How To Organize Your Day For Maximum Productivity
We’ve all been awake long enough to know that time doesn’t stop for anyone.
But we rarely really understand what life is all about before it’s too late.
A goal is just a wish if you don’t have a plan for how to reach it.
Without a set plan for each day, life can be confusing and stressful, and it can feel like there is never enough time.
So, getting your day in order will help you get your whole life in order and set you up for long-term success.
Planning your day is important whether you’re trying to figure out how to handle your daily tasks or want to start a new habit to improve yourself.
So, here are 12 practical tips to organize your day effectively:
Make a plan for your day that works for you.
Do you drive home from work every day in the same way?
You’re paying attention, but you don’t have to put much thought into going back to your house because you’ve done it so many times before.
If you set up a daily routine, you’ll be able to plan more easily.
Whether it’s making breakfast or putting your things away the night before, we get used to making the same decisions over and over again.
Make a list of the things that will improve your life and set aside time each day to do them. Lessening how much you have to think about makes it possible to function on autopilot.
Further Reading: 4 Easy Steps To Plan Your Day Effectively
Short periods of focused attention lasting 90 minutes
We can only do so much in a day.
Plan your day so that there are times when you work hard and times when you can relax. In this case, you work for 90 minutes and then take a 20-minute break.
It can help you plan when you’ll check all your social media notifications so you can be more productive.
Further Reading: 5 Tips To Take Control Of Your Focus
Follow The MIT Rule (Most Important Tasks)
You can use the MIT acronym to figure out which one to three tasks on your list are the most important and then focus on getting those done first.
This doesn’t mean you’ll only get three things done a day, but it does help you focus on what’s important and what shouldn’t be.
Sometimes, small wins give you the energy you need to finish the things on your list.
Watch out for the most important tasks at certain times of the day
Most of us have jobs that require us to do things over and over again. Set aside a big chunk of your day for a task you do often. Then it’s time to start working.
Sometimes, urgent tasks will take more time than you have. On the other hand, it will be easier for you to settle in if you have a set schedule.
The better your work will be, the less you jump from one job to another. It’s not a good idea to do many things at once.
Further Reading: How To Stop Multitasking And Become More Focused
Make a priority list.
Make a priority board based on the things on your well-thought-out list of things to do.
If you use this priority tracker, your day at work will go much more smoothly.
A small dry-erase board is just right for this! Priority items can always be changed and moved around.
If you don’t have a way to keep track of all your sticky notes, they can quickly become a problem.
Make a list of things to do.
It’s a good idea to start your day with a list of everything you need to get done (in addition to whatever caffeine source you prefer).
Make a list of the most important things you need to do this week to start the week.
Then, on your daily task list, you can break up big projects into smaller, easier-to-handle parts.
A to-do list is a great way to keep track of everything you need to do and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
Further Reading: How To Write a To Do List For Maximum Productivity
Start the day with a few minutes of “me time,” where you don’t have to worry about anything else.
It’s a mistake to let other people decide how you spend your time by having them check your email or social media accounts.
Sometimes, you’ll get an email that you can’t wait to answer, or a post that makes you feel like you’ve got #FOMO (fear of missing out). You already feel like you have to plan your week.
Take a step back and think about starting a new practice that could take as little as 5 to 10 minutes (or even less) or as much time as you have: You might learn how to set up your home office by breathing, meditating, being present, being grateful, and writing in a journal.
You can find a lot of information about this on the Internet, but don’t start looking too early in the morning!
Yes, I do get up early. I can work, exercise, learn, and do other things that help me plan my life better when I have a lot of free time.
Make a plan for how you will work out and what you will eat.
Even though it seems like we have time for everything, what really makes us feel good is taking care of our bodies and moving them often.
I can see you breathing out. I can promise you that they will come back if you do this again.
Even though this may sound harsh, it comes down to this: if your business, your customers’ needs, and so on are not important to you, why would you cancel on yourself?
It’s important to put on your own oxygen mask first so you can help people who depend on you.
Add these blocks to your schedule to make a plan for your day. Get them to meet with you so you can learn how to plan your life better.
Make a plan for the next day before it comes.
You don’t have to schedule every minute of your day if you don’t want to (though that works for some folks).
Instead, make a list of one to three important things you have to do tomorrow and put them in order of how important they are.
Is it hard to take care of your responsibilities? In his book Eat that Frog!, Brian Tracy goes into more depth about this idea. Get More Done in Less Time: Here are 21 nice ways to stop putting things off.
He calls the things we don’t do because we’re afraid “frogs.”
He said that instead of starting the day, you should “eat a frog.” Let yourself learn how to deal with work emails by starting with the most important and ugly ones.
Use your free time in a better way.
Most people worry that taking a vacation will make them less productive.
But it’s important to take breaks during the day if you want to get a lot done. When these things are true, they work the best.
You should take a break by doing something totally different from what you were doing before.
It should make it easier for you to go back to work because it keeps your mind on work-related things.
Any break is helpful as long as you take it when you need it.
Many studies have shown that taking breaks every 45 to 90 minutes at work is good for your health.
They make you feel less stressed and help you focus better, so you can go back to work feeling more alert.
Lessen your speed
Even if technology is very helpful, it is much better to learn how to plan your day well on paper.
Before you turn on any technology, writing down your goals for the day is the best way to start the day off right.
Write down the next steps you need to take.
Figure out which of these steps can be done in one day.
If you take a short break from the constant stream of digital information, you’ll be able to think more clearly about what you need to do today.
You can do this first thing in the morning to get yourself in the right frame of mind.
Chunking is something you should use.
When you have too much to do, it’s hard to pay attention to anything, let alone figure out how to plan your day.
The Rapid Planning Method’s main way of managing time is called “chunking” (RPM planning).
RPM planning tells you to think of your time as a limited resource that can be “spent” or “saved,” instead of focusing on the goals you want to reach in your life.
Using the chunking method, you can set goals that are reasonable and doable with the resources you have.
To get better at chunking, break up related tasks and information into small pieces.
With Chunking, you’ll find that everything gets easier and simpler, from planning your work day to having fun on your days off.
