Effectively Plan Your Day With These 5 Tips

How do you define a successful day?

For some people that means finishing all the daily tasks they planned, or crossing everything off a to-do-list. For others a day could be successful if they spend it happily, in a productive way and drama free (my favorite kind of day).

Whatever your definition is, being able to effectively plan your day out can make it easier. Planning can help you set and better achieve your goals for less stressful days, which is always a good thing.

How do you define a successful day? I am sharing five tips to more effectively plan your day, which can help you set and better achieve your goals.

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How To Effectively Plan Your Day With These 5 Tips:

1. Plan Ahead

One of the best things you can do (and I need to take my own advice here) is to plan in advance. That could mean planning your year out, like my friend Amiyrah from Four Hats and Frugal does, plan for the week ahead, or even the night before.

Start by writing down your schedule, goals, motivational quotes and more for the year/month/week/day. You can find my favorite type of planners by clicking here.

I am also sharing some of my favorite planning apps which can be used right on your smartphone:

No matter how you decide to do it, having a plan in place helps you visualize your day.

plan your day

2. Take Breaks

Now I know we may be busy, have projects, deadlines, schedules to keep up with and more, but it is so important to take breaks from your work. Doesn’t matter if this has to do with business, household work or something else, breaks are essential to your well-being and productivity.

One technique for making sure you take some me-time is to work for 40-50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break.

During break time you can take a walk, read a book (like these books that encourage you to be happier), listen to a podcast, enjoy a cup of coffee, talk to a friend, or whatever makes you feel refreshed. When your break is over, hopefully you will feel a bit more focused and ready to tackle your plans.

A schedule like this has been proven to increase productivity. Plus this routine is also good for your mind and body.

3. Don’t Over Schedule

I have to tell you from my own personal experience that over scheduling, or putting too much on your plate is almost as bad as not getting any work done at all.

Because when you over schedule you find yourself not being able to finish all of the tasks in a day. This can often lead to frustration, irritation and feeling like you failed to get it all done (just like I did here).

The best way to plan your day is to give yourself a schedule that isn’t jam-packed. Tackle the most important things first and be flexible about possibly having to push-off something to another day.

4. Prioritize

Once you have planned your tasks, goals and more, it’s time to prioritize them. Just like I mentioned under “Plan Ahead,” you can use a planner, an app or whatever other scheduling methods you choose.

Start by selecting the most important tasks you need to finish by a certain day.

Next, try to finish whatever didn’t get accomplished the day prior before you start tackling new things.

Now even if you are unable to complete the rest of the things you planned, you can still feel satisfied that you effectively finished what you felt was most important to get done for that day.

5. Review

Every evening (week, month or year depending on how you plan) you should take a few minutes to review your day. See if you were able to effectively plan your day.

Take note of whether or not you were able to finish all the scheduled tasks successfully.

Ask yourself these questions to help you better plan in the future:

Did you miss any important events or deadlines?
Was your day well-managed and organized?
What could you adjust or change when planning next?

Why Should You Start To Effectively Plan Your Day?

Implement these 5 tips into your daily routine so you can feel less stressed and achieve greater success in your daily life.