It's a common problem - too much to do, and not enough time to do it. How can you make sure the essentials get done each day? The answer lies in prioritizing, organizing and tracking your time and to-dos with a weekly calendar.

Are you relying on a series of sticky notes and reminders jotted on the back of receipts to keep you organized each week? If so, you're in the same boat as thousands of other people, but therearebetter ways to effectively manage your time and ensure you don't miss a thing - and have time left over for a little fun.

Prioritize

Today you need to pick up dry cleaning and prescriptions, pick up some groceries and get that new book you've been dying to read - and that's in addition to getting the kids to and from various practices, cooking dinner, helping with homework and, oh yeah - going to work. How will you get it all done? First, prioritize the things youhaveto do. Other than go to work, what else really must be done? Do you really need the dry cleaning and prescriptions today? If so, add them to your must-do list. Obviously the children need to get to their activities, but are there any carpool alternatives? And what about that book. Do you really have to get it today? Probably not. If there are things you can move to a different day of the week, by all means do so. Or, if there are things you'd like to get done on a particular day but aren't essential, try adding them to the bottom of the list for that day. Mark each essential with a star or other mark and then tackle those first.

Organize your Tasks

Relying on a centralized to-do list (rather than dozens of sticky notes) will help you remember what needs to be done and reduce your chances of forgetting to do something. A weekly calendar can provide you with just the location you're looking for. Many online calendars provide ample room to make note of all of your to-dos and allow you to easily move tasks from one day to another. Be sure to look for one that's printable, so you can simply print out a particular week take it with you as you complete your errands.

Track

It sounds so simple, but it's really very effective - checking off the tasks you've completed helps make you more organized. How? That sense of accomplishment you feel at the end of each day when you realize how much you've done totally makes it worth it - and it also makes you more likely to continue to stay organized the next day and the next day and so on, until you've more efficiently managed your time each week. After all, making better use of your time not only makes your life run smoother and reduces your stress, but also leaves you more time for fun.

Tackle time management a week at a time with the help of a user-friendly weekly calendar. You'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish, and how much time you may find foryou.