Week Planning Checklist:

Hello Sweet M&Ms,

It’s weekend! I love, adore and impatiently wait for weekends as there’s so much that needs to get done for a fresh start and a lovely, productive, and energized Monday. Before I was aware of wonders that getting organized could do, I always thought Mondays are unlucky for me! Have you ever thought that too? Being not prepared in advance, my Mondays usually left me panicked, stressed, and to be honest frustrated. So, as the sun of Sunday used to set, so did my heart!

But, no more! Now, as I mentioned in my post about tips for spending a productive week, I always make a checklist before the start of every week to stay on track for the entire week. And trust me, when I find my clothes hanged, and everything at proper place, I can’t help but smile and my Monday’s mornings are now super fantastic. What helps me do that? My oldie loyal friend: my week planning checklist.

                                                     Click here to download checklist

 

So, what’s so special about it? Everything!

1)    Starting from the top, winter fresh color scheme is such an eye candy. And, quotes are so motivating. What’s so particular about those quotes? They keep me going and make me believe that consistency and right attitude are keys to success. I might not be a super heroine or an extra brilliant; but, simply by not quitting and pushing myself to the best I can achieve just about any goal. I love quotations, and have got a collection of over 5000 quotes. Hands down to me! Hahaha!

2)    Flowery pattern labels, oooohh I love them. When I found them on Google, my soul came out of me and went back inside with gusto. They make my list look gorgeous. Just a print out and you’ll find these flowers rocking.

3)    Look at the entire week. I can’t stress that enough. Unless, I know what challenges I’ll be up against during week, how can I be prepared? When one paper gives me glimpse at important appointments, birthdays, tasks, deadlines and events, I don’t run like a mad bull.

4)    Call Section: Now, this is my secret to ensure I don’t let the social bug inside me die of corporate infection. Just kidding! My job is very demanding and often late sittings and working weekends leave me little space to catch up with my friends. I have a complete list of contacts categorized as family, friends, colleagues etc. Every week, I pick 4 to 5 people that I want to say hello. It ensures I don’t get swayed away too much from my loved ones.

5)    Completely Editable: This checklist is completely editable and you can play with it as you want to.

I hope, you’ll find this helpful. My sister is getting married in coming January. And, as it is going to be the first wedding ceremony in our family, I am super excited. I’ll try to keep you posted about all the preparations. I may cover the event exclusively for you, you never know! Winking!

 From now on, I’ll try to keep you posted more about my family life. Do let me know about your response as I’ll be touchily waiting.

Have a nice weekend and,

 

How to Make your To-Do list work for you:

 

 

With so many things to be done, listing things down has been a productivity hack for ages but only few have mastered the skill of making their to do lists work for them. If you are merely adding items to the list without ever getting them struck off the list as “Done”, you are doing it wrong. Here are few tips that you’ll find helpful in making this amazing time management tool as your beloved friend.

1.    ADD TASKS NOT PROJECTS

You might have an essay to write, an assignment to submit, a presentation to prepare or a major deadline to meet. DON’T write them on your to-do list. A complete project that takes more than a day to complete should never be written on the to-do list EVER. The sheer enormity of the work that lies ahead of us in the form of that project cripples our productivity, leaves us fearful and encourages us to procrastinate.  

Stuffing to-do list with projects seldom get things done as we only keep looking at something monstrous and hardly ever find courage to start working on it. For example, let’s say, I have a presentation to make in five days that can have a huge impact on my career. Every time I’ll look at my list, my heart will pound and I’ll try to escape the pressure by avoiding it completely. Don’t do it.

Break your projects into smaller tasks. Write, only those tasks on your to-do list that you intend to get done on a particular day. Continuing with the earlier quoted example, let’s say for that particular presentation, I need to gather information, do meaningful analysis, make graphs, and be prepared for possible questions. I’ll include merely gathering information as a part of Day 1’s to-do list. Ah! Already feel less stressed.

2.    PRIORITIZE:

We can achieve 80% of the results by focusing on merely 20% of important tasks that really matter. So, once you write down all the TASKS that you plan to get done, start prioritizing them. Sorting them into four categories, important & Urgent, Important but not Urgent, Not important but Urgent and Not important and Not Urgent, really helps.

Be honest. Meeting your friends might be important to the social bug inside you, but is it really going to help you achieve your goals? Prioritization should take place in the light of the goals that you have set for yourself. In this way, you’ll manage your time to get closer to achieving those goals EVERY SINGLE DAY.

3.    ESTIMATE TIME REQUIRED FOR EACH TASK:

You should always have an estimation of the time required by each task. For example, a significant task might require 2 hours and replying an important email may take only 10 minutes. This estimation will leave you in a good position to plan your day. Let’s say I have an appointment to make, I’ll try to plan it while I commute to my office or during my lunch break. Getting smaller tasks done while you commute or wait can leave handsome amount of time for important more challenging tasks.

4.    60 MINUTES UNDISTRACTED SLOTS:

Our attention span is very small. We can’t stay focused for more than 60 minutes; unless, deadline is too close to ignore. Working in 60 Minutes undistracted slots is the best way to get maximum done. If you start your day at 9:00 am and work till 5:00 pm, you’ll have approximately 4 to 5 “60 Minutes slots” in which your productivity will be at its peak. Set yourself a timer (I like to use time timer), keep your cell phone aside, swear to not check any social media website and just focus on the task at hand. After 60 minutes, take a break, socialize with colleagues for 5-10 minutes and get ready for another session.

5.    2 MINUTES RULE:

I couldn’t find anything powerful than 2 minute rule when it comes to time management. Any task that requires 2 or less minute should get done immediately. I have modified this rule a bit though. I set aside 15 minutes in between 60 minutes slots as my time to get things done that require 2 minutes. It’s my way of utilizing my break hours. So, when my timer says 60 minutes session is over, I rewind the timer but this time for 15 minutes and get 2 minutes task done like responding to email, making calls, cleaning up my desk, filing important papers etc.

6.    LINK IT TO REWARDS

At the end of every day, I like to score my performance. Let’s say I have

TYPE 1 (Total 2 Tasks to be completed): Important and urgent task completed: 4 Points

TYPE 2 (Total 3 Tasks to be completed): Important and Non-urgent task completed: 3 Points

TYPE 3 (Total 3 Tasks to be completed): Non-Important and Urgent task completed: 2 Points

TYPE 4 (Total 2 Tasks to be completed): Non-Important and Non-Urgent task completed: 1 Point

My maximum score on this particular day will be 25 (8+9+6+2). If I score more than 75% I reward myself on good performance.

Writing things down in to-do list increases the chances that you’ll have them completed. I have found it very productive to plan my day the night before. These are my tips that I use every day to stay on top of my schedule and make most of the day. I would love to hear from you, what you do and how you squeeze out the maximum out of 24 hours.

                                         

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6 Tips for a more productive week!

We, as human beings, have to play several roles during 24 hours a day. We are spouses, parents, students, relatives, colleagues, professionals, hosts, guests, helper, and sometimes only ourselves. Each role has some duties and obligations attached to it; managing which are so important to keep the relationship/role alive. Spending a week that looks after every role nicely is surely a week well spent.

 TIP 1: WRITE IT DOWN TO REMEMBER:

Our mind has great powers to juggle up all these roles nicely; but, occasionally, depending on it too much to remember hundreds of small details related to various roles backs fire. We miss deadlines, forget about our appointment with doctor, get late for friend’s wedding, and fail to recall our spouse’s birthday. Why is that? Because, we don’t write it down. Writing appointments down liberates you from the exertion to memorize every date and deadline by heart.