Compared to those around me I am considered a productivity master. I have lists for my lists and planners for my planners. I actually created a planner plan at the end of 2015 so I would know exactly what I needed to make my daily and weekly schedule run smoothly.
But I also decided I was going to have to switch things up a bit because I had outgrown my 3" by 5" planner and my daily docket was seriously straining to contain everything I needed to do each day. I had to... wait for it... come up with a plan.
The very first thing I knew I was going to need (after a plan, of course) was a system. And one that would stand the test of time. So I brainstormed. Here's a list of the things I knew I would need to note:- My goals (see my goal setting system here)
- My personal to-do list (think birthdays and doctor appointments)
- My client list (and their respective needs)
- My editorial and content calendars
- My VA work (for a different blog)
- My family's schedule (for reference)
- My personal events happening this year
- My TV Schedule (hey, a girl has to relax)
- My obligations (such as book & product reviews)
- Anything else of note happening each week.
So I pulled out a notepad, wrote all this down (along with anything else that came to mind) and started outlining everything in each category. As I wrote I made a note of anything I was tracking somewhere other than one of my planners. For example, I have an app on my phone that allows me to track what TV shows I am watching so I don't have to write them down each week. Instead I could simply use a TV sticker to note that I had a show or multiple shows on that week.
Since my VA work times change based on the needs of my client, I am able to simply add it to the to-do in my planner but note what times I am blocking directly in my daily docket hourly schedule. The same applies to my writing and scheduling for business and my personal blog.
I knew my Editorial and content calendars would live in their own planner (bought specifically for this task - more to come on how detailed that planner is) and I knew I could use icon stickers for things like birthdays, pay day and other appointments.
Now to block out my time to maximize my productivity.
Armed with my overly detailed list of needs, I needed to take a look and decide just how I was going to use my time blocking skills to maximize my productivity.
I knew it would be foolish to expect that each week could be blocked the same. Why? Because my needs change, the to-do list shrinks and grows, appointments and life happen and, sometimes, I just want to change it up.
So instead of blocking out each week as I printed my docket I elected to lump my dockets into quarters just like my goal setting plan. This does two things:
So my secret is actually rather simple when it came down to how I was going to maximize my productivity:
Yep, it's that simple.
Instead of marking appointments, plans, dates or other things that need to happen as they are scheduled in my planner, I use a notepad to jot down the date, time and location of each item that pops up for the following weeks. Then, during my planning session on Sunday nights (when I catch up on all those TV shows I keep talking about >chuckle< ) I plug in each week as needed.
Because my editorial and content calendars are planned a month in advance, all I really need to do is note what I am posting each day (I use a color coded, no words system for this in my weekly planner but I write the full post name and highlight it's specific color for my daily docket), what appointments I have, what events I am attending, and my priority list in my large (81/5" by 10") weekly planner. The highlights and priorities go into my matching 3" by 5" planner; which goes wherever I go.
After I have all that plugged in, off to the daily docket I go and I am able to itemize everything from my planner by hour, time blocking my way to getting it all done.
Now it's your turn!
How do YOU maximize your productivity?
What tips can you share for getting more done each day?
How often do you plan out your time?
Until next time!
I knew it would be foolish to expect that each week could be blocked the same. Why? Because my needs change, the to-do list shrinks and grows, appointments and life happen and, sometimes, I just want to change it up.
So instead of blocking out each week as I printed my docket I elected to lump my dockets into quarters just like my goal setting plan. This does two things:
- Helps me track where I sit each quarter and adjust accordingly
- Allows me to easily look back at my patterns and habits to see where changes need to be made.
So my secret is actually rather simple when it came down to how I was going to maximize my productivity:
Schedule a planning session every Sunday
Yep, it's that simple.
Instead of marking appointments, plans, dates or other things that need to happen as they are scheduled in my planner, I use a notepad to jot down the date, time and location of each item that pops up for the following weeks. Then, during my planning session on Sunday nights (when I catch up on all those TV shows I keep talking about >chuckle< ) I plug in each week as needed.
Because my editorial and content calendars are planned a month in advance, all I really need to do is note what I am posting each day (I use a color coded, no words system for this in my weekly planner but I write the full post name and highlight it's specific color for my daily docket), what appointments I have, what events I am attending, and my priority list in my large (81/5" by 10") weekly planner. The highlights and priorities go into my matching 3" by 5" planner; which goes wherever I go.
After I have all that plugged in, off to the daily docket I go and I am able to itemize everything from my planner by hour, time blocking my way to getting it all done.
Now it's your turn!
How do YOU maximize your productivity?
What tips can you share for getting more done each day?
How often do you plan out your time?
Until next time!
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