6 Strategic Planning Tips to Plan Your Day
So every month people say wow that month or year has gone by so fast. I’ve experienced a lot of months like that. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about and have felt this way before. My goodness though September has flown by and I really can’t believe that Sunday will be October. I did not get enough accomplished this month so I’m trying to figure out why and ways to plan out your day to be more productive that I can do as well.
I know that I need to get my productivity up and get things done. Do you struggle with productivity too? I want to help all of you feeling this way out too. This year is coming to an end in only three months which is soon but still plenty of time to accomplish some goals. So check out these 6 strategic ways to plan out your day to be more productive.
1 Don’t try to do too much
I don’t care who you are you can’t do it all, no one can so don’t set yourself up for stress and failure by trying to do too much. If you have 50 things on your list to do today, guess what you won’t get them all done. It would be a better use of your time to try and do 5 things that are important and accomplish them than to try and do those 50 and be running around like a maniac all day and not getting anything done. So think about what you really need to get done and how much time you realistically have and plan accordingly.
2 make a to-do list each day/week
Speaking of planning, have a plan. One of my major problems in September was that I got lazy about making my daily and weekly to-do lists. If you are looking for ways to plan out your day to be more productive having a to-do list is a huge help. That’s why I’m recommitting to making my list every day. I like to create mine in Evernote that way I can use it on my phone and laptop.
3 get enough sleep
One of the best ways to increase your productivity and make it easier for you to get more done is to be well rested. Being tired makes you less focused and less productive. You may think you are giving yourself more hours awake to accomplish things but your brain and body need rest to work at their highest levels. So figure out how many hours is the best for you and start consistently getting that much sleep. Also, don’t hesitate to take a nap if your sleep was disrupted or you are feeling rundown. Being well rested will make it so you are working at your best.
4 cut out what’s not important
Even if everything on your list feels important chances are that not everything is. At least things aren’t the same level of importance. Figure out which tasks on your list are the most important and focus on those. Anything that can wait let it wait or cut it out completely. Focus on what tasks will get you moving towards your most important goals. If something is not getting you closer to your goals and where you want to be is it truly important?
If something is not getting you closer to your goals and where you want to be is it truly important?
5 delegate and ask for help
Those tasks that are not as important can probably be done by someone else. With your blog or business, this is when things like paying for a VA or even an automated scheduler like Tailwind or Smarterqueue is a worthy investment. It helps eliminate your time spent on tasks that aren’t as important and lets you focus on things like content creation and networking.
For at home tasks don’t be afraid or hesitate in asking for help. Your family doesn’t need you to do it all even if it feels that way. Ine of the best ways to plan out your day to be more productive is to not give yourself the pressure of trying to do it all. I expect my daughter to do chores and help out around the house. My husband also does quite a bit. If you have a larger family and need help don’t feel guilty about hiring someone to help take care of your kids or to do things around the house. This will help take a lot of stress and pressure off of you to be more productive in other areas.
6 eat your frog
This is something I learned from the book Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy. The basic idea is that we all have one major thing that we don’t really want to do. That is our frog. So we need to eat that frog first, do that task first. That way whatever you have to do next in the day will seem easier in comparison. This book is fantastic and really gives great tips and advice on making your day more productive. It’s such a helpful book that I like to give it a reread every so often so that I can refresh my memory on all that the book goes over.
