What Day Is Today? The Best Day You Planned
What day is today? Wednesday or maybe Friday? Planning the day ahead is necessary for anything? If so, how to plan the day for success and stick to it? Here I will find out how to plan my next day to be productive. In my planning, I will use rule 3-6-9, which I have reworked for my own needs. This rule includes: “Three Colors”, “Six Areas” and “Nine Hours.”
When you go to bed every day, usually too late, you worry about everything that has happened and what you still have to do. That's why you can't fall asleep, and in the morning, you wake up even more tired. I also had similar problems with falling asleep once.
Below I will share with you my method that I have been working on over the past years.
Why is planning your day important?
In short, pointless and disorganized life is the cause of stagnation and lack of development. Therefore, it is very important to define your goals and then consistently implement them step by step. If you plan to create your home-based business without an action plan, you will probably not be successful.
Can you imagine a pilot who took off without a flight plan and didn't know where to go? He will probably fly in a circle, and then, due to the lack of fuel, he will hit the ground with a bang. Good planning is the biggest and best success factor.
As you can see in the picture above, I have broken the day into three main periods: take off, cruise and landing. I will not deal with the first and last periods now because these are daily habits and you should plan them once and for all. I will deal with the daily rituals at the end.
Generally speaking, the first part of the day, or “take off”, consists of morning habits arranged in a specific formula. Also, the last part of the day, or “landing”, is a strictly defined list of activities to be performed before sleep. The only flexible part of the day planned is “cruise”, and here I will pay the most attention.
What day is today - step number one
The main rule of a good day planning is the 70/30 formula, which is to plan only 70% of the time and leave the remaining 30% for “random accidents”, that would happen.
Let's say you have an appointment at 8am, and you set aside two hours for it. There was an unexpected traffic jam on the way, and you lost 20 minutes in it. It's a “random accident” which is absolutely not up to you.
If you do not plan this time flexibly, it might turn out that half of the tasks you did not complete at the end of the day.
Therefore, you must remember to allocate a certain amount of time to each task. This way will help you to avoid too many tasks in your planner. Quite simply, if you schedule too many things too hastily for one day, it cannot be done. However, if everything goes according to your plan and you have some spare time, do the next day's tasks.
What day is today - step number two
As you know, some projects are too big, and you can't get it done in one day. For example, it will take you from a few hours to a full day to write a blog post. However, preparing the entire website is a week's work.
Therefore, you have to break down larger tasks into individual steps. If you have already divided the biggest task into smaller pieces, analyze which ones are the most important. It may happen that you can't handle some of the parts yourself or they won't be worth taking care of them.
Let's say you're not very good at writing articles. Since there are two options, now you need to calculate which option will be more profitable. The first option is to learn things that you can't do. Ask yourself a few questions: How long will take to learn this activity? How much will this learning cost? What can you do in time if you don't have to learn a new thing?
A simple calculation, as you need to calculate some basic parameters. I'll give you an example. If you can't write useful articles, the course will cost you about $ 47 plus an additional 150 hours. The math is simple: $ 47 + (150hrs x your hourly rate) = total cost of learning one thing.
In the answers you get, you may discover that the second option will be better. So delegating difficult task to someone else may turn out to be not only a better idea but also a cheaper solution.
How do I plan my next day?
I have been planning my life for a long time, so I have developed effective planning methods. I do not plan a single day, but a whole week from Monday to Friday. Mostly on Sunday night my week ahead is thoroughly planned. On the other hand, you can adjust everything to your needs by following my advice and examples.
My day is divided into three parts, although only one of them I plan for each day. In the morning, after waking up, I enter the take-off phase. Later in this post, I will also explain how my “take-off” and “landing” phases look.
1. White board
I use a white, adequately prepared board that I attached above my place of work for planning. In the picture below, you can see what my board looks like. I bought my whiteboard on Amazon a long time ago, although it is also available in local stores. The dimensions of the board are 90 x 60 centimetres. Of course, for the board's design, I used masking tape and these three-colour sticky notes, which I also bought on Amazon. Now you can make your whiteboard if you like mine.
2. Paper Planner
When planning, sometimes a little square piece of paper stuck to the board is too small. That's why I use this paper notebook as a supplement. I can save additional information about the plans for particular periods, but I can also do something more.
