Do you know the power of daily planning? Using a simple to-do list to keep track of your daily tasks is a super-efficient time management tool. Here we show you why!
At this point of the year, you’ve probably set your new year’s resolutions. Your plans are represented in logical steps or as actionable goals that are easy to follow.
If you haven’t done so yet, make sure you read my previous article on effective goal setting and SMART goals. This will give you an idea of how you can make 2021 the year when you cross all items off your to-do list.
Today, I want to go a step further and share with you my #1 time management strategy that you can implement straight away to plan your daily activities.
Read on!
Why is daily planning important?
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of my favourite time management tool I use daily, I want to tell you why you need to plan on a daily basis in the first place. As I mentioned previously, you need to break your goals down into more manageable pieces.
Remember, when your goal is too big and difficult to swallow, you may get overwhelmed.
Now, think of a large goal that you want to achieve this year.
A PhD would be a great example of this. If it was on your career to-do list, you wouldn’t just think “I want to do PhD” and get on with the process. Think of it in this way – PhD is a substantial piece of work that usually takes 3-5 years, excluding the time you need to spend on applying for PhD position and securing funding for your PhD.
Usually, you break it down into smaller, more manageable components – chapters, ideas to pursue, experimental methods to try out, development programs to complete and so on. You get the idea.
If your goal is too big (like the entire PhD), you will easily get discouraged. You won’t have a feeling of achievement, because you cannot cross PhD of your to-do list until you complete it.
That is why you need to manage your goals not only on monthly basis, but also on a day to day basis.
Why do we fail to achieve our daily plans?
Nowadays, we are literally bombarded with a limitless stream of information via devices – it’s quite difficult to focus on large tasks and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Therefore, the first reason we don’t achieve our plans is that our lives are full of distractions – do you know how much time you spent on social media? These prevent you from maintaining focus on what’s really important – the tasks that directly contribute towards your main goals!
Another reason is the multitasking. I already mentioned that multitasking won’t get you the desired results. According to Albert Costill from Business2Community, “multitasking reduces the quality of your work”. The main reason for this is switching between tasks, lack of focus on your main goals. When you try to work on two or more tasks simultaneously, your productivity can decrease by up 40%. That’s drastic! So please don’t do it!
The last reason that prevents you from completing your daily to-do list is simply the fact that you put too much on your plate. Make sure that the goals you set yourself for the day are SMART and link to your weekly, monthly and annual plans.
How to plan your day to be productive?
Now that you know why daily planning is important and why do we often fail to achieve what we intended to, here is a simple process that you can apply straight away to manage your time. I use it to manage my workload and get things done.
- Set your goals for the day – I know it sounds obvious, but do take a piece of paper and write down the outcomes you want to achieve next day (ideally do this an evening before or early morning). Remember to make your plans using SMART goals!
- Your daily to-do list should contain a maximum of 3 goals – these should be relevant to your long term goals, such as your research project, career development, or anything you want to achieve this year
- Review your calendar to account for any meetings or other responsibilities.
- Block your time for specific activities – divide your calendar into time blocks and assign each task to that specific block. When time blocking, make sure you switch off any distractions and avoid interruptions to maximise your productivity.
- Start with the task you don’t really want to do, but that needs to be done – once you get over with it, you’ll enjoy your work more and be more productive.
- Tick off the tasks that you’ve completed – this will give you a sense of accomplishment.
- At the end of the day, take a moment to reflect on your progress and repeat this process from activity 1 to develop goals for the next day. Set some time aside for such daily planning session.
As you can see, this planning routine is straightforward and you can start using it right now. Reflect on what you’ve done today, what you’ve set out to achieve this year, and how you can get closer to achieving your new year’s resolutions tomorrow.
If you’ve had a chance to use it, share your plans with us on Instagram.
What’s the best daily planner app?
We all love apps, right? They give us a sense of control and a sense of accomplishment.
There are many time and project management tools that you can use for your daily planning, including some free tools that I’ve reviewed before. The most popular tools are:
- paper planner and pen
- Outlook calendar
- Google calendar
- Asana
- Notion
- Monday.com
- Things 3
- Zen Day
- Trello
- Evernote
- TimeTune
But regardless of what app you use, make sure you don’t spend too much time deciding what tool you use. After all, they are just tools and you’re the one planning your day.
What works for me is a combination of Outlook calendar and notebook. What works for you?
A final word…
Daily planning is crucial to achieving your career goals and aspirations. This is because you can easily track your performance and feel the progress as you go along. Remember, if your goals are too big, you may get overwhelmed. So if you aim high, break your goals down! You’ll see how your productivity increases!
