You both have the same hours of work but why does your coworker gets all his tasks done and you don't? There is an obvious time management issue on your part. Your coworker is able to finish his everyday work chores because he manages his time wisely; and sadly, you don't. Another plausible reason can be that you try to multitask but not as efficiently as you think. Now, to be as effective as your coworker, you need to learn the secrets of time management. These secrets are actually few and simple to digest so you will not have a hard time inculcating them to your work pattern.

The first secret is learning to prioritize. Sure, you also need to check your personal e-mail, but do you have to do it every hour? You need to do your tasks according to importance and 'work' on leisurely things only on your free time. This is easier said than done but if you want to be productive, you need to learn to concentrate on what tasks you need to give precedence to. After all, you are at your office cubicle because as an employee of the company, you are expected to deliver your assigned work diligently.

More secrets of time management involve your organization skills. Once you learn how to prioritize the things that you NEED to do over those that you WANT to do; then you should practice being organized. To help you in this department, you can use the usual pen and paper, planners or even online sticky notes. Any of these tools can help you arrange your tasks for the day. Before your shift starts, jot down anything you feel important. It could be instruction from your superior or things you think you will forget after a few hours. This will ensure that you do not miss anything.

At the end of your shift, you can transfer your scheduled notes to your planner to make your reminders more organized. The pen and paper serve as a filter for random notes so it's okay if your notes are all over the place. However, your planner must be systematized. A messy planner would just defeat the purpose of having one. Now, a systematized planner can keep you up to date to your future tasks and schedules such as client meetings or board presentation. This way, you're assured that whatever notes or reports you need for these office events, you're ready to deliver. You also need to bring your planner everywhere with you. This is especially vital if you are rather forgetful. Also, by bringing your planner everywhere, you will learn the habit of double-checking your tasks for the day (or week), lessening your mistakes in the future.

Last but not the least tool is the sticky notes. Post-its or online stickies are the ultimate secrets of time management! Having these around your office table (or computer) is fun especially if you have the colorful ones. You can easily post these on your cubicle wall (or desktop) and be reminded of the things that you need to accomplish. This is an efficient way of listing down things to do since you can throw away (or delete) notes that have already been 'accomplished'.