Living in the present is much easier said than done. Ever been in a meeting but your mind is drifting elsewhere? Perhaps you’re thinking of a conversation you had right before your meeting or you’re planning out the rest of your day. It’s amazing how so many of us spend our days at work thinking about our next vacation yet when we’re actually on vacation, we spend so much time worrying about work.

Last week, we discussed how time is something that we never seem to have enough of. Once you’ve looked at how you spend your time and made changes, the next step is to save time when you do things. You can accomplish this in a number of different ways, many of which fall under personal organization.

Here are some examples of how lack of organization can add more stress to your life and make you less efficient:

• You’re late for an appointment because you spent 20 minutes looking for your car keys.

“So much to do, so little time to do it.”

“If I could just get an extra hour each day to catch up”

These are some of the common reactions I get when I ask people about time management. With family commitments and increasing pressure to do more in the workplace, it’s no surprise that people wish they had 30 hours each day to get everything done.

Here are some tips to help you get more done in less time:

Plan out your day: Make a list of goals that you want to accomplish each day so that you focus on doing the things that benefit you the most and avoid wasting time.

In this day and age, people have so much to do that they are often pressured to multitask. Bad idea – at least the way most people multi-task.  If you start one thing and then receive a phone call and that call makes you start something else and then you get an email message that reminds you to do another small task, you’re not being efficient. Even if you eventually get all three tasks done, you’re wasting effort.

We all have important meetings and appointments. Sometimes they are delayed, sometimes we are delayed. Here are three things you can do to save time and be more productive:

Habit 1: Get there early

Try to budget an extra 15-20 minutes to get to your meeting or appointment. This at the very least will reduce your stress level in the event of accidents, traffic or other delays. This added stress can take you out of the mental state you need to be in for important meetings. Plus, getting there early allows you to park in a get away position (for a faster exit) and gives you time to do any last minute preparation (review your notes, use the rest room, etc…).