Are you constantly feeling like the day is running away from you? Or the other extreme not sure how to structure your day either because there’s too much to fit in and therefore overwhelmed with where to start! In today’s world there always seems to be something vying for our attention that it can sometimes feel we need 34 hours in the day just to scratch the surface of our to-do list.
It’s important to effectively manage your days not only so that you are productive but also feeding your soul. This is key because it’s also very easy to become outcome driven when we spend our days ticking things off our to-do list. Achieving a lot but at the same time feeling unsatisfied. This is often due to not marrying your productivity with tasks that don’t necessarily have a measurable outcome but the feeling it leaves you with is truly priceless.
This lesson is invaluable, it prevents burn out, it keeps you pushing through even when the odds are against you. This is how I managed in the same year to get a professional Degree and smash my Medical Speciality Exams! There’s nothing I dislike more than medical exams and I knew if I had nothing else that I was working that made me feel joy within I was unlikely to pass those exams.
Daily planning isn’t just a list of objectives that require your attention, they are the small blocks when put together create that piece of art called your beautiful life. When creating your daily plan focus not only on what you need to get through but why these tasks are important and how they fit into your life purpose.
By knowing the why behind your actions, those days when you have little energy but have a deadline to meet you understand the reason behind continuing. Keep reading to read my tips on how to plan your day.
I like to work with 2-week plans, I’ve found it rare that I have tasks that can be completed within a few days. Most of my tasks are a series of small ongoing steps towards my big picture; my purpose.
Since brain dumping every fortnight it allows me to see how feasible the tasks are for that period and start to plan which ones will require more time or less time to allow me to plan accordingly. From here each day I pick out what tasks to focus on and how much time to dedicate to each.
There is nothing worse than creating your list of tasks, goals, and then becoming overwhelmed just by looking at them all. Decide which ones have to be completed soon and those that can be placed on a later deadline.
I categorise my tasks; examples include; administrative, novel writing, blog writing, household, and so forth. This allows me to give my attention to each of the currently focused key areas of my purpose building (see the 2020 goals blog post). By doing this you ensure that your daily tasks take into account not only work or home-related jobs but also you never lose sight of the greater objective; that of personal growth and getting closer to a more fulfilled life.
I don’t know about you but I am a ‘faffer’, so I have learnt if my mind says this will take you an hour to complete, I tag on an extra half hour. I know myself well enough that I need those few minutes to ‘faff’ and expel any distractive energy or ideas that may have popped up just when I was about to start writing.
A task or goal without a deadline is hope without action; it’s utterly pointless! So set due dates even if they are tentative ones. Not only does it let you know if you are on track, but it also acts as motivation; sometimes a little bit of pressure ensures you get through your daily tasks and avoid procrastinating.
It also allows you to break down the big goals into bite-size ones, by giving you live progress on your page or app of how far or near you are to accomplishing that set task.
I love writing things down, there’s something about writing it that makes it real for me. But I also know I cannot carry ten notebooks and my huge diary around with me everywhere! So I use an app like Todist or Google Calander or Google drive.
This ensures that if I have a spare half hour on a long lunch break, I can go into my Google drive to see if there are any miscellaneous tasks that I can start with that bonus free time. This also means if you prefer to have everything in one place an app may just be for you.
This is another effective tip on how to plan your day. I keep mine on my desk because I know it’s somewhere I go to every day. Have your daily planner where you can easily access them and where you won’t lose sight of how to get the most out of your day.
If like myself you type out your planner or print your Google Calander perhaps make multiple copies keep one in your room and another in the living room for instance.
Yes, you heard me; your daily planner should not be ten hard, grinding tasks that by the end of the day you are left needing a holiday. We are all under some level of stress right now so be gentle with yourself. If today your body says, actually we want to just read a book and dance, do so! Listen to that inner voice and don’t be too rigid with your daily tasks.
The fact is it is better to rest today and come back tomorrow stronger than force yourself today and fatigue for the next three months.
Yea! This is the extra fun part; always reward yourself or pat yourself on the back when you accomplish a step towards the goal and definitely when you achieve the big goal itself. This creates positive reinforcement and encourages you to stay motivated and focused.
I set intentions every morning; it gets my mind in the right frame and that is one of abundance and knowing that I have already succeeded. My daily tasks are just my action in line with my affirmation telling the universe that I am serious about what I have asked for.
By starting your day with clear intentions you can bring yourself back on track if you get distracted. It will also let you know when it’s time to put the work down and get some rest.
These tips on how to plan your day won’t be complete if I don’t mention this. At the end of each day I put aside 5 to 10 minutes where I review how my day went; did I get most of what I wanted to do done? If not why and how can I re-adjust this for tomorrow? You may prefer to do this weekly or even monthly.
But to be effective we need to evaluate our progress; this is not to beat ourselves up if we haven’t accomplished all our tasks but rather to be honest and realise for instance that watching Love Island Australia each day may be eating into my other objectives time!
So start your daily or weekly or even fortnightly like I do planning and remember to always have fun with it! Do you have a special tip on how to plan your day? Share in the comment section below.
Hey there, amazing women in your 20s and 30s! Are you ready to level up your communication skills and supercharge your relationships? I’m here to guide you on this exciting journey.
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Being assertive is critical to healthy relationships and living a stress-free life. I have said that assertiveness lies in the healthy middle between passivity and aggression. So, it is possible to be assertive without being aggressive.
