Your first step every day should be to draw up a time-table for everything you want to do that day. Write out everything you want to accomplish, and make estimates on how long it’s going to take you to finish each step.

Start your day with your most important job. If you do that first, you’ll feel better for the rest of the day, knowing you don’t have to worry about it anymore. And plus, your mind is freshest in the morning; it’s a good idea to take advantage of that.

End your day with something fun. Maybe watch a movie, or play a video game, or read a fiction book you enjoy.

In the middle of your day you put in the rest of the things you want to do. Don’t forget to work in time for rest, time for meals, and possibly time for a nap in the middle of your day. The key is to not waste time on things that don’t matter. Make the best possible use of your time.

Do not overload yourself with too much work. You’ll find that there’s a limited amount of work you can do before you get exhausted. Exhaustion won’t help you at all. Mix it up with a few fun activities and work that you enjoy. A monotonous routine will only make you bored.

And whenever you feel like you can’t concentrate anymore, just take a break. But don’t go too easy on yourself! If you want to get things done, you better expect to run into at least a little bit of difficulty. Try to keep your breaks short. Long breaks may make you lose interest in what you were working on, and increase the likelihood of procrastination. And during your breaks, remember that the goal is to relax – not to have fun. Have a snack, meditate, lie down for a bit. Don’t turn on the TV. You’re still working, you’re just on a quick rejuvenation break.

It may take some time to find the right balance between work and other activities, but it will be worth it in the long run. So experiment, and find the schedule that works for you.