PRODUCTIVE

One of the key differences between very productive people and unproductive people is that productive people plan their time in advance, while unproductive people rarely bother to do so. Planning is one of the most important skills in time management. Experts estimate that every minute you spend planning your time effectively can save you 3 to 5 minutes during execution. And yet most people don't plan their time at all. They just drift through the day doing whatever task happens to grab their attention next. There are many reasons people give for not planning their time. Like don't really need it, won't work for me, don't have time to plan, it's too constraining, my work is too unpredictable, I'm a creative type, etc. The truth is that all these reasons are just excuses and rationalizations. The real reason people don't plan is usually one of the following... 1) They don't understand the true value of planning - People often claim that they don't need to plan because they are doing well without any planning. The reality is that they are doing well despite their lack of planning, NOT because they are not planning. Effective planning would make them even more productive and capable of achieving even better results. 2) They don't know how to plan effectively - This is probably the most common reason why people don't plan: they just don't know how to do it. Planning your time is a skill that you have to learn. The good news is that planning doesn't have to take a lot of time -- and it's a simple skill that virtually anyone can learn. One of the most important principles in effective planning is to always "plan on paper". The reason is that it forces you to put your thoughts out in the open where you can see them, think about them, move them around and prioritize them. It's very difficult to plan things in your head because by their very nature your thoughts are fuzzy, vague and easy to forget. It takes a lot of effort and energy to keep track of your plans in your head. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to use an actual piece of paper to do your planning. Now that we have computers, you can use electronic lists, notes or even Mind Maps as tools to help you plan more effectively. In fact, these tools often work better than just using "pen and paper" because it's easier to capture, organize, store, arrange and use your plans. So the first step in effective planning is to always "plan on paper" instead of in your head. When it comes to planning your time, another important principle is to always work from a list. You make a list of what you need to do and organize it in the proper sequence based on what is most important. You then use that list to guide your work throughout the day and help you decide what to do next. Many people discover that embracing the habits of planning your time and working from a list increases their productivity significantly.