"Just when will I have the time to do that?" we all hear people (or perhaps ourselves) cry when confronted with another new task on the workload. This not only happens in work life, but in our personal lives too: pick up the kids, do the shopping, go to the gym, see friends- but when? Not enough time! There are little tips and tricks you can do to change your lifestyle and grab back some of that lost time.

1. Know how long things are going to take

It's all very well managing your time, but you can only do it effectively if you're good at knowing how long something will take you to do. Scheduling 30 minutes for a phone interview, for example, when it could really take up to an hour with the candidate's individual questions is one of those incidences where it puts you behind from the get-go. Once you know how long something is going to take, schedule it. Got a business lunch? Sure, you've been given an hour, but allow for it to run over if you're discussing many things in that period of time.

Travelling to a meeting? Make an allowance for any delays on the road or rail that might scupper your schedule should they happen (and let's face it, they often do!). One thing you DO have control over are the length of your breaks (and you really do need them). A ten minute screen break and stretch can do wonders for your well-being, and help to break up the monotony of particularly boring tasks.

2. Don't leave yourself open to distractions

This is a topic all on its own, but in brief - picture the scene. You have your work email open, but you also have various browser tabs open. Maybe Facebook, your home email, and a news ticker. You don't need the three latter websites, but sure enough, you will get alerted when a friend posts on Facebook, or when a headline hits, or when a new email pings into your home inbox- and what do you do? Stop the important work you're doing and spend "just" ten minutes having a fool around. It's fun, sure - but those ten minutes will add up. The same goes for receiving texts on your mobile... unless you really need that avenue of communication open during the day, close it down and deal with it in your own time.

3. Learn to multi-task when it's easy

There are hard ways to multi-task, otherwise known as juggling three or more things at once, which is no good for anyone's time management or organisation skills. There are times when multi-tasking will be easy. If you have to learn about accounting as part of your new job, for example - buy an accounting audio book and play it in the car on the way to work. You have to drive, but you can also listen - an easy multi-task.

4. Never lose track of time

There are some people who have watches either too fast or slow to make themselves feel they have more time, or to force them to be early. If you were a good time manager, you wouldn't need to do this. Always have half an eye (but not full, distracting focus) on the clock. If you've already followed the tip in knowing how long certain tasks take, then you're already one step ahead of the game when completing them to schedule and on time.

5. Get into good habits

All of the above tips require repetition and discipline so that they become habitual. Practise often, and more effective time management will become second nature to you. Once a routine has been set, it will be easier and easier to be more productive, happier, and less stressed at work - the ultimate goal of every time manager.