Planning out your days is the best way to get the most out of it. If you are reaching for a goal, or just have lots to knock off your to-do list, planning can help you work most effectively. It’s easy to tell you to plan out your day, but how should you start? What do you need to consider? There are several things to consider as you plan your days to help you work most effectively. I’ll do a quick outline of the top 5 things to consider when you’re planning how to use your day.
1. Prioritize Your To-Do List
This is the first step in planning your days. What do you want to accomplish that day? What needs to happen and what can possibly wait if you run out of time? What is your most challenging task? When would you have the best chance of completing this task?
2. Decide What Your Deadlines Are
Some things like cleaning the house or making Christmas cookies don’t have an obvious deadline. But, if you set one, you’re more likely to follow through and get that task done. For example: If you have people coming over for a dinner party on Thursday and you’ll need to do dinner prep on Wednesday night, you may want to clean the house before Wednesday so you don’t have to scramble the night before the dinner party.
3. Determine When You Do Your Best Work
This is most important for those tasks that are difficult to accomplish. Those daunting, undesirable tasks like writing an uncomfortable e-mail to your co-worker about the poor editing on their last report or calling your in-laws to explain that you’d prefer to spend Christmas at home with your spouse and kids only instead of joining the annual gathering. You want to schedule these bigger items for a time when you’re the most fresh and able to do your best work. This way, you give yourself the best chance of tackling them quickly and with relative ease. Some people work best first thing in the morning. Others find their groove late at night. Whatever part of the day has you feeling most energized and gives you the greatest capacity for focus is the time to get those “big ticket” to-do list items done.
4. Figure Out What Environment You Need
Some tasks can only be done in certain environments. If you were planning to read the last few chapters of your book before book club, you probably won’t be able to do that at your kid’s basketball game. If you need to prepare an appetizer for a party you’re going to, you probably can’t do that in your car, unless you’re really talented. Once you know what type of environment you need for your to-do list items, you can start grouping them together. This helps when you need to get creative with your scheduling to accomplish more. For instance, a couple of weeks ago when my washer was out, I had to get creative to fit in a trip to the laundromat. So, I brought my tablet with me and worked on my blog there. Thank goodness for cell phone hot spots!
5. Give Yourself Some Wiggle Room
There are always things that come up in the day to day when you’re living that mom (or dad) life. Whether it’s needing to pick up a sick child from daycare or having to give your dog a bath because they rolled in a stinky dead thing outside, you have to account for these variables in your schedule. Give yourself some unscheduled time. Then, if you end up with extra time on your hands because the chaos of the day has stayed in line, how great is that? You can get a little “me” time to rest and recharge, or you can get some bonus to-do’s done. Life isn’t meant to be hustled through. It’s important to give ourselves some time to catch our breath, smell the roses, or freaking take a nap.
There you have it. 5 quick tips for maximizing your day through planning. What helps you get the most out of your day? Let me know in the comments below!
Much love and productive vibes,
Momma Caped Nerd ❤
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