Last Updated on May 5, 2022
Ah, time management. We all kind of suck at it. There’s so much to do and so little time to do it, right? One of the frequently asked questions I receive from readers and clients is how to get better at time management. The general consensus is that we all feel like we’re losing time and never getting anything accomplished.
I have to admit, I don’t always use my time wisely. I am prone to getting distracted by YouTube, Netflix, and basically anything other than what I’m supposed to be doing. However, I believe I’ve found the *secret* to staying on top of everything I need to do when I set my mind to it.
Planning.
Yup, it’s that simple. Planning is the key to effective time management. It’s hard to feel organized and on top of things if you’re unprepared. Having a clear plan for your day helps you make the most of your time and actually accomplish the important things in life.
If you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, keep on reading to find out the simple way I create my schedule to help with daily time management!
How To Plan Your Day For Success
Watch the video for a detailed explanation of how I plan my day or read the full post below!
1. Choose Your Tools
Before we get into the time management tips, it’s worth mentioning that you need to have the right tools to make planning easier for you. There are two tools that I think are necessary to help manage your time well: a calendar/planner and a to-do list. Your planner or calendar is where you keep track of your appointments and important dates. Your to-do list is where you keep track of the tasks and projects you’re working on.
These tools can be physical or digital. If you’re looking for a physical planner, I’d recommend something like the Day Designer or Law of Attraction Planner. I’ve recently switched over to the digital side and I prefer planning my schedule using Google Cal.
In terms of your to-do list, you could use a plain notebook (like this one) or an app like Todoist. Whatever you decide to use, these tools are going to make your life a whole lot easier.
2. Create A Daily Plan
I usually create my daily plan the night before. That way, I know exactly what I need to do when I wake up in the morning. When mapping out my day, here’s what I include:
Appointments: These are meetings, client calls, or other appointments that I have to plan my day around.
Self-Care Time: I always make sure to schedule a self-care practice (yoga, meditation, walk) into my day or else I know it won’t happen.
My Top Three Priorities: These are the three projects or tasks that I want to accomplish or make progress on.
I try to be realistic with the amount of tasks I plan into my day. I’ve found that if I try to accomplish too many things, I’ll either get burnt out or feel disappointed that I didn’t check everything off my to-do list.
Related Post: How To Start Your Day With Clarity And Focus
3. Schedule It In
Once I’ve identified anything I have going on during the day, I’ll start adding things into my daily planner. I add any appointments in during their allocated time slot, and then I’ll estimate how long each priority will take and schedule a time I’m going to start working on them.
I’ll then break down my priorities into smaller chunks and note any tasks that will help me to make progress on each priority. For example:
Priority: Finish Blog Post
- Action Step: Upload video
- Action Step: Add links
- Action Step: Proofread
One thing I also like to include for each priority is asking myself ‘How will I know when I’m done?’ This lets me move towards a concrete finish point and makes the task less vague.
What do you use to plan your day?
The key to having a successful day is to be prepared. Getting clear on your priorities each day is the best way to ensure that you are having the most productive day. Soon you’ll start to realize that you DO have enough time to do things now that you’re a time management pro.
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I use The Happiness Planner – it’s good for planning and staying mindful and being grateful of what you have/have achieved ;) I love a good computer calendar at work too, it pops up and reminds me when things need to get done. It takes the pressure off my mind of trying to remember it all!
I’ve heard such good things about The Happiness Planner! I love hearing about what works for you, Mary.
I have yet to find a planner that actually works for me! :( Instead of planning my day, I’ve been planning my month. I’ve got a Google spreadsheet that has my top priorities for the month and how many hours I plan to allocate to each task. It’s an easy way to see where I’m on track and falling behind! Another thing I do that really seems to work for me is the Focus Booster app. It helps me chunk my time, and the ticking is oddly motivating! It also encourages me to take breaks instead of sitting at my desk all day, which seriously ups my productivity.
That’s part of the reason I switched to an online calendar – I could never find a planner that I would actually stick with. I love that you’ve found a way that works for you though. I’m a big fan of the Focus Booster app too. Thanks so much for sharing, Tracie!
I did a lot of planning when I was a student, but at that time, I knew weeks in advance what I would be supposed to work on. Nowadays, I have to manage a lot of last minute questions and tasks, and quite often when I arrive at the office, I don’t know yet what I’ll have to do during the day. Sometimes what seemed a very calm day ends with working overtime…
And in any case, I spend so much time at the office that if I start planning my 3 hours of free time in the evening, I end up being completely stressed. So I’m not making any detailed planning anymore except when I’m on holidays – and then I’m often too tired to do what I planned for.
I need to get myself a new planner… and actually start using it!
Cloe X http://clxelouise.blogspot.com
I use the Productivity Planner. It forces you to list your tasks in terms of importance, so that you only do the “frogs”, as they call them, first. Then, it encourages you to use the Pomodoro technique and work in bouts of 25 minutes to get them done.
The only “problem” is that it has space for only 5 tasks a day, so it may not be the most practical if you have lots of meetings in a day. But I find I rarely have time to get more than 5 tasks done anyway. And that’s cool. I discovered that stuff that doesn’t get done wasn’t that important anyway.
I’m thinking of trying The Desire Map Planner next though. I like The Productivity Planner but I’d like to explore other approach and see what works better,.
I’ve heard good things about the Productivity Planner and the Desire Map!
I like using a couple of things to plan out my day. I love bullet journaling to see keep track of upcoming events and it’s a great creative outlet. For day-to-day and on-the-go use, I like using this app called Owaves (owaves.com). It’s helped me by allowing me to visually see how I’m spending my time each day and to make time for things that are important to me.
I’ll definitely be trying to use action steps to help me work towards the goals I set for myself. I often find I try to get way more down than is actually possible! I’ve got some really cute planners from MiGoals, daily and monthly and then I have another one which is a weekly planner from Zara. I use them for different things… e.g. goals in one, food/workouts in another and tasks/ to-dos/ appointments in another! X
I’ve been using MiGoals for most of the year but I have recently switched back to a bullet journal to have more flexibility. While I love having a paper planner, my life is actually held together by Notion and an elaborate system of interconnected databases where I handle finances, reading lists, all sorts of projects and even meal plans and shopping lists.
I just started using Notion and I love it!