"Use your time wisely."
"Focus on your priorities."
"Have a plan."
We’ve all heard these words of wisdom, the question is how do you effectively plan your days and focus on top priorities. Whether you are happily employed at an organization or actively involved in the job search, having a structure to your day can help to ensure that your time and energy has the highest possible return on time investment.
Here is a fact, we all have the same amount of time – 168 hours in a week. No matter how much you try to manage your time, you cannot change that fact. As Stephen Covey put it, ""time management is really a misnomer ... the challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves. The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.""
Suggested Steps to Plan Your Day:
- Review what is ""on your plate."" Before you start doing, decide on your top three priorities for the day.
- Tackle the BIG tasks first. Things will happen throughout the day, if you accomplish your most important tasks first, you are more likely to meet your goals for the day.
- Read and react. As things happen, respond to shifting demands and priorities.
- Prioritize. Which items on your list offer the greatest return on the time spent?
These suggestions to plan your day can work for various productivity styles. Have you ever thought about your productivity style? As with everything else, we are all different and have our own style. We all plan and prioritize differently. With each style, comes a different approach to HOW you get your work done.