I can plan the whole year, write down my dreams, check the progress in personal goals. There are many things in which this notebook is handy. For example, a whiteboard does not fit into a backpack, a notebook does. You can take this little book with you wherever you want.
I like most about it because there is no date printed, that it begins in 2021 or ends in 2022. You can start using it any day; in fact, the same time Amazon delivers it to your home. My notebook is almost red, but there are other colours you may like. Blue, black, brown?
Check what the notebook looks like on Amazon, maybe you can buy one for yourself?
Inside there are some additional and equally impressive pages where you can save valuable information. The planner is perfect for people who want to start planning their success or just want to have an organized life. It is also an ideal gift for any occasion.
Jump on Amazon and see how it looks like.
My rule 369
As many scientists claim, the numbers 3, 6 and 9 have extraordinary power. My planning principle is also particular, based on experiences, reflections and focused on one whole. So I like to introduce you to my special planning.
Following the voice of scientists of this world, I determined the meaning of the numbers 369 for my needs.
The rule of 3 - Three Colors
As you can see on my board, all scheduled tasks I divided into three colours. There is one primary colour that stands out from the other two. When planning tasks, I determine which of them are the most important and mark them with this distinctive colour.
However, the rest of the jobs I assigned to the other two colours and prioritise them. In other words, the three colours are the three categories of tasks: most important, necessary, and less priority.
The first rule I follow is not to plan too many serious tasks in one day. At this point, I am always planning of 70% of the time devoted to work, where I choose one difficult or essential task and a few less important ones.
The most important thing to remember is starting your day with the most challenging task you have marked with a particular colour. In a situation where the most demanding job takes more time than you have planned, you can flexibly postpone other challenges to the next day. Avoid doing the easy things early in the day, as you may not be able to do the most important ones.
The rule of 6 - Six Areas
Basically, there are six areas of life to plan daily. The main aspects of planning are: your finances, work, personal development, hobbies, relationships and the most important – health.
The same applies to personal development because if you do not develop this skill, it will negatively affect your work and finances. If you neglect your work in the same fashion, you won't have any money for your hobby.
Without any doubt, you should plan and develop all six zones simultaneously. If you neglect one of them, it will harm the rest of the areas because they are closely related.
You will ask why health is the most important thing? Because in illness, it is difficult to carry out any planned action. Now I will briefly explain the points to you.
1. Physical health
Physical health is the core of all development because if you neglect this zone, you will pay a lot for it in the future. You don't have to go to the gym five times a week right away. All you need to do is 20 minutes a day on simple exercises. I have this in my “take-off” phase as my morning habit, and that's what I use the exercise bike for.
Another important thing is the diet, which should also be well optimized. In another blog post, I wrote an extensive article on this subject, of course, based on my own example.
Of course, bad habits also have a massive impact on your physical condition. For example, smoking cigarettes or drinking too much alcohol. But not only. I wrote an article about ten bad habits that can ruin your life. I believe you should read it thoroughly before you begin planning your life.
Final factor? Your great enemy is life under stress, so you must try to reduce to a minimum the situations that may trigger it. I'm not sure if you are aware that stress can cause many diseases, from minor ones to cancer.
Place it on:
- “Take-off” phase
- Outside working hours
2. Personal development
The only one thing is for sure, if you don't take a step forward, you start to back up. You need to learn all your life, especially if you want to achieve success in life. For this, I recommend reading the personal development books that are quite a lot on my blog.
Also, a suitable method is watching motivational videos, for example, on YouTube. Take a 10-minute break now and watch Denzel Washington's video that will motivate you to act.
The other part of personal development is also learning new skills. Note that the more different skills you have, the better your chances of earning money from them.
For example, by writing brilliant posts for your blog, you can also offer other bloggers' writing services. Learning is very developmental and is another pillar of your active life.
Place it on:
- “Take-off” phase
- “Landing” phase
3. Work
It will be necessary to plan your work to consistently carry out all scheduled tasks, as this is the only way to success. Above, in the “Three Colors” section, you already had the opportunity to learn the method of scheduling tasks. In the section “Nine Hours” I will describe in more detail what a busy day is.
Place it on:
- “Cruise” phase – working hours only
4. Finances
Your finances come directly from your work. Plan one thing each day that can bring you potential income.
