The days go quickly—too quickly. My first tip for making the most of your time is a well organized list. You can scoff, you can try 500 different to-do list apps—-but I’m willing to bet that when it comes down to it—-seeing your list, goals, and appointments written out in front of you is the most effective way of getting. things. done. So, here we go. Five steps:
1. Either purchase or design a daily page. I sell mine (pictured above) in notepad form in my Etsy Shop—but you can make your own pretty easy. Use photoshop. Use word. Draw it out and make photocopies. Whatever you gotta do.
2. Fill it out either the night before or early in the morning in an environment other than your office or workspace. If I don’t find time to fill mine out the night before, I always fill it out in the kitchen with my breakfast before entering my office. Helps ensure you get all of this out of your head before you start to tackle your workload.
3. Designate a symbol that means “move to tomorrow”—-that way if there’s a task you can’t get to today, you can move it to tomorrow. I use a little arrow (–>) instead of doing a checkmark. Then that evening when I’m making the next days list I make sure I move any –>’s over to the top of tomorrow’s priorities. This keeps it evolving and ultimately makes it more functional.
4. Be realistic with what you can accomplish in a day and be patient. It takes 21 days to develop a habit…so if at first you feel like you’re barely filling out your page and barely checking things off—just keep at it. Within 3 weeks you’ll wonder what you did without a Daily Page.
5. Use colored pens. As many as possible. Obviously.
If you’re interested in a Daily Page Notepad I am offering a discount to readers. Place your order before August 1st and get 20% off your entire order with code OrganizeMe.
