Jeff Doubek offers a detailed look at the popular Today-Is Wall Calendar, a daily calendar made from quality recycled paper.
It’s a must-have for any office or workspace. At the end Jeff offers 2 great planning tips for using the calendar for better time management.
There’s an easy way you can enjoy better time management in your life: make daily planning a habit.
Here are a few key guidelines for making time management a habit:
• Set your “Plan Time:” Choose a specific time each day for your planning activities. For example, you can devote 5 minutes over breakfast each morning and hold a 15-minute weekly review every Sunday afternoon. Setting a schedule keeps you accountable and makes planning a normal everyday life activity.
• Commit for 1 month: Make a goal for yourself that says you will unfailingly stick to your planning system for one month. You’ll start feeling a sense of progress and accomplishment with each passing day. Be sure to write your goal date into your planner so you can celebrate your success. Then, commit to another month of planning.
• Be realistic: Start at a planning level that feels manageable. For example, you might want to start simple and keep just a weekly schedule and to-do list. Don’t attempt a process that may overwhelm you. Once you get the ball rolling, you can add activities such as monthly goal setting and time tracking.
• Carry it: Keep your planner with you at all times, and spend a few minutes reviewing your plans during downtime at work or at home.
Read the rest of the tips at the AT-A-GLANCE Planning Center…
Below are the steps to making a powerful list that will offer you confidence that you are doing what you need to be doing, when you need to be doing it.
Your first step is to write down all the tasks you can foresee having to do today and in the future—this is your master task list. Tasks that you don’t see doing anytime soon can be put on a “Someday” list.
Once you’ve chosen the specific tasks you wish to accomplish today, write them in your planner and organize your list by context. Simply put your work tasks at the top, your home tasks at the bottom and any errands or on-the-go tasks in the middle of your list. Some individuals like to go a step further and differentiate their contexts by using different colored inks.
This is an important step because it ultimately determines the path of your productivity.
Categorize your tasks with a coding system, using letters and numbers:
Now, number your tasks. Number each task in an order that suits your daily flow. Take into consideration your own patterns of productivity, daily energy swings, anticipated locations, and how one task affects another.
As you complete your list organization, it’s important to keep in mind that new tasks will undoubtedly pop up as you go about your day. Use the A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s of your list as a decision scale for choosing where this new task fits in. For example, you may have to decide if returning a phone call (a “B” task) is more important than meeting a project deadline (an “A” task).
The final step in prioritizing your list deals with your own behavior as you go through the day. The best course of action is for you to honor the priorities you’ve assigned to your tasks. By being impeccable with your word, you will enjoy better productivity and balance in your life.
Let us know if this method of prioritization works for you, and be sure to include new tips of your own.
Get more tips on planning, organizing and productivity for every facet of your life by visiting the AT-A-GLANCE Success Center.
