Time is money the old phrase goes, but actually it’s more valuable than that.  Regardless of how  organised you are you’ll only ever have 24 hours in the day.  You can’t ‘make’ more time, you can only make the most of what you’ve got. Try our five simple tips to maximise your day:

1. Start off with a plan – If you sit down at your desk with no clear idea of what you want to achieve in the next few hours, the chances are you’ll spend the morning checking your emails, jumping from task to task and not getting much done.  So have a to do list for each day that sits on your desktop or your notepad, or anywhere visible and make sure you tick off each of the tasks on it.
2. Don’t procrastinate – We all have some things we hate doing, the longer you put them off the more they pile up.  So try using the Pomodoro technique to make a start.  The idea is you focus solely on a particular task for 25 minutes and then see where you’re at.  I use this technique to get started on my VAT return each quarter and I’m usually surprised at what I can get done in 25 minutes.  Try this desktop timer to get you started:
http://www.focusboosterapp.com/
3. Limit time on email -   I love email, but it’s far too easy to spend all day reacting to whatever pops into your inbox.  Try to limit the number of times you check your email a day.  Also, it’s impossible to ignore incoming mail if you know it’s there, so switch off any desktop alerts.
4. Cut out distractions - You can’t concentrate if you have constant demands on your attention.  If you need to focus on something then close your email, divert your phone, log out of Skype/IM, stop tweeting and give yourself a couple of hours of undisturbed time.
5. Be realistic about timeframes – If you are an irrepressible optimist when it comes to your time, you will create all kinds of problems for yourself.  It’s better to overestimate than underestimate when it comes to how long something will take, otherwise you will be constantly overburdened and working to unrealistic deadlines.  No amount of time management will be able to overcome that.