Technology has made effective time management even more difficult in some ways – and more of a priority. Responding to e-mail and voice mail messages has added another layer of responsibility for professionals, and mobile communication devices have made it harder for employees to break free of distractions and stay focused on their core duties.

In an increasingly fragmented work world where one’s time often seems increasingly vulnerable to outside forces, what’s an overburdened financial professional to do? Here are some suggestions that may help you regain more control of your time:

Focus on one thing at a time. The idea of allowing yourself to tackle one task at a time runs counter to the prevailing norm in many workplaces, where juggling acts are embraced and rewarded. But when you’re trying to perform numerous tasks simultaneously, they can each take longer to complete because you’re continually shifting your focus back and forth between projects.

Office realities sometimes mean that you have to switch gears against your will or stop the task you’re working on to offer immediate feedback on someone else’s. As much as possible though, if you have a client report to finish or a tax analysis to run by day’s end, put the rest of your to-do list aside and focus intently on your most pressing priority. If you’re easily distracted, consider removing signs of other pending projects from your desk altogether so they don’t detract from your concentration.

Break the e-mail addiction. This is a familiar admonishment when it comes to better time management. But how many people have really mastered the tricky art of e-mail management? Studies and surveys have shown time and again that many professionals stop what they’re doing to read incoming messages on their computer or BlackBerry. This constant stopping and starting to monitor e-mails can be a significant time drain and interferes with the ability to concentrate on key tasks.

Advice on how to tame the e-mail beast varies, and no one approach works for everyone. How responsive professionals are to e-mail depends a lot on the expectations of their colleagues and overall office culture. Nonetheless, some proven advice includes establishing your own guidelines for processing e-mail and reading and responding to e-mail only at periodic intervals. Ultimately, the key is to find a system that fits with both your natural work style and the needs of your work environment.

Go with the work flow – yours and others. All professionals have certain times of the day or even days of the week when they feel most productive and capable of performing mentally challenging work. Identify your peak activity periods, as well as those times when your concentration level drops. Then, claim your high-energy periods for undisturbed work. If you need the first two hours of the morning to engage in creative problem solving or develop new business strategies, for example, block these periods off as much as possible.

It’s important to recognize and capitalize on your own productivity peaks and valleys, but try to understand those of your colleagues as well. If you continually swim against the office work flow, you’ll encounter obstacles to getting things done on your timetable. For instance, a colleague may not want to review a complicated spread sheet late in the day or your manager may not want to meet on a Friday afternoon.

Become more conscious of interruptions. Work interruptions certainly make it difficult to get back on track and are impossible to avoid completely. While they are a staple of business life, by being more conscious of their nature and frequency, professionals may be able to minimize their impact.

Anticipate likely interruptions before they happen. If a colleague has asked for your help dealing with a client request, build in some scheduling flexibility to handle any questions that may arise. If you are focused on a specific project and someone requests your assistance, don’t be afraid to explain that you are on deadline and politely ask if you can get back to him or her later in the day.

As the pace of business accelerates and technology becomes increasingly pervasive, busy accounting and finance professionals will probably face even more time management challenges. Although there is no silver-bullet method for putting time on your side, becoming more aware of factors that threaten the quality and quantity of work time is a first step toward finding more effective strategies for improving performance.

DeLYNN SENNA, CPA, is the executive director of permanent placement services for North America for Robert Half International. Founded in 1948, Robert Half is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm. The company's financial staffing divisions include Robert Half® Finance & Accounting, Accountemps® and Robert Half® Management Resources, for full-time, temporary and senior-level project professionals, respectively. For more information about Robert Half, please visit www.rhi.com.