Want to be massively productive? This little trick will change the way you work so you can get more done with less stress and overwhelm.
We’ve all been there, Monday morning, you’ve forgot that one of the kids has PE that day and the other has swimming. One needs money for a school trip, and the other doesn’t know where their library book is that needs to go back.
I have a super simple, super powerful productivity habit that I think everyone would benefit from. It only takes 5 minutes every day but will help relieve stress, help get more done and will save you so much time. So what could this amazing life hack be?
Planning! Planning everything for the next day the night before. It’s crazy as it’s so simple, but having talked to so many of my friends, colleagues, students, hardly anyone does it. It really is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. So no matter how late it is, give yourself 5 minutes to go through everything that you will need to get done for tomorrow.
The way I do it is to first look at my diary and look at everything that I have in there for the next day and how long they will take. It may look something like this:
Meetings
9am Team meeting-(2 hours)
12.00 meeting-(2 hours)
3pm meeting-(2 hours)
I then look at what I have to do around these and estimate the amount of time they take.
Tasks
8.30am Check my emails (30mins)
11am Prepare for meeting (30 minutes)
4pm Mark learners work (1hour).
Finally I will make a section at the bottom for anything personal I may need to do that day.
Personal things
Do weekly shop, including home economics ingredients for Daisy (1 hour)
Get PE kit ready for Daisy and Bobby (10 minutes)
Book the dentist for me (5 minutes)
And that’s it. I obviously do this quite scribbled in my diary but at least I’m not overwhelmed and have a plan of action. I know exactly what time I will need to be up to have enough time to get everything done without being stressed or rushed. This doesn’t always work as there can always be a fly in the ointment but at least I have set myself up to be productive and the most important tasks get done.
Hope this helps
Shelley x
So, now I’ve said mine, over to you. What’s the most important thing you do every day to make sure your most important tasks get done?
Yes yes yes to this! I have a book specifically for lists of things I have to do and I go over the list every night in bed. Often I don’t do everything on the list for the next day but that’s ok. It’s a massive brain dump and I put things in different corners of the page like long term, must do, things to buy, phone calls etc. I find it frees up brain space to concentrate on the important things and not worry I’m forgetting something. Also, a peg for every day of the week for the kids – grab the days bags and go! 😊
Author
Yep that’s what I do, its so a brain dump and means I don’t have to worry about things as I have written them down. Oh the peg thing is good, I may pinch this x