Become smart IT professionals: time management

1. Organize your work area.
File things where you'll find them, not where you think they belong according to a category. Think "where would I find this?"

2. Commit to a particular allotment of time for each project.

Allowing yourself an hour a day for taking an action on a new project will keep your momentum going without being overwhelming or boring.

3. Do your most difficult work when you are in your peak performance state. If you're an early morning person, do that extra-effort-needed project first thing in the morning. If late evening hours are more your speed, save that high-energy project for that time.

4. Perform less demanding work at the time of day when you are most likely to be in a slump. If mid-afternoon is your body's sluggish time, save your mindless tasks and other less important to-do's for this time. The point is to get what you need done without wasting whatever time you have available to you at any given time.

5. Schedule your phone calls around your peak performance levels. You want to give your customers/clients your very best attention and this requires energy and enthusiasm.

6. Place your phone on voice mail mode at strategic times of the day. Voice mail is wonderful for those times when you're either feeling sluggish, want some quiet time, or just want to get a project done. You can access your messages later and return calls on a priority basis.

7. Let others in your home/office know when you don't want to be disturbed. Constant interruptions are annoying and distracting; they are also time-zappers. Letting people know when it's OK to interrupt and when it's not is crucial to time management.

8. Prioritize your day. Everything's not an earth-shattering emergency! Someone Else's perception of a priority does not mean it is so to you. Discern what needs your attention immediately, what can be delegated, and what can be addressed later

9. Delegate. Everything that needs to be done does not have to be done by you. Delegating to another person can save you a lot of time in mundane tasking. 10. Instead of a to-do list, create a goal for the day. Throw out the to-do list that never gets done, causes you stress and frustration, and makes you feel like a failure. Instead, set yourself a single goal for the day.