How To Plan Your Day to Prioritise YOURSELF
Do you plan your day? Or do you tend to go with the flow?
Personally, I don’t think one is better than the other as there are definitely benefits to both.
Planning your day ensures that you get important things done, while going with the flow allows spontaneity and keeps the day exciting.
I don’t believe that every day needs to be planned down to the very minute because you need to have days off where you simply do nothing, or don’t know what you will get up to on the day.
Saying that, when there’s certain personal goals you want to reach, there is a likelier chance of reaching them if you plan your day.
Not having a plan has the potential to lead to procrastination, distraction and lack of concentration. Therefore, it is best to have a balance of both days.
In fact, spending 10-12 minutes to plan your day could save you two hours of wasted time throughout the day.
So, on the days you do want to get stuff done, here are essential things to include in your day to set you up for a productive day and prioritise YOUR needs first.
This post covers key things to include in your day, but if you want to know how to plan your daily schedule, have a look at this post.
Think about how you want your days to look like
Typically, in ‘productivity-related’ articles and blog posts, a lot of attention is given on time management techniques, using your energy effectively as well as the best ways to get things done quickly.
And, while I will cover these topics below, one thing I don’t see when I read these articles/ posts is the process of visualising what you want your day to look like and more importantly, who you want to be.
Goals are great, but they are just the destination. You have to go through all that precedes it – breaking the bad habits, forming new habits, creating schedules, trial and testing, failing, then trying again, working on your consistency, discipline etc.
There is so much that happens before you ‘reach’ the goal.
Therefore, as you plan your day, think about what kind of person you want to be.
Do you want to be someone who reads more? Someone who constantly works on improving their knowledge? Maybe, you want to get fitter and start competing in sports? Or perhaps, you simply just want to be happier as a person.
Once you understand how you want your life to look like as well as how you want to be as a person, plan your days to reach that.
If you want to become fitter for example, you would probably want to include some sort of exercise during your days. Therefore, you need to plan your days so you have time for it.
Morning/ Evening Routine
Having a solid morning and evening routine can really set you up for the day as well as the day after.
Building good, positive habits during these times is a great way to get things done and prioritise your needs.
Some positive habits to introduce during your morning routine may include taking your vitamins, doing a morning journal, working on your spiritual beliefs, exercise or morning stretches. Your evening routine could include your skin care routine, reading and doing a ten-minute tidy of the house before you go to bed.
Related:
The Realistic Morning Routine For Maximum Productivity
Tips for Self Care To Create the Perfect Evening
Ideas For Self Care (THAT ACTUALLY WORK!!)
Creative Hobbies For Adults That Will Take You Back To Your Childhood!
Practicing gratitude
Practice gratitude everyday whether it be religious, through journaling or simply turning all off electronics and being mindful and aware of all the simple privileges you have. This will keep you focused on your inner purpose as well give you drive and motivation to see your personal goals through.
Thinking about all the things you are grateful for, and all the things that you have (it can be as simple as being able to see or read) will make you more positive and ready to tackle challenges should they arise.
It makes you more resilient as a person too.
Put in time for yourself
Sometimes you can get so swept up by your various duties and responsibilities, you forget to take time out to care of yourself.
Self-care shouldn’t only happen on ‘Self-care Sundays’ or only at a dedicated time once a week, it should happen every day!
Spend a little time every day to work on yourself even if it is ten minutes.
This could be as simple as putting a homemade face mask on or joining a community club so that you can work on your hobbies with like-minded people.
Take care of yourself and enjoy each day whilst dealing with your day-to-day responsibilities. Make every day for you.
Otherwise, what’s the point? There’s no point being ‘productive’ if you’re miserable all the time.
Work on your religion
This is another aspect that will really develop your sense of purpose. It will give you drive and motivation and inner peace.
Again, you don’t have to spend loads of time if you don’t have the time during the day. But put in some time every day to re-focus and re-align yourself with your inner purpose.
As well as this, regularly give to charity and volunteer if you are able to. Attend classes or clubs if the time permits. Or meet with your friends and closed ones to work on your spiritual beliefs together!
