Today we have a guest post from Dominique Molina. Dominique is President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches, an organization of tax professionals who are trained to help their clients rescue thousands of dollars in wasted tax. In addition to her blogging and speaking engagements, Dominique provides CPA continuing education as a registered educator with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

Isn't working on your own fun? No boss breathing down your neck or micro managing your every move. You get the flexibility of working during your peak performance times, and taking breaks when you need them for say, surfing or kids' school activities.

While working on your own can be cost-effective and liberating, many people feel isolated and find it hard to focus. You may find yourself rushing down the hall to pop in a load of laundry which has piled up, or taking calls and meetings from everyone who thinks since you are home, you are available.

The other side of the spectrum may reveal that you are ALWAYS working. When I worked from home I found it virtually impossible to pass by my home office without stopping in "real quick" to send this email or finish that project. Suddenly I found my 40 hour work week taking 70 hours to complete; yet I was still only accomplishing 40 hours of work. Did I leave my discipline back in my corporate cubicle? I found myself constantly dreaming "if only I had more time. . ."

Since everyone has the same amount of "all the time there is" and we simply cannot have MORE time, the only solution is to more effectively use the time you do have. Choosing where to invest your time will help you get more done in less time, so that you feel you have more time to spend on the fun things. Here are 3 tips to making the most of your time so you can focus and get more done.

Tip 1: Track Your Use of Time - It is human nature to rationalize what we can't see. Tracking your time allows you to quickly see where you are losing precious minutes of each day and gives you the ability to spot the holes so you can use your time more wisely. For example, reviewing my time logs allowed me to see how much time I was wasting in traffic. Holding virtual meetings instead of physical ones created large pockets of "found time" for me to fill with something more meaningful.

Tip 2: Say NO! - When you choose to stop doing something, you free up time for something else. Identify the things that waste your time and don't help you complete your task list. Things like Facebook and online browsing hijack your time and evaporate it away into a vortex of oblivion. I find it helpful when I find myself wandering into this black hole of waste, to redirect my attention by saying to myself out loud, "NO, right now I am _____."

Tip #3: Put Your Important Things First - Consistent with the "80/20 Pareto Principal" most people waste about 80% of each day working on low level, low return activities. If this is you, consider what this pattern of behavior is costing you. You've got to plan your time for the highest value things first; otherwise they don't get done. This can be as simple as doing these tasks first thing in the morning before anything else.

It's up to you to take charge of how you invest your minutes and hours. But if you can master it using the above steps, it will feel like you CAN create more hours in a day.

Photo Credit: purplemattfish