How many times have you heard “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”? Believe it or not, it’s true. Planning is essential to your day-to-day and overall success and it has to be a part of your regular time management routine. If it’s not, it’s time to implement it now.
Planning is a must-have part of any good time management system and in addition to your annual and other quarterly planning should be done on a weekly and daily basis. You start by laying out your plan for the year and completing all of the details for carrying everything out. This is your big picture. Once that’s all set, the smaller pieces move to your daily to-do tasks. Each week, look ahead to the next to see what’s on your calendar, then determine what smaller pieces items from your larger list need to go onto your daily to-do list and into your calendar to complete. You might have items from the previous week that didn’t get completed or that might need some additional work, so consider those things too as you plan your week ahead.
At the beginning of each day, or at the end of the day prior, look at the day before you to see what’s on your agenda for the day. If something needs to be rescheduled or moved, then do so keeping the big picture in mind at all times. Regular planning will save you a tremendous amount of time in executing your steps and will keep you on track with and carrying out the steps to fulfilling the big picture.