Don't waste time regretting failures or feeling guilty about things you don't do

1. Plan your next day before retiring. This helps to assure a good night's sleep. First thing in the morning, review your priorities for the day.
2. Learn to prioritize and compromise. Do the most important things first, but be sure they are important. Are clean clothes more important than floors you can eat off of? Then skip the mopping and do a load of laundry instead.
3. Don't clutter your life with papers. Handle each piece of paper only once, and throw away anything you possibly can.
4. Take office skills home. Keep a workplace cleared for action and keep three file folders handy. Label one "URGENT," the second one "ASAP," and the third one, "TO BE FILED."
5. Set up a good filing system, This will save you countless hours in the long run. In fact, instead of a telephone table or nightstand, invest in a cheap, sleek, black, two-drawer file cabinet. Place a plant on top, and it goes with anything. Fill with manila file folders and don't forget to label a few for your child's stuff.
6. Use a small, inexpensive tape recorder to plan events, schedule appointments, or list important to-dos. When you're driving to the day care and work in the morning, attach it to your visor, and you and your child can record whatever comes to mind during busy traffic. Drive and at the same time "read" that novel you've been craving, or let your child listen to her favorite adventures.
7. Delegate everything you possibly can to others. Ask for help. And get the kids to pitch in (yes, a five year old can help set the table and fold laundry) whenever possible.
8. Buy a kitchen or egg timer and use for the following:

   Concentrate on only one thing for a set period of time. When the timer rings or buzzes, go on to the next task.