With today's busy lifestyle you will often feel that there simply isn't enough time to do everything you want to do. Most of us have busy work schedules and have families to look after so every minute of leisure time seems like a valuable commodity. However, there are some simple steps you can take to get more out of your day.

Whether you work in an office or run your own business, managing your time effectively can make you more productive and free up more time for the activities you enjoy. However, you will have to make some changes before you can do this effectively.

The first thing you have to do is accept that there is only so much time available in any day. We all have days where we are extremely productive and even achieve more than we thought possible. However, this is rarely sustainable and sooner or later you will burn out if you try to pack too much into each day.

So when you are planning your time for a day, you need to think about what you can realistically achieve with the time you have. One option is to allocate certain amounts of time for certain things. For example, you might want to dedicate nine hours to work, two hours to chores, three hours to your family and two hours to doing something that you enjoy on your own.

There is only a certain amount of time available to you and you can not change that. However, you can learn to use this time in the most effective way possible. First, I invite you to take some time to consider what is most important to you and what you are good at. These are the things that you need to be spending your time on.

If for example, you develop websites you will have different tasks such as graphic design, programming and writing content. Perhaps you have a flair for graphic design and programming and you are very productive with these tasks, but you struggle when it comes to writing content. In this case you need to delegate the writing work and concentrate on what you are good at. This is effective time management as it will boost productivity and ensure that you are spending your time on something you are good at and enjoy.

It may take a few weeks, but if you actively try to identify what is important to you, you will quickly learn how you really need to be spending your time. This will allow you to plan out your day effectively and give you a satisfying sense of control.

However, you could even take it one step further by choosing the best time of the day to do certain tasks. If you look at your working day closely you will find that there are certain times when you are suited to certain tasks.

For example, we are usually most alert in the morning so you may want to use the early hours of your day for the work that takes the most brain power. In the afternoon you may find that your energy is more suited to meetings or making phone calls, while you might like to wind up your day with basic housekeeping tasks like filing emails or updating your contacts. This will vary from person to person so experiment with it and you will be able to see when you are most suited to certain tasks. Once you have an idea you can plan your day accordingly to boost productivity.

Effective time planning is a very personal thing because of the need to identify what is really important to you. However, it is worth working at as it will lead to a happier and fuller life for you.

Author's Bio: 

Discover how you can easily accomplish more in the same or even less time.
If you're struggling with time management, then visit
http://www.AboveAndBeyondTimeManagement.com

Wendy Hearn works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time.