How To Use A Daily Planner To Boost Your Productivity? Sharing few reasons on how a fantastic planner can act as a lifesaver in our daily grind.

By Dinesh Bhasin

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Planning your day is one of the most important things you can do everyday to make difficult tasks easier. It increases your productivity and makes you feel more fulfilled. As Brian Tracy says, "Every minute you spend planning saves 10 minutes in execution."By taking just 5-10 minutes each morning (or the night before) to strategically plan from your day, you'll be able to get significantly increased output from your time.

We're all given the same amount of time everyday (24 hours), but we all don't use it the same way. Planning your day allows you to prioritize, execute and analyze an effort estimate. Ever noticed how easy it is to make a to-do list, but how much harder it is to actually follow it? The game changer actually is prioritization .The modus operandi to kill this giant is to prioritize. Yes, one does needs to take baby steps and not an athletic speed to get things done via planning. Steady is better, and, accurate is safer than reworking.

One key element here is to analyze your task list by looking for any tasks that can be dumped completely. Delegation is a perfect way to quickly cut down your task list—is there anything you're waiting on others for? Get it off your list. Put it somewhere you won't forget it, like a follow-up list or a shared project, in simpler words chase it like you chased your first crush in your teenage. The effort is worth it when the task is achieved. A way to get tasks done and prioritize the grind is to rely on a good planner.

Now, why should you, use a planner? What's in it for you? That's the deal. Sharing few reasons on how a fantastic planner can act as a lifesaver in our daily grind.

Anything that's due soon (or overdue) counts as urgent (the real "Bhasad'). As for what's truly important and what's more of a "nice to do" goes in "Bhains Ki Aankh', try to be as honest as you can. This is particularly helpful for those times when you're drowning under a million things to do, as it helps you to visualize what's really important and what can wait. Once you've laid out your tasks, aim to get through the urgent and important tasks so you're not butting up against deadlines. Then you can focus on the most productive quadrant: important but not urgent "O Teri Ki'. These are the tasks that are easy to put off, but provide lots of value when they do get done.

How to get it done again is a vital part of this and a tool to manage this is planner. Let's take a look at the perks of using a planner:

  • A planner helps you to estimate how much you can get done and how long each task will take. No doubt you've got plenty of things to do. What if you check everything off your list for today?
  • With your planner you can track down the list of the most important tasks, the ones you deserve a treat from your boss types in terms of your effort. Once you have 1-3 of these and anything else listed would become a bonus, "nice to do if you have the time" tasks. You only work on bonus tasks if all your MITs (Most important tasks) are done, and if all you get through are your MITs, you've still had a successful day
  • A planner definitely let's you know how you have managed the tasks and any strategies you used for effective handling. In other words, get your armor before the war. For people, with a penchant for stationary and the hopeful souls: planner is a memorabilia
  • Or better, imagine a planner full of self motivated well-done stickers and stars to keep yourself going. Like an album of how good am I at multitasking, keep all that in your journal called Bhasad
  • For people who retain any tasks when they write Bhasad is a useful tool, maintenance free and easy to carry
  • For those who believe in the act of doing rather than speaking
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