This is something you need to get a grip of. If you start missing deadlines you might be finding the door.

The first place to start is clarifying what you need to have done and by when. Identify what is important, urgent and so on. And then allocate how long the tasks are going to take. Another thing you should do is figure out where you’re losing time. Is it with people coming to your desk for a chat, is it answering irrelevant emails, is it spending time on personal phone calls? When you know what it is that’s distracting you, get it to stop.

For example, have allocated times in your day to answer emails. Or have your computer screen facing away from the flight path of your colleagues so you won’t make eye contact. Or stop phoning your Ma to see what’s for Sunday dinner.

A client of mine swears by lists. Every week he writes a list of what he has to do. And every morning he writes a list of what he’s going to do that day and doesn’t stop until he’s done it. This isn’t something that came to him over night though. He has been doing this for years, has practised it and it’s now simply a habit.

Suss out what’s eating into your time, stop it. Figure out how to help yourself get things done on time. Do it, practice it and succeed.

Eoghan McDermott is Director of Careers, The Communication Clinic . www.communicationsclinic.ie