How to Increase Business Success With Daily Planning

We all know the importance of starting our day by eating a healthy breakfast; a proper breakfast provides your body with the fuel it needs to function well after the night's fast.

It's just as important to start your workday right by starting with a daily planning session; it will provide you with the fuel you need to make the most out of your business day.

Daily Planning Doesn't Take Long

A daily planning session of just 20 to 30 minutes will let you focus on your business goals and energize yourself for the day ahead. And, spending this time organizing yourself at the start of the day will save you time during the day.

The Purpose of the Daily Planning Session

Your daily planning session is your chance to:

• Review your progress on the specific business goals you've set
• Set your daily agenda
• Prioritize your tasks of the day

Getting your day organized and knowing that you're focused on achieving the business goals you have set for yourself will give you that "I've-gotten-out-of-bed-on-the-right-side" feeling.

Add Some Inspiration

To pack even more punch to your daily planning session, include an inspirational moment in each session. For instance, I like to read and reflect on an inspirational quote from a successful person each day. It gives me positive motivation for my day ahead.

What inspires you? Some people like to look at a cartoon or artwork, read a short religious passage, or listen to a musical selection.

Daily Planning Tips

Your daily planning session needs to be uninterrupted. Do not take phone calls during this time, or do your business planning in a place that other people are wandering through.

When you're setting your daily agenda, slot your most demanding tasks into your most productive working time. For example, if you're a morning person, schedule whatever creative tasks you need to accomplish in the morning rather than into the late afternoon when your mental energy is low.

A quick way to prioritize is to highlight the three or four most important tasks of the day. It's not necessary to obsessively order tasks to get a sense of what's most important that day.

Resist the temptation to grade yourself on your performance of your daily agenda. If you don't accomplish all the tasks you've listed for that day, that doesn't mean you've "failed". It just means you didn't accomplish everything on your list.

Homework Assignment: Daily Planning

Start each day this week with a daily planning session.

Make your preparations by finding something that inspires you, whether it's a humorous calendar or a collection of quotes. Arrange to be uninterrupted.

In each daily planning session, review your goals, think about how you're going to work towards each goal that day, set your daily agenda, and prioritize your daily activities. Close your daily planning session with whatever you've chosen to inspire you.

The renewed focus and energy from your daily planning session will get you off to a successful start each day.