10 steps on how do you create a productivity planner

“An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing,” as rightly said by Dale Carnegie, being productive starts with planning. Even a few 20 minutes spent on planning about your tasks and activities can save a lot of time by avoiding any mistake while executing. You can use this time to relax. A productive person has the ability to complete all his tasks and activities on time, meet the deadlines and achieve the goals.

And here comes the role of productivity planner. Using a productivity planner helps it easy to identify what needs to done and by when it needs to be done and you can create a whole schedule such that you can complete every crucial task on time to reach your goals. A productivity planner can be created for different reasons and as such it can be very helpful in increasing your productivity at work, in health and in relationships. Whatever your reason is, even it’s about planning a single day, creating a productivity plan can help you. If you also want to use planner for being a more productive person, these are the steps that you can follow to use planner in creating a productivity plan :-

Neatly set up your planner

Setting up the planner properly is very necessary before moving further to other things. Go through the planner and read all the pages it have. Choose how you will be going to use each page. After that you have to write down all the important dates, events and appointments. If you have a productivity planner with dates and events already written on it, the work will get easier for you. You can also be needed to add some additional printable pages

List every task

To create your productivity planner, it is first necessary to know what exactly you need to do. It all starts with listing out everything you want to do. Make a list of everything that you are going to do within a certain frame of time. Include every important or non important task that you have to do within that time. This time period can be of a day, a week, a month or even just an hour. For example, listing tasks you have to do between going to the gym and getting from home to office. One thing that you should keep in mind is that you add things because these are actually needed to do not just because there’s a time slot for it.

Rearrange your task list

After that you have listed down all the tasks that you need to do within that time, it’s the turn to reorganise them. In your productivity planner, rearrange all the tasks you have listed according to their importance. The most important tasks will be placed at the top and least important ones will be listed at the bottom. Don’t be confused with the word “importance.” It’s not something that you can do easily. It’s about the tasks that will help you in progressing towards your goals and helping you achieve them and they will be listed on the top.

Set the time

After reorganising the list according to their importance, it’s now the turn to allot time to each task. While creating your productivity planner, you should have an idea of what’s the total time you have for that plan. You should also be aware about the time that each task takes to get completed. Remember that the amount of time you give for completing a task is the time that you will take to complete that task. Keeping this in mind and the total time period, write down the time required for doing each task in your planner.

Make changes if there’s a need

After that you have listed down all the tasks and alloted time required for completing these tasks, finalize your list by studying it again. Analyse the time required for completing different tasks and the total time available for doing them. Add up the total time required for different tasks. If this total time is more than the actual time that you have for doing them, then you have to eliminate doing some less important tasks to spend that available time completing more important tasks. However, if the time required is less than the total time you have, than its great. You saved it.

Make it a daily routine

Remember to bring planning habit to your daily routine for getting maximum benefits. You should set aside a certain time when you can conveniently write your productivity planner. The calm time that you have during mornings while having coffee is perfect for writing in your planner. Also, be cautious about using this regularly. After you have written down your tasks, check it during breaks or at night before going to the bed. There are no rules for that. Analyse your daily routine and make time for writing and using your planner.

Initiate the working part

It doesn’t end with just writing your tasks, prioritizing them and assigning time to them, you actually have to do them. After that your plan is finalised and ready, it’s time to take action. Keep a check on your list and do every task that’s there on the list within the estimated time. Let the action keep taking place. Enjoy the progress that you make while doing these crucial tasks. One thing that will really help you is to stay focused on that list and completing it without getting distracted because at the end, it’s you who has created that list.

Don’t forget to use the planner

You will be able to get the full advantage of your planner for improving your productivity only by using it. Just writing your all the tasks in the planner won’t work out. It’s important to also keep checking on your planner on a daily basis. Remember that it’s a planner, not simply a calender. Using the planner regularly will help you double check any last minute meeting or to add up some extra tasks needed to be done. You have to make the planner a part of your routine. You can even use a small planner that can be carried easily in purse or case to your office.

Make the planner a part of your lifestyle

The purpose of a productivity planner is to get a better productivity but it demands incorporating this habit into your lifestyle. You should make the planner a normal lifestyle routine such that it doesn’t bother your routine. If you are okay with morning planner and it doesn’t affect your morning schedule and you can easily go to work, then it’s perfect. But if it’s not, it will be better to find another time for it. This time can be a lunch break or before sleep. Consider your routine and set the time accordingly. Meanwhile, if your creativity is ruining the time, don’t waste it. Spending 1 hour on coloring the planner won’t improve your productivity.

Make it simple

While creating your planner, you may be tempted to make it the most artistic as you can. Also, in initial days, when you are just starting using the planner, don’t rush into buying a 200 page planner and putting everything on it. Start with the basic like a 10 page planner. As you get more ideas about productivity, you can add pages to the planner. And, making it colorful and eye catching with doodling and coloring can be quite fun, doesn’t mean that it is required. Yeah, if you have time and find it interesting to do, go for it.

A planner for productivity can help a lot in your goal of becoming a better person. A productive person is always demanded everywhere and you can take your first step towards promoting your productivity with a planner. Not just for work, the planner gives you freedom to organize activities for achieving any kind of goal. But, using the planner regularly is an integral part of it to get the full benefit. You can create it anywhere, anytime and you even don’t need a special planner for it. You can make a DIY planner, use simple notes or can download note apps on your phone for creating it. Keep away any complication and you will be surprised to see the progress you make in achieving your goals.