Have you tried multiple ways to plan your day, but not found anything that clicks? Or, are you completely new to planning, but are interested in the idea of intentional living? Either way, I believe that you are in the right place. Please, let me share my methods, hopefully, you will benefit as much as I have.
This is a completely new, unique way to plan a day. I haven’t seen anyone else doing it..if you have, please, let me know. I am going to take you through it, pretty much, like a recipe…. what you need, and then the process or method. There is no point in dragging this out..I want you to get right into it. Please, try this tomorrow and let me know if you find this a good way to plan your day.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- Some kind of planner, notebook, or piece of paper
- A pencil
- A time calculator app (optional, if you want to make life easier for yourself)
- An extra piece of scrap paper
HOW TO DO IT:
This first step only needs to be done once, it does not need to be done every day. Start with your scrap piece of paper. We are going to put on here all the things that we do, day in, day out, without fail. We are also going to write at the side, how long the task takes approx… It might look something like this:
- Sleep – 8:00
- Shower – 0:30
- Eating – 2:00
Everyone’s list will be slightly different. Don’t worry if you get 7 hours sleep during the week, but 9 at the weekend. Put down 7 hours, because that is what you get everyday. Basically, write down the ‘Set in Stone Activities’ in our day, and how long they are set in stone. …..OK? Ready for the next step?
Now we are moving on to the variables, and that is what we get to put in our planner or notebook. Because these tasks are not set in stone, we are going to put them into a category called ‘Time Goals’. How do we work out our time goals for the day?
Well, how much time do we have left? Adding up all the set in stone activities, what is left of your 24 hours? I found that after I added up everything I did throughout a normal day I had 10 hours left. This will be different for each person. But whatever it is that you have left..this is what you are planning!!
Now you know how much time you have, you get to work out your priorities, your values. This is where we get really intentional about our planning. Ask yourself what tasks are most important to you to get done? What will help you feel like you have been successful if you can get it done? Is baking bread more important than ironing that shirt? You decide!!! You have to prioritise what you want to get done.
Now, you can go ahead and write the most important task in your planner….but also write how much time you are giving to it. Remember, you have a time budget!! Go through how you want to spend your time by priority and write how much time goes with it. My day might look something like this:
So, take note.. I’m going to spend 6 hours at work, 1 hour cleaning, 30 minutes booking flights and hotel, 30 minutes ringing mom, and lastly 2 hours watching TV. My priorities are the top 3! I really will work hard at getting those 3 done!
Of course, as we know, things happen in our life, we get interruptions or our energy drops or something takes more or less time than we realise. This is the beauty of this kind of day plan. We can alter and adjust, but still keep focused on getting our priorities accomplished. (For an easier life I use the app: Hours & Minutes Calculator Lite) At the end of the day, my planner might look like this:
Phew, I can feel great!! I got my top priorities done, and spent time relaxing, knowing that…it was all part of the plan. Remember, we mentioned about the extra sleep we get at the weekend. No problem! We can add it into our plan for those days… Sleep = 2:00. Sure, some things do get moved onto another day. But that’s life! I’m all about progress and intention, not perfection! I can feel content about how I spent my time at the end of this 24 hour day, and that’s whats important to me.
Do you feel like working with priorities and time goals could help your day? Please, try this method out and see if you end up getting more accomplished as a result. See if you also end up feeling that your day was spent intentionally. I hope this method for planning your day helps you. It can be as simple or as detailed as you like for your personality. It can work for mothers, or students or business CEOs. Whatever your life, whatever your energy, plan intentionally and you too can have a very satisfying day!!
