To double your productivity while relieving stress, take these simple steps.

The everyday responsibilities of most jobs can be demanding. Having to manage more than one project at a time can be downright bewildering, even paralyzing.

How can you master the office juggling act? The solution is simpler than you may realize, according to speaker and consultant Brian Tracy, author of Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible. Tracy continually hones his own juggling skills while writing four to six books a year, managing three different businesses, and giving countless talks to audiences worldwide.

Tracy recommends that you:

• Write it all down.

  “Every minute you spend in planning will save you 10 minutes in execution,” he claims. “At the beginning of each day, I take out a yellow legal pad and write down everything I have to do, organized according to priority. There may be 25 to 30 tasks in all.”

  Tracy mentions a recent survey of heads of fast-growing companies. When asked which time-management tool they used, 49 out of 50 executives answered a yellow pad.

  “You can double your productivity and get all your projects done on time if you have the discipline to write your plan down before you begin,” he says.

• Keep a project list. Whenever he faces a large, multitask job, Tracy pulls out his handy legal pad, turns it sideways, enters the names of the months down the left-hand column, and the days—1 to 31—across the top. He blocks off the weekends and any dates he’ll be out of town so he can see at a glance which days can be devoted to work. Then he fills in the work tasks.

  “For example, I may plan to write chapter 1 on Monday afternoon between 1 and 5, and then on Wednesday from morning to noon,” he says.

• Revise regularly as needed.

  “Do I always meet my targets? No. Do I get off track? Yes,” Tracy admits.

  But that’s OK, he insists; by writing it down, you’ve imposed a sense of order on your life. If you get behind, you simply revise your project list and keep your cool because you still feel in control.

• Identify key tasks and results. Pinpoint the ideal result for each project, including the desired date of completion. Plan everything around that, and include a 10 percent cushion of time for unexpected delays. Importantly, identify any tasks that are bottlenecks and make it a priority to tackle them first. This ensures you can complete all the tasks that follow them.
• Don’t try to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time. Start with the biggest, most important task and discipline yourself to stay on it until it’s complete, Tracy recommends.

  “You have to fight the ‘monkey mind’—the mind that jumps from branch to branch, is easily distracted, and tries to get you to constantly check your e-mail,” says Tracy. “Fight this battle and win it. Structure your workplace, clear your desk of everything but that task, and discipline yourself.”

  Staying on task can be the hardest thing to do, but Tracy claims it activates a psychological principle that’s validated by research. Every task you complete gives you energy for forward movement, he explains.

• Keep reviewing and evaluating. “Whether you’re juggling multiple projects or just one project with multiple tasks, every day should begin with planning, reviewing, and writing down your priorities,” Tracy reminds. “When you make that step part of your morning routine, you may be amazed at how productive each day can be.”

Polly Turner spoke with personal coach and consultant Brian Tracy, author of Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible, Amacom, 2007, $16.

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