There is so much demand on our time these days, and the proliferation of social media and the instant access brought about by smartphones, instant messaging and texting makes it worse.

The good news is that you can control your time and how you – and others – use it.

Here are some simple steps to help you do that.

 Focus on what you do best

Whether you are a one-person shop or you have employees, it’s important to focus on the things only you can do and delegate the rest.

That’s easier to do when you have employees, but if you are the only person working in your business, you can still delegate. It’s called “outsourcing.”

Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.

- Charles Richards

If you’re like me, the first thing that may come to mind is, “Oh my God! I can’t afford it!” Take a step back and run the numbers. How much is your time worth? Put a dollar figure on it. Then look at your time sheets (you do keep track of your time, right?) and see how much time you spend on these tasks.

Chances are excellent you’ll learn what I did: That I couldnt afford not to do it. The extra time I spent, struggling to do things I wasnt good at, was costing me more in lost business than what I paid for something to do these tasks for me.

For me, it was bookkeeping. I was really bad at it and therefore was spending way too much time on it. It was stressful. I was missing payments. I was late on reports. I was a mess.

So I took the plunge and found an excellent local bookkeeper to handle it for me. And here was the added bonus: By the third month, she had saved me about five times the amount of money it cost for her services. I think that’s a pretty good return on investment.

Not only that, I am less stressed, doing a better job with my clients and spending more time building my business.

 Set priorities

I moderate a time management group on Facebook and the biggest problem I see is not time management, but priority management.

A to-do list – which is crucial – is not enough. Use the list to establish the most important things you want to accomplish.

Notice I said “important,” not “urgent.” If you have an important task that is also urgent, obviously it should be A1 on your list. But if you are managing your time well, and focusing on what’s important, you will soon discover that you have fewer urgent things to attend to. And the urgent items that do come up will be easier to handle because youve got everything else covered.

 Batch routine activities

Understand this: Every time you answer an unexpected phone call, every time you open your email, every time someone drops by your office unannounced, you are letting other people set your priorities .

Is that how you want to run your business? Or even your life?

Instead, batch all your related, routine tasks several times a day. Check your email three times a day – once in the morning after you have handled your top priorities for the day, once right after lunch and once about an hour before close of business. And shut it off in between.

Obviously, if you are waiting for an important email or phone call – important to you. not just to the other person – you need to deal with those immediately.

Let your voicemail pick up phone calls during your most productive time of the day and return those calls during one of your “batch” times.

 Look a week out

At the beginning of every week (or the end of it, whichever works best for you), write down what you need to accomplish during the week, then break it down into daily tasks. Yes, write it. On paper. Computers are great, but writing things down help reinforce the message you’re giving to your brain.

 Use your peak-energy time

When is your best time? For many, it’s first thing in the morning. Others are late-starters and do their best work in the late afternoon or evening. Plan your most demanding tasks for those times, and make sure your team members know in advance that you will be unavailable.

 Cut distractions

Check your environment to see if there’s anything that keeps you from using your time most effectively. Do you have enough light in your office? Are your supplies plentiful and at hand? Is your workspace well organized? Can you find whatever you need, when you need it? Take care of these things before you begin your day.

 Include room for the unexpected

One of the most surprising things about being well-organized and efficient is that it gives you space to be spontaneous. Because you’re getting things done, when something arises at the last minute – good or bad – you’ll be able to deal with it without having a nervous breakdown.

Who knows? You might even be able to get out of the office early one day!

Do you have any time management tips that have worked for you? I’d love to hear about them!