March: Design your Days.

You wake up with the best of intentions, but before you know it your day becomes a blur of doing; of moving from one task to the next in relentless succession until the end of the day arrives and you flop, with relief, onto the couch, where you attempt to give your brain a break by zoning out to tech or TV. Sound familiar?

We all have patches where we tend to get stuck on the treadmill of the lives that we have created for ourselves, and are so busy trying to keep up with the pace that we have programmed, that we forget that we can step off at any time, and breathe – even if it’s just for five minutes. We can step back on when we are ready, and can control and adjust the pace to align with both our goals and our comfort levels.

We tend to forget that we design our days.

Take some time out to reflect on the composition of your days, and how good they are making you feel. Drastic change can be dangerous, and disruptive; but small incremental changes and pace adjustments can help you to shift the details of your days to fall more in line with what energizes you and makes you happy.

If you’re wanting to bring more purpose, structure and sanity to your days, the secret is to plan them carefully, but realistically. If you allocate too many things into one day you will only be left feeling tired and disappointed when you don’t get to everything. Schedule no more than 50% of your working day for important tasks and deep work, and whilst you may have intentions for the remaining time, be open minded to unavoidable interruptions. If there aren’t any, you can turn to your to-do list, but without the pressure of having to complete it all that same day. Identify two or three important tasks to complete each day. Do them early in the day, and do them well. Even if the rest of your day spirals out of control, if you have started with meaningful and important tasks you will finish the day feeling as if you have achieved something.

Some helpful pointers:

·      Sit quietly on a Sunday evening and plan your week ahead with your diary in front of you.

·      Leave smaller tasks for the end of the day, and group similar chores together.

·      Aim to only check your email two or three times a day – focus on your real work rather!

·      Use your time slots in your diary rather than an open ended to do list.

·      Seriously consider removing some things from your to-do list. Do they really need to be done?

·      Mornings for deep, focused work – when your brain and body are fresh.

·      Make time for training or movement.

·      Don’t over-schedule or over-commit.

·      Remember to plan in your relaxation and family time too.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” We can all turn some of our wishful thinking into reality, through using the power of planning. Our days are our design, and it’s a liberating feeling to remember this.