Effectively planning and scheduling your work day can be a challenge for many, especially if you are in the business of dealing with many projects and people who all deserve your attention. Juggling many balls in the air, without a proper schedule, can lead to tasks falling through the cracks. This could have serious consequences for your business. It is a tiring task by itself to remember and keep track of all you need to do during the day. Follow these four tips to make sure you get the best start to your day and get the important things done.

Identify tasks:
Start your morning by making a thorough to-do list. This can be done electronically, written down on your notepad or scheduled into a program. Put down all tasks, even if they are scheduled for completion at the end of the week or month. Put them down in detail rather than being vague. Brake tasks up into smaller fractions. For instance, instead of only writing the big task, rather break the task up in more achievable bits:

Identify time:
Once all your tasks are on a to-do list, identify the time you have in which to complete them. You might have an 8 hour work day, but as it goes, days can fill up with meetings quickly and before you know it, you only a few hours left to get work done. Take your times in the office into account so as to not over commit and under deliver on projects. Overestimate time for each task to compensate for interruptions or urgent tasks that need immediate attention.

Prioritise tasks:
Prioritise your tasks according to importance by putting a letter A, B or C next to them. Start working on your A priorities first so you get the vital tasks done and out of the way. You can then tackle the B priorities. These are usually the time consuming or unpleasant tasks. If you leave them till last, chances are that you won’t feel like doing them later in the day when your energy is lower. Lastly, do your C tasks, these will be the tasks that are quick and easy by not very important.

Track progress:
It is important to add new tasks as they come in, and tick off tasks that are done. Having to tick off many tasks as they are completed at the end of the day is a good personal motivator. I personally love the feeling of accomplishment when I know my work is on track and the day has been productive.
If you are one of those people who feel like they never get done with their day's work, or never remember all their to-do’s, these guidelines will come in handy. Of course many people have different planning or scheduling methods that continues to work for them. Let me know in the comments below what works best for you to get things done.

Lorraine Coetzee is a writer for Sound Idea Digital | Lorraine@soundidea.co.za | Sound Idea Digital | www.soundidea.co.za