Are you a "Same-Day" Planner or a "Night Before-er"?

How far ahead do you plan your work or your life? If the first time you know what your plans for the day are, is when you check your calendar in the morning, then you are a “same-day planner”.

Driving to work, you will realise that you have three meetings today, some of which you may not have prepared for, booked a room for or properly given your full attention. You will also probably have to stop for petrol along the way because you forgot to fill up yesterday. Unorganised, “scatter-brains”, last minute people are often same day planners and this style leaves very little room for error or to rectify mistakes.

Imagine a “same-day planner” doing the school run every morning.....

"Where are my shoes?". "Where’s my PE Kit?" "Mum, I have music lessons today, where’s my recorder?" "I haven’t done my homework!"

All symptoms of a same day planner and hitting problems that could have been avoided by planning things out the night before. So, that brings me on to my next stage…..

Try consider moving yourself to a “night-before” planner. Slightly better than the “Same-day” planner as it allows more time to plan and organise. Have I got everything I need for tomorrow, have I got everything covered?

Using the school analogy, this would be the mum or dad that lines the shoes up ready by the front door, ensures the pack lunches are made and ready. Last minute disasters would be avoided by carefully playing through all scenarios in their mind.

The results on the day therefore between a “same-day” planner and a “night-before” planner is massively obvious. However, shifting yourself from a "same-day" planner to a "night before-er" is relatively simple.

Now consider that against a corporate backdrop. How much better would you be if you were a “night-before” planner, rather than a “same-day planner”. Interesting, right? And as said, it doesn't take much at all to shift from being a same day-er to a night before-er. Check your diary the day before. When you go to bed, play through the day ahead in your mind. Have you got everything covered?

This timeline can obviously be extended to the “week-before” planner. Someone who reviews their diary one week ahead and starts planning a lot earlier than the same-dayer and the night-beforer. Project managers take these skills to another level and will often plan things out months and even years in advance.

Expanding your planning horizons therefore is a great way of starting the journey to brilliance. You will come across as better organised, more in control, reliable and potentially even calmer and more relaxed. All great qualities of some that is Brilliant!

So, before you go to bed tonight, plan your day for tomorrow and become one of the "night-before" planning gang! Or to really be top of the class, become a "week-before" or "month-before" planner!

This post is actually a small snippet of a larger post entitled "36 and a quarter ways to be brilliant". To read the full article, please click here.

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David Stack is founder of Brightfrog, an IT consultancy business with a twist. David has over 20 years experience in the Pharmaceutical and FMCG industries and uses common sense, great dedication, enthusiasm and a pinch of social psychology to deliver great results. (www.bright-frog.com)