When we plan ahead, we anticipate what’s to come and can meet any challenge that pops up.
Are you someone who would choose a special outfit for the first day of school? It made the day a bit more manageable, didn’t it?
In the weeks leading up to the end of summer vacation, you were anxiously imagining what that day might feel like. Then, the night before, you would lay out your outfit, pack up your backpack, and go to bed with a plan of what to eat for breakfast and what time to be out the door. Filled with first-day jitters and new routines, the day might not have gone perfectly—but you were ready for whatever came up!
That’s the kind of attitude we should keep as adults. What if the night before each day we spent 15 minutes making a list of the top three goals we hope (or absolutely need!) to accomplish the next day?
When we leave time for planning, we leave time for success. However, you may not feel like you have time to plan. In a world of notifications, we are constantly drawn from task to task. Meetings clog our calendars and passion projects fall to the wayside.
How can we find more time and achieve a balance between the things we need to do and the things we want to do?
Here are four ways you can be more productive.
- Write down what you need to achieve. As easy as this sounds, writing down your goals can make a difference. In fact, you are 42% more likely to achieve a goal if you write it down. On a more basic level, a written list provides structure that can help you organize your day and your projects.
- Set start times and deadlines. Perhaps you know when a project is due, but do you know when to start? Setting a realistic deadline can help you stay on track, and it can also help you work backward do you know when to start. Some little-known features of your Google Calendar (like receiving a daily agenda) can help.
- Learn to delegate tasks. It can be hard to ask for help but ignoring members of your team and thinking you have to complete a project alone is ignoring your resources. Identify the tasks that you need to do and the ones that present an opportunity to collaborate.
- Add a method to the madness. What drives you? When we understand what motivates us, we can add order to chaos. If there is a task you are looking forward to doing, think about making that your “dessert.” Eat your vegetables first and get the small or less pleasant tasks out of the way so you can find the time and focus to enjoy your main project.
Need some help? Our CEO loves productivity management app Todoist—for grocery shopping, holiday gifts, travel, or anything that needs to get done. You can create recurring tasks and delegate tasks, too, so it feels like someone has your back. Plus, because it works on a host of devices and platforms, including smartphones, email, and web browsers, Todoist can go where you go.
Trust us—we’re all about productivity at Epic! Bring some focus to your to-do list and learn to zero in on what matters.
