Want to leave the office on time so you have more time for your spouse and kids? You can start by working smarter and faster.

1. Prioritise!

With so many tasks and so little time, you need to prioritise and attend to the most urgent tasks first. Even if you can’t work on the items now, you can seek help from colleagues or delegate it to someone else.

2. Focus!

Cut down time-wasting activities like daydreaming or chatting with colleagues via MSN Messenger. To get work done faster, you need to stay focused. Write a list of tasks you need to complete by today and tick off completed items as you go along. Ask to be excused from discussions and meetings that do not directly concern you.

3. Cut interruptions!

A colleague who walks by to chat; a phone ringing in the background; these are just some of the things that break our concentration and make us lose our focus at work. You can build a culture of respect and negotiate for uninterrupted time. Schedule a time to attend to colleagues and requests and make sure your respond to them as promised. Allocate specific time slots during the day to check and reply to e-mails, or check your phone mails and return phone calls.

4. Manage emergencies!

Despite all the best of plans, there are bound to be last-minute emergencies and unexpected scenarios that will force you to drop everything to attend to them. Very often, we become too focused on fire-fighting and forget to return to the previous task we had on hand until the very last minute. You can help curb the spark that starts the fire by preparing contingency plans for specific scenarios or training staff and colleagues to help put out the fire faster. Remember to return to the task at hand and move on the crisis has been managed.

5. Eliminate procrastination!

Speaking about wanting to get things done but never acting on it just delays the completion of the task and lowers your productivity. Start by breaking an overwhelming task into smaller, achievable mini-tasks. Get help from your colleagues and staff to help push you forward until you complete all your milestones.

6. Ask and accept help!

If things get too overwhelming, do not be afraid to ask and accept help from your friends, family or even employer to help you better manage your work-life issues.

7. Celebrate little successes!

Don’t be too hard on yourself. When you achieve a goal you set out to do, give yourself a little treat.