Rick Goodman — February 24, 2019 — February 24, 2019
I’ve written before about the importance of having the right morning routine—but today, I want to pan back and talk about something even more basic: Simply put, the way you structure your days can have a big impact on your productivity. It’s not enough to have a to-do list; to maximize your energy, your creativity, your time, and your focus, what you really need to do is think about when you’re going to do things, and in what order.
Let me show you what I mean.
How to Structure Your Day for Maximum Productivity
Plan your weeks in advance. Let’s start with the big picture: You should begin each week with a clear agenda, including the major projects you need to complete or commitments you need to uphold. Map out what your big areas of focus need to be each day.
Set daily goals. It’s good to have long-term goals, but I also recommend having three to five main things you want to achieve each day. Review those items as your day begins, and plan your time accordingly. It’s always wise to structure your day around the biggest goals.
Schedule uninterrupted work time. You can’t simply hope for a block of time to do creative work sans distraction. You actually have to create it—and that means putting it on your schedule, then turning off your phone and desktop alerts so that you can make it happen. For most of us, the best time to schedule this uninterrupted work time is in the morning, but your mileage may vary!
Schedule the mundane tasks, too. Checking email, listening to voicemails, updating your company’s social media—these “little” things can really eat into your productive time. That’s why I recommend setting aside one or two times each day where you focus on these things—maybe in the morning and then again before you leave the office—and otherwise letting them drift from your mind.
Save meetings for the afternoon. If you have your creative time in the morning, then you can save administrative tasks—including meetings and conference calls—for the afternoon, which is when a lot of us start to lose a little steam anyway.
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