10 Reasons Why Writing Down Your Daily Plans a Night/a Day Before Makes You More Productive
1) It helps you prioritize.
With the rise of recent technologies, work, school, being a parent, a friend, social obligations, we can get overwhelmed with where we focus our attention. A lot of these factors mentioned above fighting for our attention or sometimes we fight for their attention are important, but we only have 24 hours in a day and what we choose to do first and last is very important as soon as we begin our day. Obviously, we can’t predict the future but writing down what you plan to do a night before helps you prioritize the most urgent or/and important tasks of the day.
2) It gives you structure.
Writing is something people do less and less these days because of texting, chatting, etc. But we are not going to blame technology today. Taking maybe 10, 15 minutes or even less to write down your next day plans is a time saver and you may realize that you have more time than you think. We should agree that it is quite a frustrating routine to improvise when you are supposed to be productive.
3) It helps you better prepare for emergencies.
We can all agree that nobody knows tomorrow. Things happen. But we can’t just go with the wind. When we plan our day ahead, we can easily improvise and be more prepared to handle difficulties. Nobody likes emergencies, but it is part of life. People panic, make wrong decisions sometimes because they lack to plan ahead. So, take heed.
4) It reduces procrastination.
Putting tasks to a further date, time etc. is a productivity killer. How many times have you said I will do this later, I will do this tomorrow and never get into doing it. How many times have you said I will exercise today, I will study today, I will take care of my administration documents today; but what does today mean? I am sure you get the point.
When we plan our day, we know exactly what time we should do what we are supposed to do. This may seem logic but most of us don’t even consider this or sometimes don’t have the discipline to follow through.
5) It reduces stress.
Yes, something we experience stress daily from different aspects in our lives. We can’t eliminate all the stressors in our lives but some simple productivity hacks can really make life easier for us. One of the best ways to reduce stress like we have made clear till now is to be prepared and plan early. Let’s give an example, if you wake a little earlier to go to work, you don’t need to hurry, you won’t be late and you are often in a good mood. I think this is what most of us want from ourselves and also, I hope, expect from others.
6) It helps you develop better habits.
Our lives are shaped by our habits. One of the best way to get ahead in life depends on our daily habits. Isn’t it a good thing to be able to predict how things should go the next day? Ok, planning your day gives you a great routine and allows you to go into the world with a prepared mind set.
7) It brings flexibility.
Getting a head start on your day will not only save you time for yourself but may also give you time to take care of your loved ones or do other activities you want and not only activities you need. It makes what we do seem so easy sometimes.
8) It helps you become a better leader.
The word “leader” may mean many things. For the sake of this blog post, let’s just say that the leader is you and how you direct your life. Writing down your daily plans makes you know what and how to do things more effectively. Yes, effectively, but not only for yourself but for others. Leadership starts with ourselves, we can’t serve others if we cannot effectively serve ourselves.
9) It makes your future goals attainable.
Thinking, reading, memorising, wishing, dreaming are things we need in our lives, but our goals become a reality once we write down our daily plans. When we write down our daily plans they seem more attainable and hold us accountable and hopefully, we are likely to follow through. Personally, most of the productive people I know and model do this every day and in my personal life, I have had very good results with this.
10)It cultivates respect.
Be it in your place of work, at school, with friends, with family, a well-organized person attracts admiration and respect even with people who don’t necessarily like them. So, give it a try, write down your daily plans, you won’t get magical results at least at the beginning, but, it is a life changer. I have been doing this for some years now and I effectively handle several businesses today. Have a great read.
