Do Your Run Your Day, or Does Your Day Run You?

After closing all the tabs and stepping away from work each day, do you find yourself feeling unaccomplished yep SO exhausted? If so, you’re not alone. As entrepreneurs, we wear SO many hats, and It’s easy to become distracted by the endless fires we need to put out. Before you know it, you’re approaching burnout and wondering how you’ll ever take control of your day. That’s why today we’re sharing our 3 best tips for running your day with intention. 

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3 Steps to Running Your Day With Intention  

1. Brain dump

I have my Sunday night brain dump where I just write down everything I want to get done, any lingering ideas or sketches, appointments, home tasks, things I need to buy, meals I want to make. Literally everything. This helps me start my week with a fresh slate and everything off my mind so I start to have an idea of what the week will look like. And then from here, it’s all about filling in the gaps. I also like to “go over” my task list at the end of the day to see what did get done and what still is on the docket so I can shift things around if I need to. This is like a 5-minute thing. It doesn’t have to a long-drawn-out process, but it just gets you prepared for what’s ahead.

2. Pencil tasks and events into your calendar 

The way I personally “pencil things in” is by giving myself ONE major thing that I have to get done that day. Other things still get done too obviously, but I make sure to knock out the heavy hitter, and then I can flow with my day from there. It also keeps the ball rolling for me in my day.

One of the things that would hinder me in running my day is giving myself too much time to do something. SO you want to shift your thinking to “how long will this take?” vs “how much time will I give myself for this?” And the opposite of not giving yourself enough time can also be true. That’s why it’s important to know how long your tasks actually take instead of guessing. For random tasks that I procrastinate on, like filing estimated taxes or something like that, I’ll time myself to see how long it takes so then I can be like oh that thing I’m procrastinating LITERALLY takes 5 minutes to just do it. It. just makes it seem more manageable and you realize you overplay everything in your head.

3. Execute

We can have the most meticulously planned schedule, but if we don’t actually do the dang thing, then what’s the point? 

Here’s how you can set yourself up for success: 

-eliminate distractions

-be aware of your buffering moments, like when you catch yourself randomly off-task, staring off into space

-readjust your plan if needed. be flexible. this is why it’s good to leave breathing room in your schedule

-hourly check-ins with yourself. Every hour on the hour, I’ll ask myself, what did I get done in that last hour, am I being productive, etc. This is really helpful for me in being honest with myself and taking responsibility/shifting my focus before the day gets away from me. You gotta be aware of yourself!

Questions to keep asking yourself as you tweak your planning strategy for running your day:

• Are my days chill and productive or stressful and haphazard?

• Do I feel accomplished at the end of most days?

• Are my high priority tasks getting done?

• Am I on track to meet my long-term goals?

• This day was super productive — why? What caused that productivity boost?

• I didn’t accomplish anything on this day — why?