You hear this often in advertising, especially for exercise equipment. There is something to this principle at least as far as working is concerned. Beginning your workday with a plan could mean you finish early and with less effort. Use that noggin to make your work more structured. Perhaps you’ve been in the situation before where you have several deadlines looming and a desk full of work that still needs to be done. You want to pull your hair out but don’t relish being bald. What you want more is a system to keep this from happening every month. One solution is to work smarter. One tool you have is a calendar. It can be a desk calendar, virtual calendar or a day planner. Log all of your due dates for work in the calendar. Virtual calendars give the added benefit of alarms and pop-up reminders to keep you on track. For those who travel, PDAs and planners keep you aware of looming deadlines, meetings and paydays. Examine your week at a glance. With one or two deadlines, plan the projects you will work on each day accordingly. Read the rest of this entry »