1. Don't rely on your memory alone. Write a to do list for each day, preferably the night thing in the morning.
2. Decide on the best order to do things. You can use colours, numbers or letters to signals which things on your list are the most urgent or important. If there's a deadline, write down the date you need to finish the task by.
3. Things don't always go according to plan. Experts suggest that mistakes and interruptions will take up 50% of the time you have have available. This may mean you have to reconsider the number of things you had originally hoped to do.
4. When you do routine tasks, time yourself doing them. This allows you to plan your time more realistically.
5. If you are really convinced that what you have to do is essential, it will be easier to say no to things that you are not responsible for and to people who make unexpected demands on your time. Remember, saying no isn't always a weakness.
6. People's energy levels differ greatly, depending on the time of day. There are morning people and those who work better in the afternoon or evening. Therefore try to do things at a time of day to suit the type of person you are.
7. Putting twice as much effort into a task may only achieve a 1% improvement and perfection is unattainable. So don't be too critical of yourself and learn to recognise when enough is enough . Otherwise you'll just be wasting precious time.
8. Try multitasking. Do the ironing while you watch TV, study for your test while you're travelling on the bus, or just mentally run through things you're in the shower.
9. When there's a job you really dread doing, don't keep putting it off. Make holes in it by breaking it into smaller tasks. Do them one at a time and set a time limit. This is called the "Swiss cheese method".