Related:
How To Learn The 99 Names Of Allah
How To Build A Connection With Allah SWT
How To Repent A Sin (As a Muslim)
Increase your knowledge
Rather than watching the telly for hours every night, use your time wisely and learn something new!
Is there a specific topic that you want to know more about? How much do you know about climate change, or what’s happening on the other side of the world?
Staying informed about your surroundings as well as constantly learning is a great way for you to grow and become more sensitive as a person.
How does this fit into planning your day? Allocate some time every day, be it 5 minutes even, to increase your knowledge in some sort of way.
If you have some personal projects you’d like to work on, allocate time for that too.
When you plan your day, it shouldn’t be about just getting stuff done, but using each day to become a better person overall.
Plan your day the night before
Planning the night before means that when you wake up the next morning you know exactly what to do and can get started right away.
It stops you from wasting time and procrastinating and allows increased efficiency and productivity.
Planning your day the night before could include things like creating a schedule for the next day, ironing your clothes for the next day, preparing your lunch, preparing your work bag or laying your gym clothes out so that you can go to the gym first thing in the morning.
Break bad habits & build good habits
I go through the process of building good habits in detail in my post about the ‘habit loop’ theory.
It will show you how to deal with each of the four stages of the habit loop as you try to break old habits and form better ones.
These posts on productivity will also be useful in helping you form better habits:
How To Be A Disciplined Person & ACE LIFE!!
A Minimalist Lifestyle: Live With Less & Be Your Best
How To Be Organised Every SINGLE day
Time Management Ideas To Stop Wasting Time
Have a goal for the week
Having a goal or a number of goals for the week will help you plan your days too.
If you’re aiming to do a deep tidy of your whole house, you could do one room a day for example.
If you need to work on an assignment, you could break the task up into research, planning, writing and editing and then, allocate days when you do them.
Leave certain tasks for certain days
Think about your least and most productive times of the week/ day.
You might be more tired on a Monday as it is the beginning of the week but gain energy by around Tuesday/ Wednesday. Therefore, you would want to plan your more difficult, high effort tasks on the days you are more productive/ have more energy.
By Friday, your energy slumps again as you prepare for the weekend. By that point, you could focus on getting lower effort tasks done.
Similarly, there may be times in the day that you are more productive. Plan to do your more complex tasks during these times.
Reflect
The only way to progress is to reflect and to not give up.
Even if your day didn’t go according to plan, reflect on the day and understand why.
Is it because you planned to do a difficult task at a time when you’re typically less productive? What were your energy levels and mood like on that day? Were there any triggers? Did you get one step closer to your goal even if it was very, very small?
Once you’ve assessed the day and understood how you could make it better, plan the next day and make those changes. And, if that day doesn’t go according to plan, try again, and again, and again.
Even the smallest amount of progress is still progress.
Bare in mind that as much as you plan your day, you are not in total control of it. Last minute, spontaneous things may happen and you will have to adapt to it on the spot.
Learn to take these incidents as ways to grow and become more flexible as person, and don’t let them hinder your progress.
KEY TAKEAWAYS – How To Plan Your Day to Prioritise YOURSELF
- Spending 10-12 minutes to plan your day could save you two hours of wasted time throughout the day.
- Once you understand how you want your life to look like as well as how you want to be as a person, plan your days to reach that.
- Having a solid morning and evening routine can really set you up for the day as well as the day after.
- Practice gratitude everyday whether it be religious, through journaling or simply turning all electronics off and being mindful and aware of all the simple privileges you have. This will keep you focused on your inner purpose as well give you drive and motivation to see your personal goals through.
- Self-care shouldn’t only happen on ‘Self-care Sundays’ or only at a dedicated time once a week, it should happen every day!
- Staying informed about your surroundings as well as constantly learning is a great way for you to grow and become more sensitive as a person.
- Planning the night before means that when you wake up the next morning you know exactly what to do and can get started right away.
- Having a goal or a number of goals for the week will help you plan your days too.
- There may be times in the day that you are more productive. Plan to do your more complex tasks during these times.
- Once you’ve assessed the day and understood how you could make it better, plan the next day and make those changes. And, if that day doesn’t go according to plan, try again, and again, and again.
- Even the smallest amount of progress is still progress.
