Write out everything that you need to accomplish, and then joyfully cross off each task as you complete it. As you see your list dwindling, it'll provide the needed motivation to get the rest of the list done, too.

• Put your list on the refrigerator, in your daily planner, or on your smartphone. Keep it somewhere handy so you can look at it often and stay focused.

What's on your list?

Determine which tasks are most important and what can possibly wait until later on in the day, week, or month. If this is something you're having trouble with, you may be trying to squeeze in tasks that can actually be put on hold for a future time.

• Note the deadlines for your tasks. If your in-laws are coming to visit, then cleaning the guest bathroom takes priority over re-organizing the basement.

How will you prioritize your tasks?

Far too many people put things off to the last possible minute. When this happens, we rush frantically to accomplish everything, but we end up doing a cruddy job and get ourselves all worked up for no good reason. There is a better way!

• Use your morning hours wisely and get tasks started early in the day. Chances are you'll finish them in one day rather than having it drag into a second day because you didn't have enough time to get things done. For some, this may mean waking up an hour or two earlier instead of sleeping an hour or two later.

How will you stop procrastinating?  What will you do differently?

A great time management trick is to get the things you dislike out of the way first. If you keep putting it off, you'll attempt to squeeze it in somewhere, and you'll get the feeling of being overwhelmed.

This is my personal preference and it works for me. Once the stinky task(s) is out of the way, I feel like a load has been taken off. Other tasks seem easier and more fun.

• Schedule something fun after you finish your to-do list. This will motivate you to complete the list quicker.

What do you like least?

If you're able to accomplish two things at once, then by all means do it. If you can put dinner on the stove while making a doctor's appointment or wait for a load of laundry to finish while you mend a pair of pants, you can cut your time in half.

Recent studies show that most people cannot multi-task effectively.

• Don't sacrifice the quality of the tasks you're performing. If you burn dinner because you were looking at the calendar to make an appointment, this only wastes more of your time in the long run.

Are you efficient at multi-tasking? If so, great. If not, stop doing it! Focus.