For example, today, I wrote a blog post with my affiliate links. Thanks to this, I have a chance to earn money. For example, tomorrow, I will post a video on YouTube to promote a product and earn cash. The next day, I will be announcing a blog post or YouTube video on social media, and I will also make money with this action.
If you create one monetization opportunity for yourself every day, there will be 500 a day after two years, for example. In short, after two years, you will have 500 options daily to earn £ 1 or more. Do you like such a plan?
Place it on:
- “Cruise” phase – working hours only
5. Hobby
In addition to work, personal development, and entertaining friends and family, you should also have time just for yourself. You probably have a hobby like everyone else, and if it's not, it'll be great if you find one. I don't know, go to the garage, build some strange vehicle, paint a picture or feed the fish. Having time to break away from work and friends will allow you to relieve stress significantly.
Place it on:
- Outside working hours
- Weekends
6. Relationships
In your life, you also need to pay a lot of attention to your family and friends. So what if you'll earn millions if your family leaves you because you won't have time for them? Likewise, your friends may turn away from you if you don't give them attention. Moreover, if you suddenly need help in any matter, who will you ask for help?
Another critical point is that if you neglect your life partner, you can get into arguments. As a result, the tensions between the two of you will increase your stress levels. As you know, the worst disease of modern man is stress, which leads to many serious diseases.
Do you remember what the first and most crucial point of the “Six Areas” principle is?
Place it on:
- Outside working hours
- Weekends
The rule of 9 - Nine Hours
My great motto is Work smart, not hard and according to this, I have put together a plan for the working day that lasts nine hours. The only part of the day where every detail I plan carefully. The other two parts of the day: “take-off” and “landing”, do not require any daily modifications. They are just everyday habits that help in planning and carrying out tasks.
In fact, you should plan these nine hours so that the work is as effective as possible. Therefore, you should carefully analyze all the tasks you have to do. Above, in the section “What day is today – step number two” I wrote why sometimes it is a good idea to delegate tasks.
Let's say your colleague wants to meet for coffee but only has time during your working hours. Since such a meeting may not have anything to do with your business, it should not be part of your to-do list. If your friend can only meet at 10 am, okay, you can easily plan it, but you have to extend your 9 hours for the time you spent with your friend. Only then will you be able to complete all scheduled tasks consistently.
Remember not to kill yourself and work 16 hours a day. Finally, remember to take a short 5 to 10 minutes breaks from work, mostly if you work at the computer for the entire 9 hours.
What day is today? My well planned day
If you carefully follow my advice, you won't have to ask yourself what day is today? You will know precisely the answer because you will plan everything correctly.
If I were you, I would plan not only one day or one week but a whole year. You should clearly define and write down your goals and dreams you want to achieve on paper and then plan how to achieve them.
If you look at my board, you will also find the column SUCCESS and FAIL. The first one is a reward and a reason to be proud. The second, however, should lead to reflection and rethinking the strategy.
Now I will describe to you what my workday looks like.
Take-off phase
I wake up every day at 6.00 am Monday through Friday. I don't work on Saturday and Sunday. After waking up, I enter the TAKE-OFF phase. My first task is a vital activity, which is making the bed. Simple job but is very important because I can quickly complete my first task and cheer myself up with this success.
Every time I do something successfully, I am happy about it, and then it motivates me even more to keep active. Do not forget to reward yourself for a job well done. For example, at the end of the week give yourself something big.
Next, I do some activities that improve my physical condition, motivate me to act effectively and allow me to enter the cruise phase.
Are you having trouble falling asleep? Do you want to fall asleep with your schedule in order and wake up refreshed in the morning? If you want to know precisely, minute by minute, my take-off and landing phase looks like, then subscribe to my newsletter.
As a gift, you will also receive a set of morning affirmations that I use daily.
Landing phase
In the evening, I turn off my computers, and I am getting ready for sleep to start the next day successfully. It is vital to calm down effectively after a busy day. For me, the landing phase lasts less than two hours, during which I perform a regular routine.
I spend 6.5 hours on sleep because that's enough time for me. I believe that you need to sleep effectively, not long. Of course, you can receive all the details directly by email after you subscribe to my newsletter.
At the end, of course, I will ask you to share this article with your friends.
