How To Plan For Productivity

Have you ever been really inspired to do something? You say to yourself “I am doing this! It is getting done and that is FINAL!” Yeah, we've all said that before. You may have even made a plan for how to do it. This can be the case for a big goal or a small everyday lists of tasks. But yet, so many times you find yourself feeling unproductive and wondering why you obviously like to waste time. We've all been there before too.

Well, you can stop feeling that way from this point on because I am going to give you 3 tips that will give you the opportunity to make every day a productive one. 

Tip #1: Write it down

Now I know you already knew this, but I am telling you again because I know you don’t do it all the time. Do it!

Things get lost in your head, you forget, you get distracted. If it’s all in your head, it’s not a real plan yet. Write it down!

Tip #2: The Top 3 Method

The difference between accomplishing tasks and being productive is clarity of priority. We can have the best schedule, calendar, or to-do list on the planet but if you are not clear on what is important you will never feel productive.

Did you notice I said the word “feel”? I did that intentionally because you can accomplish a lot every day, but as long as you don’t "FEEL" productive, it doesn’t matter. Productivity is a great feeling. You’re on a high after being productive, even if you are dead tired. 

One of my favorite tips to use for planning is the Top 3 Method. What are the top three most important things you need to accomplish today, this week or whatever the time frame is?

Your #1 priority is to accomplish at least 2 of those 3 tasks. If you do that, then the day was successful and productive. Even if you had a whole to-do list that you did not touch, you got done what was important. The other things can wait until tomorrow

Imagine if you didn’t use the top three method and accomplished 70% of your to-do list for the day. You gassed up the car, got the groceries, responded to your emails, canceled that subscription, but you didn't do anything that would move the needle for you building your vision, or touch the thing that has a harsh deadline, or fulfill the promise that you made to your friend. You would still feel like crap and unproductive at the end of the day. 

This is why the top three method is so crucial! Because it provides clarity of priority. 

Tip #3: Timing

Timing is everything. Time is the most unforgiving force known to mankind. It’s always moving whether you like it or not, it waits for no one and you can never get it back. 

Phrases we hear and use all the time:

• I ran out of time
• Time got away from me
• There’s not enough time in the day
• Ain’t nobody got time for that!
• It’s 3:00 already!

All the phrases are true and FALSE! Yes, you didn’t have time BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T CLAIM ANY TIME!

You have to associate time to your planning. Everything I write down when I plan my day, the night before I might add, has a timestamp next to it. I write down when I expect it to begin and when I expect it to end. 

Do I stay perfectly on schedule? Hardly ever. Do I stay close to on schedule? Sometimes. Do accomplish 3x more than I would have without timing my day? Absolutely!

My visionary, please time your plans. 

That's it! It really is that easy. Write it down, Top 3, and timing, those are the 3 tips for productive planning. Let’s start right now. Take out your notepad, your phone, or your ipad and plan out the rest of your day using these three tips.