How to Plan Your Day | A Comprehensive Guideline

Find out your intention for the day

So the first tip is to find out your intention for today, meaning any particular day. I know it sounds simple, but what is it that you're actually trying to move the needle on. Where are you putting your focus, and what would you love to have, be the outcome of the day.

I want you to write that out as your intention. And it can be something that's a little bit more intangible. Such as, I want to be less stressed out, or I want to feel really energetic today. You can do something like that if you choose, but I think it's even more effective if you write out like the end goal for your day, or you'd love to have this project accomplished, or you want to move the needle on this specific goal or objective. Something like that would be a wonderful answer.

Write out your goals for the day

The second tip is to write your goals out onto the paper. So you're actually going to sit down and think about what your goals are, and the action steps that you need to accomplish in order to move those goals forward. And you're going to pick the action steps that are actually going to be done today.

All right! You know, our goals are never done overnight. Having said that, even a big, complicated and scary goal can be done if we take it step by step, action by action, and day by day.

So this is for you to check in with your goals every day in your planning process. And say what actions that relate to my goals are going to be done today and that I have to schedule and prioritize.

Prioritize your scheduled tasks and appointments

Tip number three is about prioritizing scheduled tasks or appointments. Do you have any appointments or meetings for the day? This is very important. This is a basic daily planning question that I use because if you're someone who has to be somewhere or be on a meeting or prepare for any meetings, it's really important that you have a clear view of what's expected of you.

If you have to go to a meeting, you must know when do you need to be there; you have to think about what the travel time is going to be, any preparation you need to do, etc.

I think very often, especially if you're someone who has a lot of meetings throughout the day, either at home or you have to go somewhere, I think it's very easy for us to overwhelm our schedule because we're not properly thinking about all of the time and energy that goes into making that meeting or appointment happen.

So think about all of the things that relate to that meeting. What prep work you have to do, drive time, etc., not just the time for the meeting itself. Now let's move on to the next tip.

List your three most crucial tasks to be accomplished

Tip number four is finding out at least the three most vital tasks to be accomplished that day. This is your daily top three. So this is a major tenant of my functional planning philosophy identifying the three individual tasks, not projects, not big objectives but the three individual tasks that you need to complete. And you put those on their own little list, and this is essential for you to prioritize your tasks.

We all know that if we just make a to-do list and work off of it, there's way more to do on any of our to-do lists and we can actually get it done in a day. So how do you move the needle forward? You make sure that the priority items get done first so that the lesser items or things that it's okay you can afford to let them drop off your to-do list for the day they get pushed to the bottom, right!

So we want to prioritize and focus on the three daily tasks and tackle them first.

Plan about your down time of the day

And finally last fifth and final daily planning prompt is planning about your down time of any day. This is something that I have recently started integrating into my daily planning process. I think, throughout the day, we end up getting distracted a lot, right?

There might be a book we want to read, there might be a show we want to watch, or there might be someone we want to talk to.

And I think it's very easy for us to feel like we want to do it right now. When we could be using that sort of carrot on a stick to be a motivating factor for us to get our work done so that we can then do something that we enjoy.

So think about and plan for your downtime right. I think most of us have a little time in the day to spend for ourselves. I know that if you're a very busy working mom or dad and working and all of that stuff, you probably have a little less time. But if you have any downtime in the day, which I hope you do have at least like a half-hour to an hour for yourself, even if it's right before bed, how are you going to spend that time? This is a great time to allocate for self-care, but it's also a great way to kind of build in a reward into your day that really motivates you to get your work accomplished.

So you can then enjoy whatever it is. For me, it might be like a book on tape; it might be me taking a bath and doing some self-care, or wearing my air pods into the bathtub and listening to a book on tape or something like that.

So think about that how do you want to spend your down time. I don't think enough of us are actually planning for our downtime in the day, but you can use that strategically to be more productive.

So, these are the five planning tips for you from me.

Use the power of positive affirmations

The affirmations! So these are affirmations, positive statements, that are things that you should write out not just in your planner but maybe leave out on sticky notes, put them somewhere like on the background of your computer or on your phone to help remind you of what you really are capable of and who you really are on the inside.

I think we get a lot of labels and a lot of assumptions about ourselves thrown on us from the outside world, and it's very important for our mindset that we kind of refocus who it is that we are and who we want to be by using positive affirmations. Way too many of us, I think, have a lot of negative self-talk that we have to overcome.

So this is great for you if you're a negative self-talk person.

1. Affirmation number one: what I decide makes the path for me 

What I decide makes the path for me. I love this affirmation because it's absolutely true. You create the rules for your life. I know there's a lot of people out there who like to tell you how you should be doing things and telling you how to spend your time and telling you if you don't do x y or z, you can't be successful. Throw it all out. It's all other people's opinions.

What is true for you and what you decide you want, and how you want to get there gets to be the path that you take in life. Beautiful affirmation.

2. Affirmation number two: I can do it slow yet attain it all

I can do it slow yet attain it all- This is another ultimate truth you do not have to rush around through your day like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything done and feel like that is the measure of productivity.

A lot of people believe that being busy means, you're being productive. I've said this for years, busy is bullsh*t that does not equate to a productivity. You can take it slow intentionally and focus on the strategic things that you need to do during the day, and move your life forward in leaps and bounds in a way that you would never be able to accomplish if you're running around crazy trying to do things and check things off a list.

So I can take it slow yet attain it all because you can.

3. Affirmation number three: Every day I take steps to accomplish my goals 

Every day I take steps to accomplish my goals. Hopefully, that's one that you can really take to heart and using the daily journaling prompts about moving your goals forward.

You can start taking action to bring more of your goal to do items onto your daily to-do list.

4. Affirmation number four: What I focus on expands

Again, what I focus on expands. This is another beautiful affirmation that is really very true whenever we put our attention onto something. Whenever we're focused on it, it becomes bigger; it becomes more important, it becomes all-engulfing, right!

Did you ever have something you were worried about, and by thinking about it all the time, it became worse and worse? That's really the negative side of this principle at work.

But if you think about things that you're grateful for or positive things and you focus on how much you're getting done, not the things that you're not getting done but the things you are getting done on your to-do list, you focus on this you are going to end up having more and more and more things on your to-do list to get done. This is because what you focus on expands. This is a basic principle of the universe.

5. Affirmation number five: You get what you work for

This may sound a bit harsh, but true. Without having a true commitment to your work, by just wishing and dreaming, you wouldn't be able to accomplish your goals. This is an affirmation that will put you forward.

Because it is you who is working to reach that pinnacle, it is you who is putting so much effort and sweating throughout the day.

And that's really the thing I want you to take home from this entire article.