Five Ways To Become More Awesome At Getting Stuff Done By MattWillard  [3 more lists]

We waste a lot of time doing minor, "urgent" stuff that doesn't need to be handled right away. And we have a tendency to overload our schedules with things to do, which ends up causing stress. Try eliminating or delegating as many tasks from your to-do list as possible-what tasks will make the biggest impact when completed? Do only three or four of these tasks a day, with frequent breaks.

You're not a machine, so don't try to work like one. Work a while, then get up and get a drink. Stretch your legs. Give your mind a chance to rest. If you can't leave your desk, just turn away and concentrate on breathing slowly for a bit. It can help keep your focus up throughout the day.

Set periods of time to work on something, get rid of all the distractions, and plug away, really focusing on your work. It's a great way to chip at large tasks. What I personally like to do is work one hour on a task without stopping, then take a short break. I come back, work another hour, then take a longer break of about thirty minutes.

Take Saturday or Sunday to review your task list and goals. Eliminate or delegate tasks that do little to impact your life, and make a basic plan for the upcoming week. I like to do this on my day off whenever I can, so I have a basic structure in place for the next seven days.

We all have habits that do nothing to improve our lives. In terms of time management, maybe you can't resist checking the Internet compulsively during work, or you let yourself succumb to any distraction. I'm definitely not perfect in this arena, but I've manage to change a few habits easily with a little tool called the "30 day trial". Commit to a new habit for 30 days, let people offline and online know about it, and chronicle each day with a journal to keep yourself on track. Once you master this ability, lots of habits become easy to break.