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With the advent of cell phones and PDAs, our lives are now filled with devices intended to make communication easier. Ironically, though, many of us have let these gadgets, combined with poor time management skills, ruin what would otherwise be a productive workday.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. Here are some tips that you can use immediately to help you become more organized…and consequently, less stressed out.

• Schedule your workday the night before. This suggestion may be the least difficult to implement, but it will provide the quickest return on your investment. Take 10 minutes during the night to review what your following day’s schedule looks like. This review typically sets your mind at ease about what is coming up and often reminds you of a task that you wanted to do in order to prepare for something on your schedule.

Also, write down your most important objectives for the following day. A “To-do” list only helps if you prioritize your time and activities. Unfortunately, people rarely rank what is most important on the list. Try coloring the revenue-generating ideas in green and the non-revenue producing items in red. When you arrive into work the next day, you are then ready to begin working on what is most relevant, instead of thinking about what you to need to work on.

• Use selling hours wisely. Most businesses in your area are likely open between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Given that, try not to fill up that time with non-selling activities. Plan your weekly internal meetings at 7:30 or 8 a.m. If you aren’t the boss, ask yours to make the change based on your self-interest in having as many selling hours as possible available to you. Odds are you’ll find him pleasantly surprised by your request.

Another tip: If you travel in the car a lot, plan phone appointments at that time instead of while in the office. If you move one 15-minute phone call from your office line to your cell phone daily, you just opened up over one hour of extra time per workweek.

• Make clear distinctions between work and personal discussions. Yes, you love your family and friends, but 99% of their communication just isn’t urgent. Accordingly, do not answer personal telephone calls during the day. And make sure all personal e-mails go to your personal account-never your work one. In fact, you’re best off not giving out your business e-mail account to friends or family.

Also, turn off the text function on your cell phone and close your instant messaging client. Have you ever added up how many minutes (hours?) you waste answering people’s meaningless messages to you? Business and personal communication need to be separated-period. Don’t worry, your friends and family will quickly get the message and stop bugging you during the workday.

• Change your e-mail patterns. Switch your e-mail settings so new messages arrive in your inbox every 10 minutes. This way, there is less of a chance you will be interrupted while finishing another e-mail, on the phone or completing another item off of your “to-do” list. It isn’t necessary to drop everything to immediately read and respond to every e-mail that comes into your inbox. E-mail is not intended for instant communication. But the more you respond instantly, the more often people expect you to do so.

When several important projects are piled up on your desk, simply close out your e-mail account altogether. It’s okay to respond at a more convenient time. In fact, it makes more sense to respond later in the day when you aren’t distracted with other things on your mind. The same is true for answering the phone. Feel free to let a few messages accumulate. You can easily call them back later that day or the next morning. As long as business calls are returned with 24 hours, there’s no problem.

• Be selfish with your time. This is the hardest one for salespeople to get comfortable with, but it’s perfectly alright to tell people you cannot do something right then. When someone requests some information right now, politely explain that you are in the middle of something else and ask them what times would be good to meet with them.

These tips will help you organize and prioritize your time better. They may even help you earn more money and reduce your stress level. By controlling your activities, you will no doubt experience a much greater sense of fulfillment.