How would you rate your current planning skills?
I’m a big fan of planning (success doesn’t happen by accident) and it is around this time of year that everyone starts to buy their 2019 planners. I have just ordered the High Performance Planner by Brendon Burchard. With that in mind I wanted to walk through a step-by-step guide of how you can plan like a pro.
1) DIGITAL OR PAPER OR BOTH?
When it comes to planning the first question is usually “Should I be using a paper or digital calendar?”. I have always been a big paper fan when it comes to planning and for years I swore by my Moleskine Diary, but in 2018 I decided to try and go all digital. Whilst it worked, I don’t believe it is as effective and I’m looking forward to going back to paper in 2019. However, if you are someone who is always on the go and want to take advantage of the fact that your phone is always with you then make sure you sync your calendar across all of your devices!
2) PLOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN FIRST
Once you have decided how you are going to plan (paper or digital) it is time to get started. The first thing you should do is plot in time for all of the important things in your life. The reason why you do this first is life with inevitably fill your diary so by putting the important things in first you are ensuring that you make the time for what matters most. Some things this may include:
- Time to celebrate birthdays (yours and others)
- Holidays
- Special Events
- Activities to support your health / wellness
- Monthly check-in – Review goals & finances and plan for the month ahead
- Sleep
3) PLOT IN THE ESSENTIAL THINGS NEXT
Now that you have plotted in the IMPORTANT things you can now move onto plotting in everything else. This will be things like work, commitments you have agreed to etc.
4) ALWAYS CHECK YOUR DIARY BEFORE YOU AGREE TO SOMETHING NEW
Successful people know that being successful involves saying ‘No’. If you struggle with saying ‘No’ then check out this blog post. Everyone has 24 hours a day and by now your diary is probably looking pretty full. So next time someone asks you if you can do something think about how much time it is going to take and then see if you have the time to plot that into your diary. If you can’t then say no (and don’t feel guilty!).
5) PLAN YOUR DAY THE NIGHT BEFORE
By now your planner should be in a good place so you can open it and know exactly what you need to be doing the next day. However, if you mainly focus on top line activities then spare a few minutes the night before to plan your next day. You should have a time allocated to every task and be sure to add in breaks!
6) STICK TO THE PLAN
There is no point learning to plan like a pro if you then don’t execute it. Obviously, life happens and curveballs will be thrown your way, but aim to stick to your plan as much as possible.
