Tip # 2: Don’t go to bed without having a “next day” plan
This tips differs from other traditional productivity tips. While many people swear by the “I’m going to do my to-do-list as soon as I get to the office“, it’s not what has worked for me. What works for me is to create a “what do I have to do the next day” kind of list.
Why is this kind of time frame important? Because it allows you to come in to the office (or start your day if you’re working from home) with a set of tasks that you are going to try and accomplish during the day. If you spend time during the workday PLANNING the set of tasks that you want to accomplish, you are actually wasting valuable time that could be best spent in DOING actual tasks.
If you prepare this list BEFORE you go to bed, you can just grab it on the way to the office (or simply open it if you use some sort of software for “To Do” lists) in the morning, as soon as you hit the office or decide to start working from your home office.
This has worked for me like a charm. On a personal level, what I do is I never go to bed without washing the dishes. I prepare myself for the next day by knowing that I won’t have to do any tasks that I really hate doing, and starting “with a clean slate” so to speak. So, prepare yourself for the next day by creating your “to do list” the night before.
I hope you’re enjoying this series, and let me know how these tips are working for you!
Related posts:
- Keep your desk organized at all times
- On working from home and office setup
- What I did today…
- Tip # 3: Don’t check email before doing something productive!
- Telecommuting and working from home
I’ve become a huge proponent of “get everything ready the night before.” It makes a huge difference in how effective I am the next day if I’ve arranged my desk & to-do list before leaving the office, and if I make sure my kitchen’s clean at home before I go to bed. If I don’t finish those two critical things, my next day generally falls apart, because I’m still busy dealing with yesterday’s messes AND the fires that inevitably pop up during the next day.
I always leave my desk at work with organization for the next day. Routines always help. As for my home, I am more slack on the schedules in the evenings. However I do make my bed every morning when I wake up. That is my thing, oddly mornings… As soon as I roll out of bed I pull it all neatly together. I set up the jungle for my cat to amuse himself all day, give him his morning grub and open the blinds. I find having a set of things that get my day going, helps me get my head on. Usually spend that time thinking about what to wear, the day ahead, tasks to do, noting chores that must be done.
I find this helps too. Sometimes, also, when I wake up in the middle of the night, worried about work the next day, if I make a to do list, then I can fall back asleep immediately.
However, lately my to do lists have gotten far too unwieldly. I think a maximum of five items might be more attainable…if everyone would stop suggesting their stuff was most important!
And I thought you were going to say: NEVER WORK ON SUNDAYS
This is good – but I find it hard to adhere to. My compromise? A ‘next week’ plan. I’m still working it into my schedule and it’s one of my major productivity goals for 2010. This allows for some unexpected things to take over some of my time each week (as they always do) and doesn’t make me fret over something if it doesn’t happen until the end of the week