From the following online article: http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advice/eight-ways-to-save-time-20130408

== Eight Ways to Save Time ==

You can't change the number of hours in a day, but you can fill them more
efficiently, with less stress and mental effort. You've likely heard this
before, and perhaps your past efforts at time management have been, well, a
waste of time. But most people's attempts to increase productivity get derailed
by two virtues of modern living: technology and options. Today's onslaught of
tech - smartphones, iPads, search engines, social media - is fragmenting our
attention spans, gumming our mental gears with useless facts, and turning us
into surface-level thinkers. At the same time, all the communication choices we
have today - email, IM, text, Skype, or Gmail chat - are thwarting
efficiency. But we don't have to give up technology to regain control. "You
need to set expectations of yourself and other people," says Daniel Markovitz,
a blogger on time management for the 'Harvard Business Review.' "You need to
say, 'Here's the Bat Phone number. Use it if there's an emergency. Otherwise,
leave me alone to do my job.'" Here are eight ways to manage time.


=== Finish Simple Tasks ===

Always complete easy tasks, like reading a memo - never switch between small
projects. "The mind holds only about seven pieces of information at a time,"
says Carnegie Mellon psychologist David Creswell. "If you switch to other
tasks, those pieces of information get scrambled and need to be relearned. It's
a complete time waster." Bottom line: Don't try to do two simple tasks at once.

=== Break up Complex Tasks ===

Complex tasks like building a budget differ from simple ones: You can complete
them more quickly and efficiently by breaking them up. Creswell found people
who had to complete challenging tasks did so more effectively when they took a
two-minute break and worked on something completely different - for example,
doing a crossword when trying to finish your taxes. "Your brain is
unconsciously processing information during distractor tasks, and it does a
better job," he says. "Even a two-minute period of checking email can have a
beneficial effect." But note he's not advising multitasking here - always
learn the contours of a problem thoroughly before distracting yourself with a
menial task for a few minutes. Also, choose something completely different from
your main project. "The more distinct it is, the better," he says.

=== Build Willpower ===

Willpower is key to efficiency - and just like the muscles in your body, if
you exercise it more frequently, you can improve it. Florida State University
psychologist Roy Baumeister found that making people perform simple willpower
exercises - like using their nondominant hand to open doors or brush their
teeth - strengthened their focus during more important tasks. "When you
practice overriding habitual ways, you are exerting deliberate control over
your actions," says Baumeister. "If you can get people to do willpower
exercises like these, it will improve how well they manage their time and help
them develop the willpower to make better decisions." Hone your willpower by
breaking a routine like driving the same way to work or by giving up a bad
habit like junk food for a week. Willpower gets depleted when you use it too
much - which is why judges and surgeons, who make decisions all day, begin to
make generic or underinformed ones later on. Avoid making major decisions after
a series of hard choices. When possible, make the toughest decisions when your
willpower is strongest - in the morning for most, says Baumeister. You can
identify this time by experience, he says. Are you more likely to forgo a
workout in the morning or afternoon? Do you get more done at work when you
first get in or before you leave

=== Develop Google Discipline ===

Gorging on all the data available today has made us a nation of distracted
thinkers. How many times have you searched for an answer online only to find
yourself wandering through a hyperlink forest, gobbling up factoids, switching
from LinkedIn to Facebook to email? Research shows when people look for an
answer on the Web, they visit too many sites when only one or two would do.
Limit your searching to what you need for a project. Whenever possible, turn
off all other technology, like email and your phone, when completing a project
on your computer.

=== Keep a Calendar, Not a To-Do List ===

To-do lists are ineffective because they lack context: Research shows people
leave the most difficult tasks undone at the end of the day. Instead, Markovitz
advises laying out blocks of time for each task. "I tell people to have a
healthy relationship with their calendars," he says. "How can you prioritize if
you don't know how much time you have? You need to make mindful decisions about
the finite amount of time you have to work." Blocking out time provides
structure and gives you micro-deadlines to complete tasks. Leave a few empty
spaces for inevitable crises and interruptions, and to make room for tasks that
may take longer.

=== Pull, Don't Push ===

Most of us are bombarded with emails, calls, and requests that don't
necessarily need our attention that moment - or even that day. "People push
information on us when it's ready, not when we need it," says Markovitz.
Instead, Markovitz suggests pulling information when needed rather than
passively receiving it anytime. How to pull, not push? If a project is
complicated and involves multiple people, talk about it instead of emailing.
Don't constantly check and respond to emails - process messages in batches,
like once every three hours. Create an email signature that says you don't have
time to respond to everything, and if it's urgent, to call. The same goes for
meetings: Do you really need to be there? "You need to set expectations," says
Markovitz. "You need to slow down the avalanche of information coming at you."

=== Limit Your Choices ===

While you can't change the number of decisions you make for your job, you can
limit daily choices at home. For instance, President Obama wears only blue or
gray suits to curb unnecessary decisions. He also uses "decision" memos with
three check boxes: agree, disagree, and discuss. "Too much choice is
paralyzing," says Sheena Iyengar, a Columbia University business professor.
"You walk into your office and a bazillion people will come at you from every
side - emails, calls, meetings. Ask yourself: Are you being proactive or just
reacting? If you're reacting, then half the day goes by before you say, 'Wait a
minute, what am I supposed to be working on?'" Establish routines that let you
focus on what you need to do first.

=== Prep the Night Before ===

While it's important to get a good night's sleep, the time just before bed is
ideal for getting your thoughts together for the next day - and not just
because it lessens what you have to do tomorrow. Scans of sleeping people show
our brains work on solving problems when we're not awake, so reviewing a little
work before bed helps imprint on your brain exactly what needs to be solved.
"We've all had that aha moment in the shower the next morning," says Creswell.
"That's because you've let the unconscious mind operate organically on the
imprinted information." But avoid overly stressful projects before bed, which
may cause you to toss and turn with worry. And don't work on anything with a
screen within an hour of bed: Studies show the blue light in screens can lead
to fitful sleep.