When is the Best Time to Plan Your Day?

When is the best time to plan your day? Well, everyone is different. Let's take a quick look at some of the different possible times:

1) Early morning before you go to work.

2) Lunch time

3) Mid-afternoon

4) End of the work day

5) At night just before you go to bed

I have prepared my daily plans during each of these times. Here has been my experience with each:

Morning

I have found the morning to be one of the least effective times to create my plan. Here's why:

1) When I get up in the morning, I want to get my day off to a quick start. If I take the time to plan in the morning, it seems to disrupt my momentum. I would rather review the plans I prepared the previous day instead. It's quick and keeps me focused on what I have chosen to do.

2) If I plan in the morning, I haven't been able to take full advantage of the sleeping hours when my subconscious mind is working on what I need to do the following day.

3) As part of my plan, I like to review the progress I made in the previous 24 hours. I find this is easier to do in the day the activity took place.

Lunch Time

This is my favorite time to plan. I find when I plan at lunch:

1) I already have a number of important tasks I can list as accomplishments.

2) It keeps me on track through the entire day. If I find that I have strayed from my original plans, I have a significant part of the day still remaining so I can take corrective action.

3) It frees up my evening for other things (e.g., family, friends, exercise, reading, relaxing, etc.)

4) My plan is ready to review before I go to bed so that my subconscious mind can start working on what I want to achieve the following day.

I also find that if I use my lunch time to plan, I'm much more consistent in preparing my plan every day. When I choose one of the other times, I find it's much easier to find reasons to skip preparing my plan.

Mid-afternoon

This is my second best choice for many of the same reasons listed for the "Lunch Time" block. I don't like it as much because it can eat into my productive time. But by doing my plan shortly after lunch, at least I still have some time to take corrective action if I need to.

End of the Work Day or Dinner time

By this time, the day is pretty well gone--unless I want to work towards my goals in the evening. I'd rather spend this time with my family and friends or just relax.

Before Bedtime

This is my second least favorite time. For one thing, I put out a lot of energy during the day. By the time I'm ready for bed, I'm ready for bed. I'd rather use this time for quickly reviewing my plan for the next day and just get to sleep so that I will have all the energy I need for the following day.

In order of preference, here are the times again:

1) Lunch time

2) Mid-afternoon

3) End of the work day or dinner time

4) Just before bedtime

5) Early morning before work

Of course, the most important thing is to actually plan out your day regardless of when you choose to do it. Experiment with different times and pick out the one that's best for you.

If you are interested in learning about the planning system that I have developed for myself (what I call my RAP--Results-focused, Action Plan), you can ready about it at http://www.poweraffirmations.com/rap.htm. It's a simple system you can use with any planner of your choice (or even just a notebook). You don't have to attend a seminar to learn how to use it. There's no audio program or thick book to study. The information is laid out on the page above. The information is free.

This is the one system I have used that allows me to stay focused on my desired results, measure my progress daily, and is quick. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to complete your RAP in 15-30 minutes.

Copyright (c) 2005 Bill Marshall - All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article provided you include the copyright information and the weblinks where possible.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com/rap.htm. Get my new free e-book, "Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind"

cleaning help near Mundelein ..
In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.
FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.
New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

The Ultimate Time Management Tips: 5 Steps To Reaching Your Goals With Minimum Work

Would you like to know how to get 10 times... Read More

31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More

Time Managements

There are the golden rules that apply to time. If... Read More

Keeping YOUR Calendar Full

When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More

Do You Put a Value on Your Time?

As a small business owner, does the following paragraph sound... Read More

The Power of 90 Seconds

You can use the Power of 90 Seconds to transform... Read More

The Laundry Has Never Been More Fun Or The Pitfalls To Working At Home

As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More

Taking Time Off For Your Business

As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you... Read More

How To Better Handle Your Mail

Letters, magazines, bills, flyers, what to do with them all.... Read More

Coping with the Time Crunch

"There is never enough time, unless you're serving it." -Malcolm... Read More

Making the Most of Your Time

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is... Read More

Time Management Training - A Necessary Investment or A Waste Of Money?

Many organisations view time management training as something they'll spend... Read More

The Myth of What We Manage

Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last... Read More

10 Time-Saving Calendar & Scheduling Tips

Nowhere is the line drawn more clearly between 'Industrial brains'... Read More

How to Define a Successful Time Management Strategy

One of the most challenging aspect in life is time... Read More

Four Simple Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life

It's been said, "That no one has enough time yet,... Read More

Hey, Free Agent, Did You Eat Your Breakfast Today?

And when you finally sat down to eat breakfast, was... Read More

9 Proven Principles for Increasing Productivity, Profit and Peace of Mind

Do you feel guilty about all the publications you purchase... Read More

More Precious Than Gold

In this world there is something more precious than gold.... Read More

Time Management: Which Advice to Follow?

There are so many books on Time Management published every... Read More

Tips to Manage Incoming E-mail

Friends, colleagues, and clients are all telling me that one... Read More

How to Double Your Accomplishment Level

Here's a smart system for doubling or tripling your daily... Read More

How Much Is Poor Time Management Costing You?

* If you were paying you to prioritise emails over... Read More

Too Much to Do? Too Little Time?

Hey - Did someone press the FFW button?Have you ever... Read More

reliable maid service Wilmette ..