Daniel Decker has always thought of himself as a productive worker. He starts his day with a to-do list and a goal sheet. But sometimes Mr. Decker, who works for the Jon Gordon Companies in Jacksonville, Fla., finds himself reaching the end of the day with less done on his to-do list than he had planned.

The culprit? What he calls "the interruption problem" - a time-consuming combination of e-mail and phone calls.

"I finally end up staying late, coming by the office on weekends, or just going in at night after my children go to bed so that I can get some uninterrupted time to complete tasks," Decker says.

Staying late and working longer. It's a pattern affecting growing ranks of employees. It's also a habit more people should kick, says Laura Stack, a productivity expert who is spearheading a movement called Leave the Office Earlier. By developing efficient work habits, she says, employees can accomplish more in less time, freeing extra hours to spend on themselves and their families.

The average American wastes more than two hours a day at work, according to a survey released last week by Salary.com and America Online. Those lost hours cost employers a whopping $759 billion a year as employees surf the Internet, socialize with colleagues, and conduct personal business.

Similarly, a recent international survey by Microsoft finds that workers average only three productive days a week. Americans spend 5-1/2 hours a week in meetings, even though more than 70 percent think those meetings are unproductive. They also receive an average of 56 e-mail messages a day.

As firms downsize, fewer people are left to do the work. "They're all stretched to the limit when it comes to their time," says Bob Miller, a sales trainer in Atlanta. "Productivity is the name of the game."

Time-management experts point out that everyone has the same 24 hours a day to use. Making the most of those hours involves scheduling, prioritizing, and setting goals. That includes figuring out the three, four, or five things that produce the greatest results, and concentrating on those.

"The No. 1 thing that keeps people from being productive is a lack of focus," says Mr. Miller. "They don't know how to prioritize their activities. They let their day run them rather than them running their day."

Many people tell him they work 10, 12, or even 14 hours a day. But when he has them track their time, they realize they are putting in five hours a day of actual work that could be considered productive.

"Simply being 'busy' isn't being productive," says Leslie Yerkes, president of a consulting firm in Cleveland. "To be productive means doing the things that matter most."

Yet too often people focus on things that matter least.

"We let the small stuff get in the way of the big stuff," says K.J. McCorry, author of "Organize Your Work Day in No Time."

She finds that having a way to track things on one calendar makes it easier to plan and concentrate on the big things.

"People have to become more proactive with their time and less reactive," Miller says.

Sometimes the desire to achieve more requires a major overhaul of work habits. Other times, even small changes make a difference.

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