Plan your day and boost your productivity

One of the biggest challenges I see my clients experience is their perceived lack of time. This is especially true for business owners, who often juggle various roles within their business alongside their personal life.

Even though we all have the same twenty-four hours in the day, how we plan them is key to managing our workload and maximizing our productivity. 

Here are 5 top tips to help you with planning your day and boosting your productivity:

1. Practise time blocking. Time blocking is the practice of planning your day in advance hour by hour, batching similar tasks together. It is like creating a specific to-do list for what you are going to do, when you are going to do it and for how long.

2. Prioritise your tasks. The reality is you are not going to be productive all day every day, so prioritising your tasks will ensure your high priority tasks gets done. Prioritise tasks based on urgency (due date/time) and importance.

3. Embrace your power hours. Knowing when you work best is one of the most effective ways to supercharge your productivity. Use your peak times of productivity (based on your energy and attention levels) for your deep, focused work. Eliminate distractions and interruptions during these times.

4. Schedule breaks. Breaks help to restore focus and motivation, consolidate memory and learning and boost creativity and productivity. Aim to get away from your desk for a few minutes every hour and change your view if you spend a lot of time at a screen. A walk or other forms of exercise during the working day is re-energising and will help to manage stress.

5. Review your day. At the end of your day, review your task list, email and notes from meetings. Ask yourself ‘What are the highest priority tasks that need my attention tomorrow?’ This will help you plan and prioritise tasks for the following day.

Planning your day with intention will help you be focused and efficient with your time so you can achieve more and have time for what matters most.

Lyndsey Segal is Founder of Heads-up Coaching - a Business Coach and Trainer specialising in time management and productivity. 

She ran a Bite-sized Learning session for Brighton Chamber on how to plan your day and boost your productivity. Find this and more learning events on the Chamber events calendar: 

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk