Tackle your to-do list in record time

(MONEY Magazine) -- No doubt it's gotten harder to get to the bottom of your to-do list at work the past few years. The downside of surviving the layoffs of the Great Recession is that employers have spread out the duties of the departed among those who remain.

"In times of high change, new things are always added to workers' plates," says business-strategy consultant Russell Bishop, author of "Workarounds That Work." Indeed, in a recent survey by Spherion Staffing, 53% of workers reported taking on new roles, typically without extra pay.

If only you could be more productive! You'd reclaim the personal time you've been donating to your company; you'd wow higher-ups with your ability to juggle; and by working fewer hours, you'd effectively give yourself that raise you deserve. Sound good? Try these strategies.

Get help prioritizing

Schedule 10-minute monthly meetings with your boss to review your duties and how you're allocating your time, suggests Garrett Miller, owner of CoTria, a workplace productivity consulting firm.

Besides helping you prioritize, such chats will ensure that the tasks you're putting the most effort into are ones your firm still values. "Priorities shift quickly, and bosses forget to tell people," says Bishop.

When you're asked to shepherd yet another assignment, say, "It'll take me away from X. Are you okay with that?" If you can't drop any projects, negotiate later deadlines on some, ask to have a colleague split the load, or delegate part to an underling.

Start each day with a plan

First thing in the a.m., schedule your workday -- including meetings and phone calls -- so projects don't spiral out of control, says New York career coach Andrea Nierenberg. Become deadline-driven:

Ask bosses for clarifications for "ASAP" and "urgent," says Miller. And since your plan depends upon other people fulfilling their duties, ping a reminder to those who owe you projects a few days before the due date.

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Avoid the black hole

You can lose as much as 25% of your day to information overload, says Jonathan Spira, author of "Overload! How Too Much Information Is Hazardous to Your Organization."

Reduce e-mail volume by avoiding "Reply all." Favor the phone if the issue is complex or negotiation is required, adds Bob Pozen, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School.

Similarly, don't let people interrupt your workflow. "If someone says, 'Got a minute?' " says Nierenberg, "ask, 'How long do you need?' " Kindly tell chatty co-workers that you're up against a deadline -- maybe suggest grabbing a beer after work, says Pozen. And politely bow out of extraneous meetings whenever possible. You may end up with time for that beer after all.