4 Ways to Plan Your Time

As a self-professed?productivity nerd , I love talking about planning. I know, I'm a nerd. But I love talking about how people can be more efficient planners.

Believe it or not, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and there's more than one way to create a plan that will most benefit you. This post will not be exhaustive, but I picked out four big ideas that I want to share with you to approach your planning.

I'm not even going to talk about item number zero, which is not?to plan at all because you certainly should be planning. I've been saying for years, always tell your time where to go, instead of wondering where it went.

Number one, winging it.?Do you know what winging it is? It's when you don't write a plan out. You take the approach of whatever happens. In this case, you are operating in a reactive mode.

Think of?the carnival game whack-a-mole.?If you're not familiar, it?was?a game where you had this giant board?in front of you, and you would?see these moles pop up and go down, and you?would?have to try?to whack them with a cloth mallet. In the beginning, one mole would pop up over here, and you'd knock?it down. But as the game went on, more and more moles would pop up and go down faster and faster, and you'd be swinging the mallet like a lunatic. It's pretty hysterical to watch your friends do it.

We don't want to approach our planning?in this?way, and we want to have a plan.

Number two, keeping everything in your head.?Many people have told me over the years that they?can keep?everything they need to do all up in my head. No, you can't.

The truth is?we don't know how much information any particular person can retain. Do you want to take a chance of trying to remember something that you have to do later today or tomorrow, and it doesn't happen because you forgot?it because it wasn't?on your plan?

Number three,?being an over-planner.?Do you know?someone?who's an over-planner? Maybe yourself? These are the people who plan every minute of their day. They micromanage: "I'm going to brush my teeth from 7:00 until 7:02, then I'm going to shower from 7:02 to 7:09."

You should tell your time where to go instead of wondering where it went, but you don't need to plan every single minute.

This brings us to the fourth way you can plan your time: intentional planning.?Here's how it works. Sit down and?review?what you had planned for today at the end of your day.?Let's say you planned ten things and got six of them done. That leaves?four things leftover.?What do you do about those four things?

First,?look at?your schedule for tomorrow and see if there is any room for them. Perhaps, you have to put?them?on the day after or maybe next week.

But?there's another?component to intentional planning. Always answer this question: what are the needle-moving activities that you need to work on to help you become the best version of yourself possible? You must figure out the essential things and what you must do to set your world on fire and draw you closer to your goals.

I’m Mister Productivity , founder of The Productive Life Membership and host of The Mister Productivity Podcast . As a #productivity coach, I work with busy #solopreneurs to support and teach them time-saving strategies. Because we both know you have better things to do than trudge through a never-ending list, sign up for the 21-Day Productivity Challenge .