Does your workday consist of a frenzy of meetings and appointments, but you never seem to make any headway? Do you feel like you don’t get a chance to breathe until it’s time to go to bed and start the rat races all over again? Well, you’re not alone. Lewis Carroll said it best with a quote from one of his Alice in Wonderland tales:

What is the name of this not-enough-hours-in-a-day dilemma? It’s called time management and it is a myth. Well, it is a myth if you take the term “time management” literally. That’s because you can’t manage time; you can only mange yourself within the boundaries of time. So, time management could be more aptly named “personal management.”

Here are three tips to help you knock down that inbox and fend off your appointment calendar before tomorrow’s reports are due:

1. Don’t rely on your memory because short-term memory is exactly that: SHORT! Carry a paper day planner or a smart phone EVERYWHERE you go. Instead of writing down phone numbers, dates and other info on tiny pieces of paper just to be entered again on a calendar, enter the information immediately.

2. Control how and when people contact you. Just because you own the smartest smart phone that technology can offer, doesn’t mean that business associates should be able to interrupt you at will or that you are available the second your phone alerts you of an incoming call, text or e-mail.

3. Set priorities and stick to them. When you receive a project, ask when it is due. Also, don’t just set priorities by due date — look at the big picture. Don’t find out the day before a deadline that you’ve forgotten to plan ahead.

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