Raise your hand if you often find yourself wishing for a few more hours in the day! More time is something that most of us could go for. After all, when we’re pressed for time, trying to fit everything in can be tremendously difficult. It often seems that there are just not enough hours, and we find ourselves looking back over the day thinking about all of the things that we didn’t get done.
But while it’s not possible to add more hours to the day, you can feel like you have more time by making the hours you do have count. The secret to ensuring that everything on your to-do list gets accomplished is prioritizing and planning in a way that’ll allow you to make the most of your waking hours.
With this in mind, let’s look at a few things that you can do to add more hours to the clock!
1. Try Getting Up Earlier
Waking up Earlier is an effective way to get more done in your day. Prioritize your sleep quality in a ways that allows you to get your the right amount of sleep for you—with a plan to start your day 20 to 30 minutes earlier. Getting things out of the way earlier in the day will give you some bonus time to accomplish tasks and map out your day, in solitude.
2. Exercise First
Fitting in a workout first thing in the morning has been linked to a better mood and even higher levels of productivity. Exercising helps keep you alert and increase your energy levels. All in all it can help prepare you for a successful day. In fact, Dr. John Ratey, bestselling author and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School says that exercise is essential for reaching “high-performance levels in intellectually demanding jobs.”
3. Knock Out the Small Tasks
While it may be tempting to let small, two-minute jobs pile up, if you knock them off as they come up, you will avoid having a mess at the end of the day. Tackling a two-minute job will take you two minutes. But saving a bunch of those jobs until the end of the day will leave you stressed out and often overwhelmed.
4. Schedule Things Out
Having a planner or schedule is an essential component when it comes to having a productive day. If you find yourself constantly running out of time, or forgetting about certain tasks, consider getting ahold of a good schedule—and then putting it to good use! When scheduling, be honest with yourself about how long each item on your list will take and make sure you keep space available for some unplanned interruptions. By having a plan, you will be far more likely to stick to the plan and get things done—and less likely to put things off until the following day.
5. Learn to Say No
It’s also important to be able to say no. When life is over-scheduled, saying yes to one more thing can wreak havoc on your life. There’s nothing wrong with saying no. In fact, turning down some things is a vital and necessary part of prioritizing since it allows you to be able to say yes to things that are more important. Consider saying no if your schedule just doesn’t allow for it—or make room by taking something else off your plate. Overscheduling will only lead to stress and mayhem, and instead of accomplishing everything that you set out to do, you will be back to square one, wishing for more hours in the day.
6. Set Up the Night Before
Set yourself up for success by getting things ready the night before. Clear your desk as you wrap up your day so that you can start the next day with a clean workspace. Similarly, it’s good practice to write down thoughts from the day and jot down things that you need to finish tomorrow. Remember, a successful morning starts the night before!
An organized and productive day is no accident. It’s the result of careful Planning and prioritization.
How do you make sure things get accomplished? Share in the comments below.
The post 6 Planning Hacks That Make Sure Things Get Accomplished appeared first on Day Designer® • 2018 Daily Planners.
