Today's guest post is from Poornima Apte, Managing Editor for GIFT SHOP Magazine.

One of the most over-hyped terms in today's workplace is "multi-tasking." When someone is praised as being a good multi-tasker, what they really mean is: This person can get many things done.

And the road to getting many things done well is not through handling 10 projects at once, but in planning and systematically implementing the details in every project. How many times have you finished up work for the day and felt like you achieved nothing? It was probably a result of flitting from task to task to task trying to do everything.

There was a very interesting article in the New York Times recently that made me think about how work can get done well. It talks about how we need to refocus our attention away from distractions and in the process, become more productive.

I have found the following tips really help:

• Make a list every day of work that needs to be done. No, it doesn't take too much time and yes, it makes you feel better to check each item off! Buy yourself a really fat, nice notebook to start the habit.
• The devil IS in the details. Plan each project down to each last detail. Make the time to implement it right.
• Don't start every day by doing the easiest stuff first. While it’s tempting to do so, tackle the most difficult jobs when you are at your most productive (in my case, it's first thing in the morning). Save the more routine stuff for when you are less productive (after lunch or end of day).
• Plan ahead. It always helps produce your best work.
• If you plan on leaving the store or your desk at 5, don’t work, work, work till you drop. Instead, stop five minutes before you really want to stop, tidy up your workspace and make a list for tomorrow. Then when you come in, you'll be energized and ready to go instead of clearing clutter first!

What are your secrets for being productive in your store? How do you share strategies with your staff? How do you reconcile the fact that different people might have different strategies for productivity? Share your comments and ideas with us!