7 ways to plan and have a more productive day
All of us want to get more done with our days. Today, we are going to show you how you can have happier and more productive days by planning out your daily activities in advance.
1 – Make monthly and weekly plans
Every good daily plan is built on the foundations of a strong weekly and monthly plan.
You plan your days and be productive every day, but you won’t make progress towards your big goals unless you have a long-term vision. This is why you need monthly plans and weekly plans. That way you can set up your daily plans to build on each other and push yourself towards your bigger goals.
At the start of each month set aside time to think about what you want to achieve over the month. Then split those goals into four smaller tasks. Those tasks can become your weekly plans and you can split them into 7 smaller actions to become your daily activities.
2 – Make your plan the night before
Did you know that writing down your plans the night before can help you sleep better? It’s true and doing so will also make it twice as likely that you will complete everything on your list.
Take 10 minutes each evening, to fill out your daily activities template (see next section). Write down everything you need to do, as well as when, where, and why you need to do it.
Then you can get started on the list as soon as you wake up.
3 – Physically write your plans down
You are more likely to complete a task if you physically write it down. It is much easier not to commit to a digital list that can be easily deleted. This is why we take the time every evening to write down our daily activities for the next day.
We like to draw out a template for completing our plans in grid or dot grid notebooks. You can find dot grid notebook ideas here.
4 – Send reminders to people at the start of the week
When you are making your weekly plans, you should send out texts or emails to everyone you are planning to meet up with that week. Make sure that they are still able to meet you and set an exact time to meet them.
Setting your plans with other people in stone will help you to make time for the important people in your life (and it also makes sure you are scheduling some fun into your week).
You may find that someone is double-booked and you will have more time in your week than you expected to.
5 – Have a clear why for every activity
If you want to find the motivation to do everything on your schedule then you need to understand why each of those activities is on that list.
For example, your why for meeting with a client will be very clear. You are meeting because it is important for your business.
But, your why for sorting out your savings might not be so clear. If there is no immediate benefit for doing something our brains try to put it off. So, find a why. You may be sorting out your savings because you are doing future you a favor.
6 – Do your hardest task first
Productivity experts call this “eating the frog”.
If you have something that you don’t want to do, then you are better off doing it at the very start of the day. If you schedule the task at the end of the day, you will always find an excuse not to do it and put it off until the next day.
Trust us, if you do that hardest task at the start of the day, you will feel accomplished for the rest of the day and you will breeze through the rest of your tasks.
7 – Remember to schedule in something just for you
Being productive is amazing, but if you don’t take time out each day to recharge and look after yourself then you will eventually burn out.
We recommend that your list of daily activities should include at least one thing that you love to do and helps you relax. Whether that is going for a run, reading in the bath, or spending time with your partner.
Try to avoid overworking yourself if you want to make a habit of being productive.
Barry Lachey is a Professional Editor at Zobuz. Previously He has also worked for Moxly Sports and Network Resources “Joe Joe.” he is a graduate of the Kings College at the University of Thames Valley London. You can reach Barry via email or by phone.
