Introduction: Why is planning so important? You might have heard the term, "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail”, and in all honesty, I think this perfectly encapsulates why it's important to plan. On the days I don't have a plan, I feel like an absolute hot mess, with brain fog, low mood, demotivated, and the list goes on. I end the day feeling like I don't even know what happened that day in a daze of confusion. A day without a plan is generally a day where I opt for takeout as a convenient option, I feel like I lapsed in quality time with my daughter, and any tasks on my to-do list don't even get looked at (which, as a business owner, content creator and blog writer is not ideal) and I often struggle to find the motivation to plan for the next day which is only setting myself up for a vicious cycle. To avoid this and start your journey to a better you, follow along with my blog, and we will make it one step at a time, starting with planning:
1. Weekly Planning Date: The number of times I say to myself, "I have to do x,y,z" tomorrow or sometime this week, and then I never get around to it because the busyness of life kicks in is honestly ridiculous. If you give yourself too much time to achieve something or no clear direction on how to achieve something, then you are never going to do it. This is why weekly planning dates are so important. This date really depends on you; I find Saturday evening, once Rosalie is in bed, is best for me as I find Fridays are winding down the week that was, and Sunday is getting ready for the week ahead, so Saturday is really that ideal day to wind down and brain dump. During this planning date, you want to go over your to-do list (add tasks, remove tasks, schedule tasks), go over the week ahead and plan out any meals in order for you to order your grocery delivery or go to the store the next day, any key dates that are happening that week, anything you need to get or make for the week ahead etc. All of these items should be written out either in your planner or blank notebook.
2. Brain dump: When you first sit down to plan, a million thoughts can come to mind, it can feel confusing and overwhelming, and it can be what, at times, I have felt puts me into a funk however, that's why when you first sit down get a blank notebook and just write everything that comes to mind no matter what it is. (Try separating your brain dump into categories if you can otherwise, just right everything out that comes to mind, this step should be the least complicated out of all the steps)
3. To-Do List: Breaking this down further, writing out your to-do list is a very important step. I know that if I don't write something down by the time the next thought pops into my head, that last thought is history. I don't know if it's classified as mum brain or sleep deprivation brain, but to-do lists (or lists in general) are so important to ensure you are productive with your time and getting through everything you need to do, especially as a SAHM & Business Owner. I also love the feeling of ticking off my to-do list, even if it is just one task a day, and my list grows by three every day. Just knowing I have completed something is a great feeling.
(Side note: I have also heard of people doing a reverse to-do list where, at the end of the day, they write a list of everything they have achieved that day, which gives a sense of accomplishment as you are able to tick your whole list off. Personally, this doesn't work for me, but I love the concept for someone who may feel overwhelmed by seeing a full to-do list.)
4. Group Like-Minded Items: This is a concept I love to do, and that is Grouping tasks together; once you have created your to-do list, go through everything and write down tasks that can be done in a batch. (For example, computer tasks, all tasks that need to be completed via a computer go into one batch then, for another example, errands, all tasks that you need to go into the shops are in another batch) this helps as when you move to the next task on the schedule, you will be able to schedule all your tasks by batches, which will be much more efficient and productive.
5. The next step is to grab out your yearly planner and start scheduling everything, I find that I need to mentally prepare for my week ahead, especially if it involves leaving the house as Rosalie is going through a very big Miss Independent phase, so whenever I leave the house I need to mentally prepare to muster up all my being patient skills, my understanding skills and my empathy skills in order to get through whatever I need to do. Scheduling also allows you time to be prepared (you have a birthday party on Friday well, now you have all week to get that last-minute gift instead of the day before)
As I am also more of a visual person, I created an Excel spreadsheet with dates and times. As we generally have meals around the same time each day, I have blocked these out across the week, and then everything else is added in around these times.
Conclusion: We have covered setting your weekly planning date (which you will keep like an appointment), Brain dump everything that comes to mind to clear your head and release the fun. We have also discussed the importance of to-do lists and grouping like-minded tasks together. Then, lastly, grab your planner and dive into scheduling everything with dates and times; I hope you are able to find even just one takeaway from this blog, and I can help you make your life even 1% better.
So keep following along and working through every area of your life to achieve the best version of YOU.
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