5 ways you're making your job harder than it needs to be

Once you understand where your time goes, Duncan recommends turning your attention to organization — everything from your desk and your computer files to your clothes closet and junk drawer at home.

"Being disorganized is why you don’t have any time," Duncan said. "You're spending too much time looking for something all the time." She recommends giving up two or three weekends, initially, to organize your life.

"You're going to get that time back," she said. "You won't be as stressed. Your confidence is boosted. Your coworkers have more confidence in what you say."

But organizing is a process that takes time and maintenance — "You just can’t go 'poof!' and all is well," she said.

Think of it as Marie Kondo-ing your inbox and beyond.

“The same principles apply. The principles of organizing don’t change,” Duncan said.

Maybe you handed that report in late because you spent too much time helping Bob fix his spreadsheet or searching through your inbox for that important email Jo sent you.

Once you have a clear picture of where your time goes and you organize your stuff both physically and virtually, your next challenge is to use that newfound time in a better way. You’re ready to reclaim your priorities, Duncan said.

"You prioritize based on what’s closest to the money," Duncan said. "What is going to get you paid? What is going to get you a raise? Which clients pay you without any hassles? Those are your priorities."

Duncan worked at IBM after college, which gave her an appreciation for the power of process and procedure. She sees people lose time at work by failing to systematize routine tasks.

"If you do something more than three times, you need a system," Duncan said. "If you look at your core work, you need a process."

"Everybody who touches the work needs to be at the table developing the process," she said. "Don’t make it too complicated."

Whether it's mastering the lesser known features of Excel or simply learning how to type with two hands instead of two fingers, Duncan said it's critical to get the proper training in whatever technology you use on the job.

"Whatever technology you touch every day, you need to learn how to use it," Duncan said.

There are lots of ways to increase your skills, from YouTube videos, instructional books, and online manuals to the free software trainings that many companies offer to their employees.

It takes time to master something, of course, but in the long run, it will save you time by automating tasks you do manually.

"You touch this stuff every day. That's why it's taking you hours to do something that (you could) do in a few minutes. This is why you don’t have any time," Duncan said.