Plan Your Day the Night Before.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” -James Clear

Planning is an essential factor in contributing to many successful individuals — well — success!

In past issues, we’ve discussed goal-setting, as well as having short-term and long-term goals. However successful individuals plan every minute of their day to achieve the most productivity.

Now, I’m not going to suggest you adopt this ideology completely, however, you should start to think about planning your day effectively.

I also know that yes, sometimes things do not go as planned because external factors happen on a daily basis that disturb our plans. However, that’s still not an excuse to not plan anything.

Not only that but having the flexibility to adapt in those situations is an important skill to have.

In fact, a detailed plan is like a map that navigates your life so that you won’t be like a lost puppy, unsure of what to do with your time.

So what’s one easy way to start planning your life efficiently?

✨ Plan your day the night before. ✨

Planning your day the evening prior provides several benefits to not only your mental clarity but your time management as well.

You won’t be anxiously trying to figure out what you should do with your time that day because your past self set it up for you.

Here are 6 benefits to planning your day the night before:

1. Improved Sleep

One of the most common causes of insomnia is a head full of wandering thoughts.

Have you ever caught yourself anxiously tossing in bed, thinking and worrying about the many tasks that need to be done, causing immense difficulty in falling and staying asleep?

We, as humans, are constantly juggling thoughts and ideas in our heads. The more we have, the more stressful and overstimulating those thoughts become.

By writing stuff down, the planning relieves those anxious thoughts. This ultimately helps deeper relaxation and improves sleep.

2. Saved Energy

Most individuals have the greatest mental energy and focus at the beginning of the day compared to the end.

I mean as soon as we get home from a long day, the first thing we want to do is crash on the couch and chill, right?

If this is you, then it’s much better to dedicate those precious morning hours to tackling challenging tasks.

By writing out what needs to be done the night before, you’re setting yourself up to immediately tackle those important tasks in the first half of the day when you’re energized, as opposed to those late-night “couch hours”.

And, since planning your day is considered a low-effort activity – especially when you have an efficient system in place – it’s best to dedicate this planning to the end of the day instead of wasting energy at the beginning of the day.

Plus, you’ll likely be able to plan at the end of the day, even if you feel drained.

3. Wrap up Your Workday

At the end of your day, you’re very much aware of what got done and what needs to be accomplished further.

When those “to-do” tasks are still fresh in your mind, it’s often easier to schedule your next steps.

Planning out those next steps will feel like tying up loose ends, which lets you avoid the feeling of having tasks left unfinished (which ultimately leads to that anxiety).

Planning the next day will become a nice ritual to end your day and begin your evening routine.

4. Reduce Emotional Decisions

Procrastination is our worst enemy.

It allows us to find ways to rationalize postponing things that we plain out don’t feel like doing. We might tell ourselves that we’ll have more energy another time, but it never gets done.

Our emotions play a big role in how we make decisions and often tell us to avoid tasks that we feel apprehensive about. But those challenging tasks are usually the most important ones that need to get done.

When we try to plan in the moment, our emotions are more likely to influence our decisions in a way that’s not the best for us.

Planning your day the night before can help you think more rationally about what you’ll need to do the next day.

When you’re farther away from actually doing the task, your emotions are less likely to interfere with your decisions and you’ll likely plan what’s actually important.

5. Start your Day Productively

You hear it all the time but

“How you start the day often sets the tone for the rest of your day”

Planning is crucial enough already, but it just doesn’t feel as satisfying or productive as actually crossing off that item on the list and getting things done.

However, when you plan out your tasks the night before, you can jump right into getting things done when you wake up that morning.

Having a productive start to your day will not only make you feel accomplished, but it’ll increase self-confidence and build momentum to stay productive for the rest of the day.

6. Visualize Yourself Getting Better

When planning ahead, we often visualize ourselves actually doing those things.

This automatic behavior of visualization can be immensely helpful if you often struggle to take that first step on certain tasks.

This is called mental practice - when you visualize actions in your head to mentally prepare for them.

Since sleeping is helpful in committing things to memory, it makes sense to take time to visualize your work the night before while planning.

How Do You Start?

Personally, I find it useful to sit down at the end of the day and write down just 6 tasks you want to be accomplished the next day.

No more, no less.

6 tends to be the sweet spot for not feeling too overwhelmed with a ton of things to do, but also not feeling like there can be more that can get done.

I’d suggest starting with a single notepad/notebook for your planning, but if you’re more advanced using online platforms such as Notion or To-Doist can be helpful too.

This ensures that no matter what device you’re on, those tasks are accessible to you anytime.

In the end…

While there are some benefits to planning your day the night before, you always want to stick with what works best for you.

If you’re the type of person to start your morning with planning, then do so! Write those tasks down as you eat your breakfast.

You may switch between morning or evening planning depending on what’s going on in your life, and that’s completely okay!

Not only this but if you so happen to miss a task that day and not complete it, merely write it down on the top of your list for the next day.

As long as you’re making progress towards your goals, no matter how little that progress may be, you’re still moving forward.

Productivity is not about following strict rules, but finding a system that works for you!

🙇🏻‍♂️🌱 Until Next Time, C.