Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to look at your plan in order
Speaker 1: to follow your plan Thoughtfully. Laying out your intentions and
Speaker 1: your schedule won't do you much good unless you consult
Speaker 1: your plan as time unfolds. One of the rules in
Speaker 1: my new book, Tranquility by Tuesday is to plan on Fridays,
Speaker 1: when you determine your priorities for the week ahead and
Speaker 1: figure out what you'll do when you will make progress
Speaker 1: on what matters most at work, at home, and for yourself.
Speaker 1: That sounds straightforward enough, but I have discovered heard over
Speaker 1: the years that some people craft beautiful plans for the week,
Speaker 1: only to forget about them until their next weekly planning session.
Speaker 1: Other people look at their plans in the morning but
Speaker 1: lose sight of them as the day goes along. The
Speaker 1: only way for you to reap the full benefits of
Speaker 1: planning is to follow your plan, and for most of us,
Speaker 1: following a plan requires looking at the plan throughout the
Speaker 1: day to be reminded of what we intend to do
Speaker 1: when otherwise, when we get distracted or the day gets
Speaker 1: busy and things come up, we simply forget personally. I
Speaker 1: have found that the best way to stay focused on
Speaker 1: my plan is to leave my planner out and open
Speaker 1: on my desk all the time. If you work at
Speaker 1: a desk for most of the day and use some
Speaker 1: sort of paper planner, this could work for you too.
Speaker 1: If you are a digital planner and work at a
Speaker 1: computer most of the time, having your plan open on
Speaker 1: your screen is the equivalent of having a planner open
Speaker 1: on your desk. Just be sure that the plan remains
Speaker 1: visible and isn't covered up by the other windows. Some
Speaker 1: people like to use task apps or the task feature
Speaker 1: in their email provider to remind themselves of what they
Speaker 1: need to accomplish during the day, or you could copy
Speaker 1: the day's main tasks onto a sticky note and put
Speaker 1: it somewhere you can see. If you aren't desk based,
Speaker 1: you will need to figure out another way that your
Speaker 1: plan can follow you around. If you use something like
Speaker 1: a clipboard, you can affix a plan there or have
Speaker 1: it pop up on your phone or a tablet. If
Speaker 1: you use that, you can set alarms through the day
Speaker 1: at times when you plan to do things, as long
Speaker 1: as you are sure you will know when an alarm
Speaker 1: goes off at two pm what that means, or you
Speaker 1: have a way to check, or maybe you have some
Speaker 1: sort of command central somewhere like your car and you
Speaker 1: can put the plan on a sticky note on your dashboard.
Speaker 1: But whatever the method, the purpose is the same. You
Speaker 1: want to have a reminder of your plan somewhere that
Speaker 1: you keep seeing all day long. That way, you can
Speaker 1: implement the plan you have thoughtfully designed, or if you
Speaker 1: wind up changing it, you know that you are doing
Speaker 1: so and that there is a good reason for it.
Speaker 1: It is not just that you forgot or got distracted.
Speaker 1: I love fancy planners as much as the next person,
Speaker 1: but crafting a beautiful plan in a fancy planner does
Speaker 1: nothing on its own. Plans have to be put into
Speaker 1: action for them to have maximum impact. It is hard
Speaker 1: to follow the plan when you can't see it, so
Speaker 1: make sure you look at your plan and you will
Speaker 1: be far more likely to achieve your goals. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from it. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod That's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
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