Five ways to get the most out of each day

4. Schedule your telephone calls. Every time the telephone rings it's an interruption. If you're engrossed in some work it's fine to let the caller leave a message on your voice mail or answering machine. If you decide to answer the phone, explain that you can't talk at that moment, and arrange to set aside a time for a call later using these guidelines:

• Each party should write down the time and date of the call
• Take each other's phone number so you can get in contact if there's a conflict
• Outline the topic of discussion
• Decide who will make the call

5. Set aside time to meet your staff and colleagues. In most offices, time is wasted by people getting up from their desks to ask someone else a question. This interrupts both parties. Here are some ideas to help you solve this problem:

• Set aside specific times to meet people
• Have sales and staff meetings later in the week. Most businesses hold their meetings first thing on a Monday morning, which drains people of their energy and enthusiasm. As an alternative, have the meetings on Thursday or Friday
• Give out tomorrow's work on the previous afternoon. This gives people time to organise the following day's workflow and the opportunity to think about what they need to do

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