Last year fellow Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant, Rashelle Isip was a guest on my podcast and we discussed the importance of planning. Following are a couple of nuggets from our interview. Click the following link to listen to it in its entirety.
Janet: What bad habits when it comes to time management and planning do, we need to let go of?
Rashelle: We downplay the importance of planning. Planning can save you time, energy, stress, and money. And it’s 100% free!
Some people are afraid or hesitant about planning. It’s okay to feel different about planning something new or something never done before. Take a deep breath! Planning concepts remain same. Make the plan, you can always change it later, but you need something to work with right now.
Last, underestimating the time it takes to do something. It takes time to complete actions and learn new things. Give yourself more time to complete a task, especially if you’ve never done it before.
Janet: Can you share a few tips to becoming a better planner?
Rashelle: Here are four ways anyone can become a better planner
1. Make planning a priority. Planning shouldn’t be an afterthought or something you do later after the fact. Planning should be given top bill in your day and become part of your daily routine.
2. Avoid stressing out on method. Action of planning is more important at first than finding the “perfect” tool. Get in the habit, choose a tool, use it, you can always make changes and edits later.
3. Use story method of planning. Planning ahead isn’t just planning in the future, but it requires passage of time as you go through things. What happens in the beginning, middle, and end?
4. Create lists and review them in a few days’ time. Give plans a few days to rest in case you miss something and need to add it later.
Get immediate access to Rashelle’s free guide, 10 Smart Ways to Make Your To-Do Lists More Effective
After reading this blog how will you plan differently in the new year? Please share what you would like to tackle, accomplish or just cross off your list this year. If you would like to join a community of women who are on their personal journey to organize their life click the following link to my Living Life Totally Organized Facebook Group.
