Practical Productivity: Planning Ahead

A great way to overcome procrastination and improve productivity is to plan ahead, which is where the 6-P Formula comes in: “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”

Plan for Tomorrow, Today

The most important thing you can do to improve your productivity before you leave the office or sign off for the night, is to review your to-do-list and prepare for the next day.

Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan
– Margaret Thatcher

This may seem like a simple thing, but it ensures that you will begin each day on a productive track from the moment you start in the morning. No longer will you spend hours in the morning just trying to get organized.

Use Planning Tools

Boomerang allows you to pre-schedule emails, can be setup to hide emails until you need them, and can even remind you to follow-up on emails that haven’t’ been replied to! It’s great for managing your inbox, communicating with people in different time zones, and setting reminders. It works with both Gmail and Outlook.

Hootsuite allows you to schedule and plan your social media updates. Plus, you can view all social media account in one place, shrink links, and post to multiple accounts at once.

TimeTrade allows you to establish your availability, and then provide a link for clients and team members to schedule meetings with you. Plus, it syncs with your Outlook or Google Calendar and it provides a professional appearance.

TeamWorkPM is a project management site that allows you to create task lists, assign tasks to others, set priorities and due dates, track time spent on tasks, and will even send reminders on your behalf and tell you when tasks are due or overdue.

Smart Sheet is an online spreadsheet service with built in task list and sharing capabilities. This can be used for planning marketing events, financial reports, sales, and operations. They provide templates to get you started, reports, and collaboration tools.

Whatever your process, find a system that works for you and start planning ahead.

Need more help? Just schedule a consultation to get started!