THERE'S a television series running at the moment in which ordinary people are taught to manage their time more effectively.

The premise of Speed Up, Slow Down is that someone who complains that there aren't enough hours in the day gets visited by two time management gurus from the business world. These two pinstriped experts then follow the subject around with a stopwatch and work out how they can save a large chunk of the day.

I saw the first episode of this show, but I missed the second one because I couldn't get away from work in time. How ironic is that?

This programme has the potential to deal with one of the great conundrums of our time: How is it that our lives are full of time-saving gadgets - cars, computers, mobile phones, microwaves - and yet we seem to have far less free time than ever before?

Come to think of it, why do our gadgets never save us as much time as we want?

Take the internet, for example. It enables you, in a few seconds, to gather information that might have taken you many hours of research in libraries on the other side of the world. Yet I'll bet most of us find ourselves complaining that our connection to it isn't fast enough.

I read somewhere that you shouldn't complain about not having enough time to do what you want. There are as many hours in your day as there were in Shakespeare's, Mozart's or Da Vinci's, the argument goes - but then, they probably didn't have to work in an office and do their own laundry.

I've read a bit about time management, and I've tried to spend as much time as I can doing "quadrant two" activities (i.e. things that are important but aren't yet urgent). But I'm up against the biggest possible drain on your time: children. For those who haven't had the experience, let me tell you that children eat up most of your free time (as well as all of your money). They are nature's way of telling you not to sleep so much or watch so much television.

I'm no expert, but let me share my personal favourite time management tips.

1. When talking on the phone to someone who is sucking up your time, get someone to ring the doorbell, or try and reach it yourself, so you can pretend you have to answer it.

2. Avoid any film, play or, especially, television show which critics describe as a "must see". Watching TV has never been compulsory. And if you feel left out because everyone seems to be saying that Desperate Housewives, say, is brilliant, just wait a while until everyone is saying it's overrated.

3. Open your post over a waste paper basket so most of it can be instantly thrown away. Better still, shred it all and see if it matters.

4. Before doing any domestic task, ask yourself: "Could I bribe a child to do this for me?"

5. Remember you can shave around 20 per cent off the time taken to do any job, just by doing it badly.

6. If you're reading something and it doesn't grab you quickly, give up. Life's too short.

MUSIC giant EMI saw its share price fall this week after issuing a profit warning.

You may remember that EMI had to spend 28 million dollars a while back to part company with singer Mariah Carey.

Why would the company want to pay Mariah Carey 28 million dollars not to make any records? Because it was worth it.