Daily business plan
You have heard the old question, “How do you eat an
elephant? One bite at a time!”
Your ability to plan well, in advance of beginning, is a measure
of your overall competence. The better the plan you have, the
easier it is for you to overcome procrastination, to get started,
and then to keep going.
Always work from a list. When something new comes up, add
it to the list before you do it. You can increase your productivity
and output by 25 percent or more from the first day that you
begin working consistently from a list.
Make out your list the night before, at the end of the workday.
Move everything that you have not yet accomplished onto your
list for the coming day and then add everything that you have
to do the next day. When you make out your list the evening
or the night before, your subconscious mind works on your list
all night long while you sleep. Often you will wake up with
great ideas and insights that you can use to get your job done
faster and better than you had initially thought.
You need different lists for different purposes. First, you
should create a master list on which you write down everything
you can think of that you want to do some time in the future.
This is the place where you capture every idea that comes to
you or every new task or responsibility that comes up. You
can then sort out the items later.
Second, you should have a monthly list that you make up at
the end of the month for the month ahead. This may contain
items transferred from your master list.
Third, you should have a weekly list where you plan your entire
week in advance. This is a list that is under construction
as you go through the current week.
Finally, you transfer items from your monthly and weekly lists
onto your daily list. These are the specific activities that
you are going to accomplish that day.
As you work through the day, tick off the items on your list
as you complete them.
This activity gives you a visual picture of accomplishment.
It generates a feeling of success and forward motion. Seeing
yourself working progressively through your list motivates
and energizes you. It raises your self-esteem and self-respect.
Steady, visible progress propels you forward and helps you
to overcome procrastination.
As you work through your lists, you will feel more and more
effective and powerful. You will feel more in control of your
life. You will be naturally motivated to do even more. You
will think better and more creatively, and you will get more
and better insights that enable you to do your work even faster.
When you plan each day in advance, you find it much easier
to get going and to keep going. The work goes faster and smoother
than ever before. You feel more powerful and competent. You
eventually become unstoppable.
Begin today to plan every day, week and month in advance.
Take a notepad or sheet of paper and make a list of everything
you have to do in the next 24 hours. Add to it as new items
come up. Make a list of all your projects, the big multi-task
jobs that are important to your future.
Lay out each of your major goals, projects or tasks by priority
-- what is most important -- and by sequence -- what has to
be done first, what comes second and so forth. Start with the
end in mind and work backward.
Think on paper! Always work from a list. You’ll be amazed
at how much more productive you become and how much easier
it is to eat your frog.
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