Top 5 Daily Planning Tips

For as long as I can remember I have been a list-maker, not for everything, but for things I want to do.  I remember back in my teenage years I would have a big block of scrap-paper that would get filled with my to-do list.  I’d start off one day, crossing off things I’d done, adding new things, and then when the space was filled up I would start a new sheet copying over most of the items still to-do.

It was messy, un-productive and very leaky as my uncompleted list crossed more than one sheet, one half of which would get lost and I’d end up losing half of my plans.

Since then I have gotten better at managing my to-dos, but it has been a slow process of successes and failures.  While I wouldn’t dare to describe my techniques as being anywhere near perfect, I do think I have learnt quite a lot over the years.  So here are my Top 5 tips for Daily Planning.

1. Choose a system

There are so many to-do list styles, productivity strategies and task management plans that it can be really quite confusing.  But it is definitely worth the effort to do some research.  I’m a great fan of Getting Things Done (GTD) as developed by David Allen, but this may not be to your taste.  Do some searches, read some blogs about productivity such as LifeHack (http://www.lifehack.org/), Black Belt Productivity (http://blog.blackbeltproductivity.net/), LifeHacker (http://lifehacker.com/) and Zen Habits (http://zenhabits.net/).

2. Don’t be afraid of changing

I feel quite happy with what I like to call my version of GTD, it’s just me taking some of the elements that I’ve felt comfortable to adopt and not using the elements that I have been too lazy to take on!  But I do change it around quite often, something which I had previously felt bad about.

There are times when doing my daily planning in one way works perfectly well, but then a month later it no longer drives or inspires me so I alter it around to something that works better for me at the time.

And then later I revert back.  The important thing is not to be rigid in your style but to feel ok about changing it to something that works better for you at the time.  It’s about getting things done and making progress, not rigidly adhering to a set of principles.

3. Keep a single list somewhere – electronically

One of the most annoying aspects of my attempts at productivity over the years was that I wrote things down.  Now this in itself isn’t a bad thing at all.  However it leads to task vanishing when pages and then whole notepads get filled, or lost, and not everything gets moved across.

It is also very easy to lose track of things relating certain projects as keeping written-down tasks in project order is very time-confusing.

So find a way of keeping everything you want to do in one place, electronically, and in a way that you can categorise.  I like Things on the Mac and iPhone as the synchronizing between the two means I can access my list anywhere, but again do some research to find out what is best for you.

4. Do it at night

I have found that if I spend a short time at night at the very least identifying some goals for the next day, I am much faster to get started and more productive.  The night before planning has my hopes of what I can achieve the next day, mingled in with the knowledge of what I have done that day.

Planning first thing in the morning is never as successful for me as my mind is generally not as sharp until mid-morning so I delay getting a good start to the day.

5. Review the day

Not only look at your plans for the next day, but spend a few moments evaluating the day honestly.  It’s not just all about the number of items ticked off, it’s about the worth of those items.

Have you done well – then admit that.  If not, then let the next day’s plans be both realistic and ambitious.

——-

Whether you are looking for a new job, or starting your own business, daily planning can help you on the way to success.