Have you ever had so much to do that you find yourself running from chore to chore like a chicken without a head? You may find yourself reacting to events and problems, rather than planning ahead. You may also fail to stay on tops of things, so it’s like a vicious cycle. The pile just gets bigger and bigger. Your life gets even more out of control, and your stress level goes way up, too.

One way of dealing with this situation is to manage your time effectively. Some of the world’s most successful people who remain calm under stress manage their time to the last five minutes. That might sound a bit extreme, but these people have to manage vast numbers of projects and deal with huge amounts of work. If they didn’t plan their time, they wouldn’t get all those things done.

The best way to manage your time is to keep some sort of diary. It could be a paper diary where you write down exactly what you are going to tackle and when. Or it could be a large planner that uses lots of stickers and colors to help you remember what is happening. And nowadays, lots of people use electronic calendars to keep on top of their tasks and projects.

To manage your time, you need to know what you want. Plan ahead and prioritize. List what you need to do first. Next, list those tasks that are not as urgent. Learn to delegate and learn to say no.

Make sure you’re in a space with few distractions. And remember to take care of yourself and keep your stress levels down. A calm mind makes good decisions.