My CV and Me is a company that advises people on how to find a job and make a good impression. But their tips on how to ensure a productive day make equally useful reading for home business owners. We're taking note of the 'make emails 5 sentences or less' point - expect to see shorter emails arriving from the EN team!

1. Plan and prioritise your day

Make a list of tasks, meetings and anything else that could occur during the day. If these tasks involve phone calls, write down the numbers. Then develop a system for prioritising these tasks and take this list with you everywhere you go. This means that spare time is never wasted because you can spend it doing odd jobs, such as making calls. Effective planning results in feeling less pressured.

2. Finish tasks rather than starting new ones

Most people have a few projects going on at all times and it’s tempting to dig in to new ones before completing others. By doing this you’ll usually be costing yourself more time and effort later when it comes to finishing those tasks and projects. If you’re struggling with too much to do, it’s best if to devote time to tasks and projects that are near completion.

3. Pace yourself through the day

Some people work best early in the mornings, others prefer afternoons or evenings. Everyone has times of the day that are stronger in terms of focus and productivity. If you can match your best times for work with the most intense tasks and your least productive times with more routine tasks, you’ll get more out of your day.

4. Track your time

You might be surprised to know exactly how you spend your time throughout a work week. Tracking your time can help you to find inefficiencies and ways to improve your productivity. You can use a simple excel activity log with a column for time taken.

5. Attend select meetings

Only attend meetings you really need to be at and politely decline others. Avoid impromptu meetings which are really interruptions and time wasters.

6. Plan telephone calls

Make your outgoing calls in blocks. You’ll probably keep conversations shorter. With incoming calls, if you're busy it's fine to let the caller leave a message on your voice mail. If you decide to answer the phone, explain that you can't talk at that moment and arrange to set aside a time for a call later.

7. Edit that email you're writing down to less than five sentences

The shorter your email is, the more likely you are to get a response. Try the ‘five sentences or less’ rule. If your message has to be longer then pick up the phone and call instead.

8. Make an appointment with yourself

Give yourself uninterrupted blocks of time - half an hour to an hour during the day. This will enable you to concentrate and focus your attention. Close the door, ignore the phone and give yourself time to think and concentrate.

9. Have a set end time

With a set work end time it’s easier to get more productivity out of each hour, since they are limited. Without a set ending time you often find yourself working with a little bit less efficiency because you feel like you’ve got plenty of time - make evening plans and arrangements and stick to them!

10. Plan your next day the day before

Every evening, write down what you've got to do the next day so you can get started first thing the next day. If you wait until the next day, it may take you a while to remember exactly what you did the day before and you may overlook some details.

By taking these steps your day will be productive and you'll be able to leave the home office on time!

• My CV and Me