Frustrating, isn’t it? You start your day off with every intention of sailing through your ample to-do list. But then someone calls to schmooze…or you fritter away an hour slogging through junk and joke e-mails…or you try to juggle too many tasks at once and end up making next to no headway on any one of them. Come day’s end, you wonder, "Where the heck did my time go?" Well, here’s your chance to finally break that cycle (and it doesn’t involve becoming even more of a multi-tasking machine than you already are!)

Read on for effective strategies that’ll help you make the most of your time – at home or at work – so that you can get tons done and enjoy each day more.

Seize the Morning. At the end of your day, make a list of the top 10 things you want to accomplish tomorrow.

Then get to the office a half hour earlier than usual and tackle your highest priority projects first. Yes, it’ll be a tough time adjustment initially, but the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel will make it all worthwhile.

Exercise E-mail willpower. Constantly checking those messages is addictive and can stop you from getting your real work done. So put yourself on a strict e-mail diet. “Don’t ever check your email for the first hour of the morning,” advises Julie Morgenstern, corporate productivity consultant and author of Never Check E-mail in the Morning.” Then, adds Morgenstern, “Process your inbox every one to two or even every three to four hours depending on the demands of your job.”

Break down your tasks. Productive people divide their bigger projects into chunks that suit their attention span. For some it’s 10 minutes and for others it’s 20 or 30, or even an hour. Not sure how long you’re good for? “Give yourself a to-do, a task that’s challenging or one you don’t particularly enjoy doing and see how long you stay focused,” suggests Morgenstern. “Then break all your tasks down, as needed, to match the duration of your concentration.”

There’s a subtle but powerful benefit that comes with segmenting your projects. “You’re effectively saying to yourself, ‘What can I finish in this block of time?’ as opposed to ‘What can I start”, says Morgenstern. That just-get-it-done mind-set will help you power through even your most mundane responsibilities.

Quit Multitasking. Ninety percent of American adults attempt to juggle more than one task at a time, according to a poll commissioned by the publication Scientific American Mind.

Yet six out of 10 of them say that despite being busier, they’re getting less done.

“While it’s true that employers value people who can handle a lot of things being thrown at them at the same time,” says Morgenstern, “you’ll be much more efficient if you do them in an orderly way.”

But how are you supposed to stay focused on just one thing when everyone always seems to need everything “right now”? Here’s how: Ask yourself, Is banging out a memo or talking to Stephanie from accounting worth making the task that I’m working on now take even longer than it needs to? says Morgenstern. Or, remind yourself how good you’ll feel when you finish the work in front of you. And whenever you’re about to get distracted, say to yourself, “focus on the joy of completion” (or come up with your own mantra!).

Protect your productive time. “The number one complaint I hear is “I don’t have time to focus during the day because people are always interrupting me,’ “says Morgenstern. When you say, “Sure, I’ve got a minute” to someone, you’re effectively saying “I don’t have time” to the project on your desk.

And behind every project your late on is a person you’re letting down. “People hold up whole departments because they cannot control the flow of interruptions and focus on their work,” says Morgenstern.

Tape a note to your cubicle: “Can it wait? Under deadline.” When someone calls or stops by and says “Do you have a minute?” you can say, for instance, “I’m in the middle of something that I need to finish in about 20 minutes.” Then defer that person to a later time. Morgenstern suggest that you set aside certain parts of each day when you can give people your undivided attention. That way if you say, “Can we talk at 3 o’clock?” you know you’ll actually be available at that time. Work in some body language cues to reinforce your I-can’t-talk-right-now message. “I wear headphones at work and when someone pops their head in my door, I only uncover one ear so they know I’m not going to kick back with them,” says Megan Thome, a 31-year-old publicity coordinator in Kansas City, MO. Other ways to keep a visitor from lingering: Stand up just as the person stops by your office, as if you are on your way to a meeting, to lunch, or to the bathroom.

Or keep your hands on your keyboard and turn your head just enough to make eye contact.

Soothe your aching back (or shoulders or neck). Nearly one in three Americans suffers from body pain that affects their productivity, according to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Feeling achy? Instead of popping painkillers, try the “Office Chair Twist,” suggests Twee Merrigan, a yoga instructor in New York City.

Sit at your desk with your knees and hips pointing straight ahead. Inhale and really sit up tall.

Exhale and twist to the right. Swing your right elbow behind the chair and cross your left hand onto the outside of the right thigh. Breathe in and out five times.

Inhale and face forward.

Repeat on your left side. Before you get back to the task at hand, pause and notice how much better you’re feeling.

Take a break. You’ve probably heard this advice a million times – but that’s because it really works! Don’t’ think you have time to take five? You do. “Breaks will actually stretch your time because you’ll return to your task feeling energized and renewed. “It’s magical,” says Morgenstern. So stroll to the water fountain and refill your cup. Or chat with a colleague briefly about her son’s Little League game. Or flip through a favorite magazine. Mom and part-time marketing copywriter Emily Auchard of San Rafael, CA, does the crossword every day. “It’s almost like a meditation, because I have to concentrate on the words – instead of all the demands around me,” explains the 45-year-old.

“And it uses a part of my mind that doesn’t come into play when I’m changing my daughter’s diaper!” (Note: Sorry, but browsing the Internet or cleaning out your inbox don’t count as rejuvenating activities.)

Enjoy your day at 5. Or, okay at 6 or 6:30 – but definitely not at 9 p.m!. The more you burn the midnight oil, the less fuel you’ll have for tomorrow. Wrapping up your day at a reasonable hour is the best way to guarantee that you begin the next morning recharged. Just take a few minutes to jot down your to-do list before you close up shop, so that tomorrow can be just as productive as today.

Source: Taken from an article from www.boomers.msn.com.