Productivity

High Impact Productivity: The Lowly Plan

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.


In July we are looking at some of the simple things you can do or use every day that make a huge impact on your productivity. Today we will look at planning.

Why Plan?

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” ~Benjamin Franklin (tweet this)

Planning isn’t just about slotting appointments and tasks into your day. Planning is more than that.

Planning is about seeing what is coming at you.

Planning is about knowing what you are committed to.

Planning is about knowing what else you have outstanding.

Planning is about being flexible enough to rearrange things to fit both your commitments and the events at hand.

“My Days Are Too Crazy To Plan!”

I have heard it dozens of times…”my day is too crazy (or unpredictable) to plan!”

Those are exactly the type of days that need planning. Because if you have an unexpected lull, it is better to get something productive done than to ramble about lamenting the state of your day and how it keeps you from getting things done.

How To Plan

Planning, at this level, is very simple:

  1. List your time commitments to others
  2. List the things you must get done, with approximate times
  3. List the things you would like to get done, with approximate times
  4. List the things that don’t need to be done today, as a way of reminding yourself that you should focus on something else.

Once you have those lists, you can start putting it together.

I’m a visual person, so I lay out the day, highlight any areas where I have a time commitment, and then start penciling in things from my must-do list. By seeing the day laid out, I can determine if I am expecting too much of myself.

Adapt As Necessary

My day never goes as planned. A task may take longer than I thought, or something may come up, or I might just lose all energy and inclination to do anything.

Having those lists lets me back things off and rearrange as necessary.

It is because I know what is coming that I don’t feel derailed by having to adjust. And I rarely have the feeling that I am overwhelmed and losing control of everything I have to do.

Conclusion

Planning is the one thing I do that has the greatest impact on my priority.

Over To The Readers

Do you plan? How do you do it?


Photo by photosteve101. Licensed under Creative Commons.

2 Comments

  • jlogister

    Great post. I have been experimenting a lot with planning but I am slowly forming a system that works for me. I never list more then five priority tasks. That forces me to really think about what I write down as a priority. I plan one hour for every task. If it takes more time, then I divide it in separate tasks. I need those short bursts of work time to be more productive. If I write down one hour, I usually finish in one hour. If I write down three hours, I finish in three hours. After finishing my priority list, I switch to the next five lower priority items that I would like to get done.

    Indeed, a day rarely goes as planned but it is very comforting to see what is coming. That feeling of having control over the day is great.

    • LJ Earnest

      Parkinson’s law states “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. I’m not very good at estimating time, but I have a tendency to estimate low because I know it will take longer if I allow it. 🙂 Still working on that part.