Unless you are a magician, or a mother, or both, multi-tasking is a challenge and, unless the choice is between watching paint dry and flying first class to New York, prioritising isn’t any easier.

A survey by the CMI of 1,175 managers and directors suggests that 84 per cent of us find it difficult to prioritise work and that most are rushing about 24/7.

“Just 63 per cent said they had time to think,” Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the CMI, says. “This is a concern because, as a manager, you are paid to think. Taking time to stand back and think is a priority.”

Time for reflection is a pipe dream for most busy executives today though – 71 per cent say they are so overworked that finishing tasks is a challenge. Half of those surveyed are suffering from meeting overload while 44 per cent are diverted away from essential tasks by internal politics, although this varies greatly depending on sector.

Causon says that the “I want everything, yesterday” society in which we work is harming business opportunities, professional relationships and personal lives. On the personal side, only 33 per cent of managers have a clear idea of how their careers will progress; 54 per cent find it hard to get home on time; and just one in ten strongly agrees that he or she can relax in his or her spare time.

It’s not that managers are unmotivated: some 83 per cent say that they can’t wait to get up and go to work and 75 per cent claim that they find it easy to remain positive.

Causon says that some managers need to delegate and prioritise more efficiently, but suggests that organisations need to consider changing their attitudes too, and learning from companies such as Google and 3i, which give employees time to play and think and in return benefit from increased innovation and creativity.

One manager who rationalises and plans to good effect is Keith Plowman, the director of development and construction at E.on UK. “It is about understanding what is important to you as an individual. You have to appreciate the relative priorities of work and home. For me, Monday to Friday, 7 til 7, is work time; the weekend is home time, and I try very hard to keep them separate,” he says.

“I diarise one-to-ones with direct reports to catch up on a monthly basis. I take time out to catch up with them – what’s going on, how do they feel, are there any issues they want to raise – that works out well for me. I also avoid meetings in the first hour of the day; that gives me a chance to catch up. I am also flexible about the end of the day. I don’t say that I will go home religiously at 6pm. I can stay to 7pm if I need to. This makes it easier for me to deal with the pressure of emerging issues. Otherwise it just builds up.”

Equally organised is Nicola Rolfe, the office manager at Rolfe and Jones, an estate agent, and mother to a three-year-old son. “I have just one meeting a day – the morning meeting where I get to know everyone else’s workload and they get to know mine. After that I am very structured. I allocate certain time slots to tasks in the day. In the final half an hour I set my priorities for the next day. I find a to-do list absolutely essential.”

Although her day is highly structured, Rolfe is still flexible. She deals with urgent requests, although she always tries to complete any tasks in hand first, and has flexible childcare arrangements for those times when she needs to stay late at the office. “I am incredibly organised at work and at home, and I think it works.”

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