Daily Planning

Planning is Thinking, and the ability to plan is one of the skills employers want. Planning is an important skill for setting goals, planning and evaluating projects,.and managing time. In this post, we look at Daily Planning. See also Weekly Planning.

Planning is also part of reviewing…

• A Weekly Review
• Monthly Review
• and an Annual Review

Daily Planning

1. Review calendar, to do list, and weekly plan.
2. Set priorities and act.
3. Make changes and add incoming tasks to lists in your system as needed.
4. If there are extra moments, choose items from goal and project plans and master list.
5. In the afternoon, check that all daily routine items have been done. Check off completed daily goals, on the habit chart.
6. At close of day, celebrate what you have accomplished and plan for tomorrow. Make a daily to do list for the next day, adding items from your calendar and weekly plan.

Morning Questions

1. What’s on my calendar?
2. What’s on my to-do list that must be done TODAY? Which are the Most Important Tasks?
3. If I can only do ONE of these tasks, which should it be? Start with that one, then go to the next one.
4. What is the best use of your time right now? (Alan Lakein)
5. Which quadrant of Stephen R Covey’s time management matrix is this task in?
6. What actions can be taken today to move a project or goal forward?
7. Which actions are top priority?
8. What’s the next action required? (David Allen) …learn more at GTD Essentials
9. What activities am I not doing, that might help me reach goals if I did them? (Brian Tracy)

10 Productivity Questions to Ask Yourself Every Day from timemanagementninja.com

Incoming Tasks

Capture incoming tasks and add them to your system:

1. Does it have a deadline? Yes-enter in calendar
2. Do you want to act on it now? Yes-Is it more than one step? Yes-plan a project. No-add to To-do list.
3. Do you want to act on it later? Yes-Is there a due date? Yes-add to calendar. Want to do, but no due date-add to a follow-up system. Maybe-add to idea file.

Evening Questions:

1. Did I begin the day with a plan for doing a few MITs?
2. Did I choose the top priority one and begin with that one?
3. How many tasks were accomplished today? How many were carried forward? How many were added?
4. Did I use my high energy time for tasks that needed thought and creativity?
5. Did I leave my workspace organized and ready for tomorrow?
6. Have I reviewed my calendar, to do list, and weekly plan, and picked MITs for tomorrow?
7. What interruptions and time-wasters were encountered? Could they have been avoided?
8. Did I spend enough time with family and friends?
9. Did I spend enough time on fitness, leisure and spiritual activities?

Everyday Reflections for Effective Time Management from rightattitudes.com

A book called “The Personal Efficiency Program” by Kerry Gleeson really gave me a better understanding of how planning works. (Affiliate link: I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase with an affiliate link. Thank you for your support!)

Studies have discovered:

• we can’t store much in our memory, and it drains energy if we try.
• Be aware of the Planning Fallacy: we tend to under-estimate how much time tasks will take.

Learn more: This is part of the free Time Management 101 Tutorial | see also: Skills Employers Want #4: Planning | Optimize Your Day With the Science of Productivity

Tools for Planning | A paper planner tool for the weekly review | Set of a weekly planning form plus five daily planning forms (pdf)

About dailyplanit

I seek to create order from the chaos of complex information. Join me at the Daily PlanIt to gain insights, inspiration, and information to increase skills for a better life. I unlock the power of teaching reading with phonics in the pursuit of literacy at www.phonicspow.com. In my spare time I explore books and movies, often choosing titles available on both screen and page.