People figure they'll get to the personal stuff as soon as the work is finished,

I would say that 75 percent to 80 percent of the clients I work with choose the wrong place for their files. They tuck it away in some remote location like a spare bedroom or in a basement.

Leaving work a half-hour early makes you work as if you're on a deadline all the time.

If there's an emergency, someone will come get you. Use this time to think strategically about your work.

Paper is the No. 1 problem for people. File as you go so you're not pulling out things at the end of the year that are stuffed in drawers and briefcases and boxes and handbags.

The influx of e-mail never stops, particularly in a global economy, ... You could always check e-mail. And people are still programmed to wait for things to calm down in order to do proactive stuff: 'When it quiets down, when I get through this flood, this batch, these to-dos, I will get proactive.' But there never is a quiet time.