step outside it, either by colleagues or yourself, firmly say no. If you are performing your job well, no one can find fault and you will not build unnecessarily high expectations for yourself.

8) Prioritise your work.

Some people are natural list makers, others need to work at it. Don't think of it as an anal character trait, but a positive life-tool. How many times have you not made a shopping list, then forgotten to get the most needed item from the supermarket? You can apply this simple rule to your tasks for the day. The expert list-maker, will work from a number of lists at once, each with a varying grade of priority or function, but this in not essential. A simple list of things to do, with those most important at the top is sufficient. The best way to sustain this habit is to make a list at the end of the day of everything you would like to achieve by the end of the following day, then slowly work through them.

9) Categorise according to effort required.

Unlike machines, human beings have the unfortunate (or fortunate) aspect of variable levels of efficiency. Throughout the day most of us will go through periods of low concentration and energy. The trick is to identify and anticipate these times. For many people peak energy and concentration is the morning, but some really come alive at 4.00 p.m. Categorise the days tasks according to your personal body clock and effort required to achieve optimum efficiency.

10) Know when to be flexible.

Everyone has a 'comfort zone'. This encompasses all the things you know and are familiar with. It is in this zone that we perform the daily routines and every-day jobs, and we have a certain way of going about them. Sometimes we have been doing the same things in a certain way for so long that it we cease to look for new and better ways of getting them done. Indeed, we don't want to, because it would mean a journey into the unfamiliar. Look at your work objectively and try to innovate. Try to find ways of cutting corners without compromising the job, develop new techniques, devise new systems, generate more time, and then incorporate that into your plan.

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