Learning Time Management Part III: Planning Your Day

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We love spontaneity and surprises but if it hurts our schedule, we better rethink. For independent contractors that are juggling several responsibilities, we have to  set daily goals and manage our time properly. By having goals everyday, we become more productive and feel more fulfilled for accomplishing certain tasks at the end of the day.

Motivational speaker Brian Tracy in his The Power of Self-discipline audio, mentioned that every minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes of execution. If you don't plan, he says, you are simply reacting to what's happening. It also shows that you are less in control of what's going on.


The habit of planning your day ahead, say before you jump to bed, gives you a good night sleep. It gives you less worry of the things you need to do. This practice helps me a lot because it gives me less time trying to think what I am supposed to do. You can write your to-do list on your spiral notebook or simply save it in your mobile phone calendar like I do.

The to-do list should include all of the tasks you need to do, which could include doing your morning exercise, taking your meals, sending emails, and replying to phone calls.

Comes the following day, review your to-do list and set your priorities. Brian Tracy suggests that you assign A, B, C, D, and E to each of the tasks you have written. A, B, and C categorize the tasks. D stands for Delegate which are tasks you can assign to someone else. And, E stands for Eliminate.

As much as possible, don't do the tasks marked or listed as B if you are not done with A. And do not start tasks on C if you are not done with B.

By doing these simple things, you will be surprise that there are many things you can accomplish in a day. It makes you feel happier and fulfilling. It makes you feel you are in control and disciplined.


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