If you’re not getting enough things done on your to-do list, you’re not alone, especially around this time of year and with everything taking longer due to all the craziness going on in our world. It’s common to feel a little overwhelmed, rushed, and even guilty when you’re unable to get everything done each day. Staying focused and in the moment is challenging.

It’s important to remember that nothing stays finished for long. Most of us feel like everything has to be done before we give ourselves permission to enjoy life. However, that moment of feeling “caught up” never seems to come.

If you need to create a little more space and enjoyment in your life, try these tips:

1. Learn to be glad that you have more work to do. Remember, if you have more to do, your time is valuable. Imagine the implication of not having any tasks to complete at work. You’d likely be out of a job sooner, rather than later. Be grateful that so many of the people...

Most of us attack the week one day at a time. We get to the office on Monday, track
down a cup of coffee, and then try to figure out what all is going on.

Consider how things could work out better if you have a weekly plan for your life before you wake up on Monday morning. And don’t just plan your work-related items, plan everything else too.

Figure out what needs to be done and prioritize those items.

For your best results, avoid living life as it unfolds. By taking control, you’ll increase your confidence, stay ahead of your work, and actually find more free time to do whatever you like.  Give it a try for a month and see if you enjoy the benefits.

Follow these steps to create a plan for the week:

1. Have a weekly planning session.
   
   Sunday is the logical choice. You’ve decompressed from the previous week, but it’s still fresh in your mind. The workweek starts in just one day. 
   
   
2. Make a list of tasks for each area of your...

While you're at work, it’s common to feel overwhelmed with all the projects you’re juggling. Concentrating for a long period of time can be taxing both emotionally and physically. This often results in a tired mind, aching muscles, and a complete lack of energy.

What can you do to rest and revive yourself for short periods of time during your work day while still being productive? 

Check out these suggestions for incorporating short breaks into your daily work routine: 

1. Close your eyes and listen to three songs on your MP3. Most people have their favorite music easily accessible on their phone, MP3 player, or other electronic device. Choose music that relaxes you, put your head down on your desk, and listen to a few songs. 
   • Let your stress float away and clear your mind as you let the music flow in. 
   • Music soothes the body and soul. After three songs, you’ll be surprised at how relaxed you feel. You’ll regain the strength necessary to...

Time is a luxury. Each of us only has 1440 minutes per day and they go by quickly, so you surely don't want to waste any of them! By maximizing your efficiency, you can complete every item on your to-do list with time to spare!

Follow these suggestions to help you get more done in less time:

1. Organization: Organization is the key to successful time management. Take a few moments before completing a task, whether small or large, and create a time-saving game plan. Lay out all of your supplies; know exactly where you'll start and where you want to finish.
   
   
2. Create a checklist and check it twice. When laying out your supplies, place them in the order that they'll be used. In doing so, you're able to shave a few seconds off of your project time whenever you reach for supplies.
   
   
3. Even if you don't have supplies, you can still benefit from a checklist. Create milestones. If you're checking the milestones off as scheduled, you'll know that you're on the right track. If...

Have you considered the benefits of structure in your life? Think of the structure of your life as being the base of a building.

Organization provides a strong foundation so you can function safely and efficiently each day.

Of course, you’ll experience times that require you to be flexible, but can you depend on your internal structure and orderliness to help you get through anything?

 Recognize how orderliness can make your life better:

1. Structure makes your life predictable. You think, “I know how this is going to go so I don’t have to worry about it.” And that’s reassuring, allowing you to focus on the present moment.
   
   
2. Orderliness helps you speed through routine tasks, practically without thinking. Many of your day-to-day actions become automatic when you build in structure. There’s something comforting about performing repeating tasks “on automatic,” without thinking.
   
   
3. When everything has its place, you don’t have to spend...

For some people - perhaps even for you - increasing productivity is akin to finding the Holy Grail. Why has upping productivity taken on such mythical proportions?

Simply put, increasing productivity means increasing earning potential. If you own a business where you provide any type of service, taking steps to increase your ability to deliver the service in less time will allow you to take on more clients and earn more money. Likewise, if you sell a product, finding a way to make or deliver that product faster will enable you to serve more customers, once again, making more money.

When you find ways to do the same thing in less time, you're being more efficient. Efficiency and productivity go hand in hand. Undoubtedly, the more efficient you can make the process of completing any task, the more productive you'll be. Use these strategies to increase your efficiency so you can be more productive:

1. Create a prioritized schedule for your work. Whether using a post-it note or a...

Becoming organized has so many benefits. Perhaps the greatest is the ability to turn days filled with chaos into days of focus and effectiveness. Stress has a very negative impact on health. When you’re organized, you’ll no longer worry about all the little things that might be slipping through the cracks.

With greater organization, you’ll also be more trustworthy in all aspects of your life. Trustworthiness is the cornerstone of all relationships, both business and personal.

Consider these adopting these habits:

1. Have a place for everything. This habit also relates to your papers, electronic clutter, and even the desktop on your computer.

• Try to limit yourself to just a couple of email accounts. Consider one for business and another for personal emails. If you frequently fill out web forms that result in a lot of spam, another email account could catch all those.
• Find a solution for your scheduling. One calendar is ideal. It makes sense to use an electronic...

I try to remain adaptable to everyday changes. I don't always get it right, but when I do, I'm able to limit my stress and improve my productivity.

Change is a natural part of life. Those who adapt, thrive. Those who don't, become extinct! I choose to thrive, to use change to help me grow and learn, and to take advantage of new opportunities to help me succeed.

When I think about it, I realize that the only true constant in life is change. As each new day dawns, it brings me new opportunities. As each day passes, I know that I am different, even if only slightly, from the day before.

I know I can incorporate life's changes into my journey with confidence.
If a day does not go as planned, I restructure my timetable to fit in the change. I leave enough room in my schedule to make some unplanned stops along the way. Then I get back on track as soon as I am able.

When challenges arise, I adjust my path to accommodate them. I take time to seek
solutions and...

Surely you procrastinate at one time or another - or maybe all the time. Even if you're one of those unusual folks who only procrastinate occasionally, you'll find some helpful hints here for managing this habit.

Getting your tasks completed on time is a sign that you have control over yourself and your life. You'll enjoy the feeling of having more control over your life! You'll be free from that familiar chaos that ensues each time a deadline looms or you finish a task late.

Following these tips can help you put procrastination in its place - in your past:

1. It's largely about the pain. Now or later? Do you want to suffer now or suffer later? Those who get things done on time would rather just get it over with. Those who procrastinate would rather wait.
   • As a procrastinator, you usually get active when the pain of doing it is less than the pain of not doing it. The ironic thing is that by waiting, the pain is far greater than if the task would've been managed earlier.
   • Getting it...

Do you have a team around you who is fully capable of getting things done, but instead of delegating, you try to do everything yourself? If that sounds like you, there’s a better way.

Delegating tasks can be so difficult for some people. They act like a micro-manager who ensures that they see, do, and be everything. It’s hard for them to let others share the load or the glory. Maybe the control-freak is you.

You may have tried to delegate tasks in the past. Perhaps the quality of work wasn’t good enough to suit you so you ended up redoing everything. There’s no sense in delegating tasks in the first place if you know you’ll end up redoing them, right?

Here are three problems you might be using as excuses for not delegating:

• You feel you can do the job better yourself.
• There’s not enough time to train someone else to do the job.
• You feel like you have to redo someone else’s work.

If you’re facing these challenges, perhaps it’s...