photo credit: on1stsite.

What if you were the CEO of a  multi-million dollar company?

Would you really let yourself kill an hour of your morning playing Angry Birds? Would you tweet what you had for lunch, what you wish you had for a snack, and what you hope you’ll have for dinner?

Would you convince yourself it was more important to leave twenty-three blog comments than to get that project done? Would you feel the urge to Like ten new Facebook pages and send a few meaningful text messages before you really got started?

Would you do all the detail work, read all the forwarded emails, or answer every phone call?

Or would you realize that your work was too important for that sort of mess? Would you take yourself seriously? Would you consider the size of your paycheck and feel a teensy bit guilty about wasting time on Farmville?

Get more productive, as productive as those CEOs should be (even if they’re not) by borrowing some of their good habits.

• Don’t bother with the stuff that doesn’t matter.

You know what? If you don’t resend that email to ten more friends, the world will keep on going. You don’t even have to read the forwards, open the e-newsletters, or reply to the mass emails. Just hit delete and move on.

• Delegate what you shouldn’t be spending your time on.

You can’t just ignore stuff that has to be done; if someone isn’t made responsible, then it will pile up, a big undone mess, and you’ll still be responsible. Outsource (there are many frugal and creative ways to do this) and delegate. Make someone else responsible.

• Identify and eliminate your biggest time wasters.

Phone? Turn it on silent while you work. Check it every hour when you take a (timed, ten-minute) break. Email? Close your email tab, turn off new email notification. People? Close the door. Lock it. Get child care. Get your spouse to keep the kids. Go somewhere else. Put up a do-not-disturb sign. Chain a large dog to your desk. Hire a bodyguard.

• Plan time to plan.

Planning can turn into procrastinating, yes. But adequate planning, with real-life strategies to carry out your plan, keeps you on track. You need to know where you’re going to know if you’re getting there.

• Don’t do other people’s jobs for them.

Your kid can dress himself? Let him. Your husband can feed himself? Let him. Your sister can book her own flight? Let her. Your mom can choose her own outfit? Let her. Do your job – whatever that entails in family, social, and work circles – and stay out of everyone else’s responsibilities.