Are You Running Your Day or Letting it Run You?

Trying to maintain balance in your life can be an arduous task if you’re not employing the right strategies. It’s almost impossible to find personal satisfaction in life if you’re constantly playing catch-up with never-ending deadlines, chores, etc.

This situation of being behind the 8-ball daily can take an emotional, mental, and what many don’t realize – even a PHYSICAL toll on you, if you let it. The good news is that you can run your day effectively by adopting a few tips and applying them daily.

Plan your day the night before.
You absolutely MUST have a plan. It doesn’t matter if you have a day job or you’re working from home. A plan is crucial… and it’s even more important if you’re self-employed. Not having a plan is akin to sitting down at a restaurant and discovering there’s no menu. What will you do? What will you order? It’s just confusion.

Like Dale Carnegie said, “An hour of planning will save you 10 hours of doing.”

​If you have a day job, there’s usually some structure to it. But entrepreneurs or freelancers who call their own shots will need to create their own schedule and structure in their lives.

And it all starts by planning tomorrow today. This applies whether you have a day job or if you’re self-employed. Decide what tasks need to be done. Usually, it’s best to list 3 tasks that MUST be focused on FIRST. These are usually the most urgent/important tasks and need your full attention. Get them done ASAP. Everything else can come after that.

Write down your plan on paper or you could have it on your computer… and stick to the plan.
​
Will you work intermittently or at one go?
If you have a day job, then it’s understood that you’re usually stuck at your desk from the time you start work till you clock off. {But fyi, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t incorporate BREAKS!} If you work from home, you have more freedom to structure your work day.

There’s no right or wrong answer here because we’re all different. What you need to do is decide. For example, will you work for 2 hours or so and take a 2-hour break to do your household chores… and return later to work again for another 2-hour stretch?

While the duration you choose to work doesn’t matter, the way you choose to do it matters. If you’re working in intermittent blocks, you’ll need to plan your schedule carefully. When will your working hours be and when will you take breaks?

Write it all down so that you can stick to the plan. Do NOT approach this haphazardly or else time will slip through your fingers and you won’t know where the day went.

Are you doing too much?
When planning your day, try not to take on more than you can handle. List the 3 of the most important tasks, 3 less important tasks, and 3 maintenance tasks.

So, you only have about 9 tasks for the day. Once you complete the most important tasks, you can spend the remaining working hours on the less important tasks which could be clearing emails and so on. The maintenance tasks could be organizing your desktop or household chores such as cooking or laundry {if you work from home}.

​The truth of the matter is that you’ll never have enough time to do ALL that you want to do. So, it’s best to focus on what truly matters.

Are you making time for yourself?
Do make time for yourself to relax and have fun. Don’t spend 14 hours a day working just to reach a lofty goal in the future. You just may end up sacrificing your happiness, social life, marriage, etc. only to discover that once you reach your goal, all you’ll have is your goal and nothing else.

Life is about balance and living in the now. So, take time to enjoy it and don’t be so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Apply these tips and take control of your day. It can be done if you plan it well and plan it in advance.

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

​If you’d like a FREE resource to help you, EMAIL ME HERE and I'll send you my WORK LIFE BALANCE E-BOOK. It’s totally FREE, so no reason not to grab it!