Have you ever had a week where you are constantly in catch-up mode? Where you couldn’t get ahead of anything and you spent the majority of your time responding to things. I found myself in that situation a little while ago and it ended up being a very unproductive week. I was very busy but got nothing done. Yes, I was a bit frustrated for sure. I then took a moment and reflected on what I did when I was most productive. I looked at my past and present planners, all the things I do to keep organized and realized it had nothing to do with any of them. No planner could help me get organized if I didn’t use it at the right time. I came to the conclusion that I am most effective and productive when I allocate time on a Monday morning and plan in great detail for the week ahead.
So what did I do?
I started my Monday morning with an hour and a half block of straight planning. I outlined my strategic projects for the week in the various ares of my life, what I am going to do this week to make progress and when am I going to do it. To be honest, it’s actually life-changing and liberating. Life changing because now I am in charge of my time and my calendar and liberating because I am free to spend my time with clear direction and purpose instead of trying to figure out what to do next.
Moral of the story…be sure to be pro-active with your time rather than re-active and you will be more productive in less time. How does that sound?
