04 Apr How Mindful Planning Can Change Your Entire Day

Are you someone that is always late or in a hurry to get some place? Let’s transform your life with these mindfulness facts about planning!

The best plans often go for a toss in the face of serious adversity.In our lives, the absence of planning can more often than not be a standing invitation to a hassled and stressed day. Spending at least five minutes a day with yourself to plan out your day is crucial so as to make sure that you are spending time in the most optimal of places.

It is not as hard as it seems!  There is time aplenty if you want to make some changes, and considering that it is only going to better your day, it is definitely time worth spent.

Keep in mind that the habit of planning for your day should almost be ritualistic in nature. The repetition will breed the consistency required for having a good plan. 

The importance of Repetition:

With repetition, we are rewiring and laying new pathways in the brain. Through repetition, you are making sure that your pathways or brain networks are stronger. That way it will weaken negative thoughts or habits. This process takes time, that’s why it needs to be practiced repeatedly.

Here are a few steps on how you can utilize those 5 minutes to best plan your entire day:

Prioritise

It may sound too easy to be true, but it is definitely one of the hardest things to achieve. To give priorities to all your tasks for the day is of great importance if you want a productive day. Understand what is important on an immediate basis and plan your day around it.

Make sure that you make yourself a priority for at least a small patch of the day. Be it spending time with family, or that pet project you haven’t been able to make time for, factor in all the possibilities and try to figure out how your day will go.

Make lists

It does seem like something out of granny’s book of homely advice, but making lists is a sure-shot way of keeping track of your day. From making a list of chores to a list of things you need to finish helping your child with school projects, lists will help you keep track of all your requirements with ease. Find an empty space on your desk where you stick your daily to-dos and lists. Keep ticking each one off as the day progresses. Scratching off a task well done is one of the most satisfying things to do in life, so go ahead start making lists.

Have no distractions

These five minutes you spend on planning your day should not involve any distractions. Be it social media or even your phone, make it a point to not focus on anything but the planning on hand. Doing this on a regular basis, at a fixed time, will not only make the process more easier, it will also become more instinctive and help you better manage your day. Make yourself a small do-not-interrupt zone where no one, be it your family or friends can intrude while you are planning for your day. If that is not possible, do what most people troubled for time do, use your time in the bathroom to jot down the essentials for the day. It can be done!

Push through the lethargy

If you are lazy, taking out five minutes from the day for planning the proceedings of the day can be a little boring. However, that lethargy needs to be eliminated and eliminated fast. The only way you are ever going to get any planning done is if you hold yourself accountable for your day. Having a lackadaisical attitude will only make sure that the day gets away from you. 

Give yourself time to assess your day and plan for eventualities. Do not give in to the laziness of “seeing how things unfold” because chances are that the way things unfold might not be to your liking.