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What if you made a few tweaks to how you approach your day and saw an immediate difference?
It would be wonderful, right?
Maybe you’re getting stuff done, but not as much as you’d like.
Has procrastination been a recurring theme in your life?
Maybe you’ve been meaning to be more intentional, but it just doesn’t happen.
Get 6 ideas to be more productive now.
How to Structure Your Time and To-Do List to Be More Productive
1. Get your Nike on.
Get on an anti-procrastination kick. As the Nike slogan goes, “Just do it.” Set everything out the night before. Pack lunches, pick out clothes, set the table for breakfast. If there’s extra time, even meal plan a bit. Take meat out of the freezer and put it into the fridge so you can cook it for dinner the following evening. Do anything beforehand that will make your morning and day go well. Make it a routine and it will eventually become an effortless habit.
2. Don’t stay up too late.
Experts estimate that 100 million Americans maintain a serious sleep debt by failing, night after night, to get enough sleep. Enlist help from other family members to get ready for the next day. Include them in the night time routine. Have them lay out their own clothes, charge cells gadgets, or do any age-appropriate chores possible to help everyone get to bed on time. You may start out with good intentions by preparing the night before but don’t let it deprive you of sleep.
3. Get up earlier.
You may be thinking “Duh.” And you’re correct. It sounds like a no-brainer but it can be harder than you think. If you fell asleep in front of the television watching Dancing with the Stars or Duck Dynasty (Yikes!), by the time you get up to go to bed, you’re no longer tired. This can throw your sleep off and then make it hard to get up in the morning.
Try getting up fifteen minutes earlier. It will give you time to wake up and maybe have a cup of coffee, and relax a little before your day starts. Maybe you can eventually get up a half hour to an hour earlier. You can get yourself fully ready without having to attend to anyone else. I do this daily. It’s not always easy but I force myself to get up and workout. I even check email and eat before anyone else is up. It helps me fully wake up before I have to be on with my family. It can make such a big difference in how your day goes.
4. Plan your day like a millionaire.
I follow Brendon Burchard’s idea about plotting out my day. He makes you intentionally focus on getting things done including handling your email effectively to accomplish items on your to-do list. He makes you check your email for specific reasons and has a system he explains on Youtube.
Basically, in the morning, you check your email and look for messages that you are waiting on. You can also email people you need to reach out to in order to accomplish something you set out to do. The morning email check-in is to focus on what you need to do. The system has you check your email again at night to address other people’s agenda. I find that I am much more focused and productive by following his action plan. I don’t get distracted and I no longer waste time opening emails that aren’t important. Check out his video here.
5. Develop a weekly plan first to save time and money.
There are certain things that have to get done on a weekly basis. There’s no sense writing down the same tasks day after day, week after week. Get my free printable and outline your week. Your schedule will have a set structure. Assign a day for each task you have to do on a weekly basis. I use to make silly mistakes paying my bills because I didn’t have a system. You can avoid these costly mistakes. I developed a system for myself and I pay my bills every Friday. This helps me avoid late fees and interest charges.
6. Build your “can do confidence.”
Set aside time to just get organized. Maybe you put things away for 10 minutes a day. A little bit can go along way. Minimal effort each day can lead to a much more organized home and ultimately a better place to live!
The Bottom Line
Make a few tweaks to how you approach your to do list. Doing things like packing lunches and laying out clothes can help your morning go smoothly and free up mental energy to accomplish the most important task on your list. Map out regular tasks and assign a certain day to get them done.
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