Do you hinder time management skills by avoiding setting daily goals on paper? Do you easily find excuses why planning your day each morning will not help your day be more effective? Many people feel that by listing all of the things that they have to do, or wish to do each day, will only make them feel “tied down” and “overwhelmed”.
Nobody enjoys the thought of facing an overwhelming list of tasks to do. However, the solution is not to avoid planning, but rather to make your plans meaningful and effective. This way your plans will give you more freedom instead of making you feel like a slave to your list.
Here are a few tips to help you plan your day:
1. Avoid using small pads and make your list on a bigger sheet. With plenty of room there will be no reason to leave anything off of your list.
2. Write everything down. Even if it seems so small and unrelated. If it must be done, then get it on your list!
3. Cross off completed tasks each time they are finished.
4. Prioritize your list from the most important to least important.
5. Schedule the most important items to be done first thing in the morning each day.
6. Understand that this list is not something that has to be done in one day. Your list may be something that can cover the entire week or even the entire month.
Be flexible with your plan and do not feel that you absolutely must spend every morning planning your day and visualizing success. Start out with two days per week, then move up. View your daily plan as the ticket to your success. It is not a foe, but rather a friend. Know that planning is a tool that keeps you in control, and control equal freedom!
