Have you checked out YouTube today? Did you do it at work? If so, you’re part of 63% of the workforce who’ll admit to wasting time at work.

Employees waste 20% of their work day (1.7 hours) according to a survey conducted by Salary.com. Look at it a different way. In a five day work week the average employee wastes an entire day, and that doesn’t even count lunch.

Let’s assume that I just spent 15 minutes looking at the weather forecast, paying my bills online and talking with my cubemates about the newest Jason Bourne movie. Then I would be just like most workers. The leading time-wasting activities at work include:

• Personal Internet use
• Socializing with co-workers
• Conducting personal business
• Making personal phone calls
• Taking extended breaks to run errands

Men and women waste time equally, but younger workers are inclined to waste more time than older workers. Employees age 20-29 reported the highest total – 2.1 hours a day. The average for 30-39 year olds falls to 1.9 hours and 1.4 hours for 40-49 year olds.

I’m a little depressed. I turn 40 in five months, which means I’m going to have to convert 30 minutes a day from water cooler talk to work production.

There are some things to consider if you find yourself at work doing Sudoku puzzles, downloading music and checking out eBay listings instead of compiling weekly production reports.

You’re not being challenged. If you have time to waste, maybe you don’t have enough to do. It could be time for a new challenge. Maybe you’ve mastered your current job duties, and you’d like to take on additional responsibilities. Ask your supervisor for more challenging work.

You’re burned out. Take a vacation to recharge your batteries. That’s what your paid time off (PTO) leave is for. Hopefully, you’ll come back rested and ready to work. But then again you might not. So…

Quit. You may beyond repair, so to find challenging work you might need to get another job. Seriously, how many hours of Tetris can you play before you need to pack up your box and hand in your keys?

Most bosses don’t expect their employees to work non-stop eight hours a day. Bosses (OK – good bosses) know what employees are producers and which ones are slackers. Breaks are to be expected and can benefit your company’s culture by strengthening the bond between co-workers.

There’s a difference between taking a nap and having a casual conversation with your peers. Internet research that helps you increase your overall productivity impacts your company’s bottom line more than spending an hour updating your MySpace profile.

That reminds me. I need to look up a recipe for dinner tonight. Where will I find the time?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you’re preparing for a business trip? Maybe you’re a seasoned pro and packing for such trips is no big deal. For some, like me, just trying to figure out what you need to bring on a vacation, let alone a business trip, is enough to cause a panic attack. From laptops to dress attire, packing for a trip is enough to shake even the most confident of travelers. If you tend to stress before going out of town, here are some tricks that will help you be better prepared for any trip.

Travel Light – Travel size items are great whether you’re going on a three day trip or a week long trip. Travel size lotions, shampoos, conditioners, cotton swabs, razor sets and other items that can be discarded when you’re finished, help lighten your load on the way back. Hotels often supply some of these items as well. Another option is to pack clothing items that can be interchangeable. Packing a solid black or brown pair of dress pants or skirt and wearing them with different dress shirts will not only allow you a variety of outfits to wear, but will also lighten your luggage.

Confirming Confirmations – Confirming your hotel, car rental agency, taxi or other reservations is always a great idea. This saves you from last minute surprises when you arrive at your destination. When confirming, make sure you get the name of the person you spoke with, and write it down along with the time of your phone call in case there are any discrepancies.

Making a List and Checking it Twice – Ever get on the plane and wonder, “Did I pack my dress shoes?” And then, a sudden wave of heat goes over your body as you begin to worry because you can’t remember if you did or didn’t. By making a list and checking it off as you pack, you can avoid that overwhelming feeling mid-flight of whether or not you packed all of your belongings.

Front Door Service – The night before you leave, set everything, I mean everything, by the door – your jacket, keys, tickets, wallet or purse, suitcase, shoes, anything that you want to take with you on your trip. That way, if you’re in a hurry to get out the door, you can be assured that you’ll still be sure to grab everything.

By following these tips, you will ensure that when the airline attendant says, “sit back, relax and enjoy your flight,” you’ll be able to.

I reviewed my resume this morning. I’m not looking for another job – I was checking to see if I listed multitasking as a skill set that I possess. Thankfully it was not.

Attention everyone, “I stink at multitasking.”

At home I can do laundry, prepare dinner, empty the trash and check e-mail. What usually happens in the middle of this activity is I’ll lock up and forget what I was going to do. I’ll actually stand in the middle of the living room until I remember that I was headed to get a tissue.

Put me in front of the TV and rest of the world ceases to exist. My wife can ask me a question three times and I’ll not hear her. It’s frustrating to her because she multitasks well. She can have a conversation while reading a book and watching TV.

At work, my lack of multitasking ability is beneficial. Concentrating on one task and doing it well is, in my case, a stronger attribute because when I multitask to get everything done sometimes my work suffers.

When I approach a project, I break it down into multiple tasks. Take this blog post for example. I will research, write, edit, proof and post – five steps. That’s not multitasking – it’s accomplishing one task at a time. I have a to-do list each day of three to five significant work projects that need to be tackled one at a time.

I decided to admit my multitasking deficiency when I read an article in the New York Times that challenged “any man to talk on the phone, send a fax, reply to an e-mail, change a diaper, get a toddler a snack, monitor what your school-age children are watching on TV and add to the grocery list – all at the same time.”

I wasn’t up to the challenge. At best, I can listen to music while working, but that’s like counting breathing while walking as multitasking.

Do you think women are more naturally prone to multitasking? Are you a multitasker or a uni-tasker like me?