Do you ever wish that you had just a few more hours in the day? Just a few.. that’s all we’re asking for right? I mean really, how early can you possibly wake up in order to squeeze just a couple more hours out of each day?

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So if you’re like me and you’ve maxed out the number of hours you can safely stay awake vs. sleep but you’re still needing more time – I’ve got some help for you.

Planning.

Yup, that’s it. Simple planning. But not planning haphazardly, planning mindfully and with intention.

After implementing these steps it’s safe to say that I’m happier, less stressed, and really productive. Heck, you could even say I’ve added some hours to my week. 🙂

Related Post: 10 Tips for Using a Day Planner to Maximize Productivity

Ready to make an improvement in your life? Want less stress, less worry, and more free time?

Read on for tips on how to use your planner in order to improve your life.

What Daily Planning System is Best?

First you need to decide what type of planner system you want to use.

This one is completely up to you.

You’ll need to ask yourself a lot of questions like:

• Are you a paper or a digital type?
• Do you like a vertical or a horizontal layout.
• Would you like one big square to write in or hourly divides?

Look through some of your old calendars or planners.

• What did you like about them?
• What did you hate?
• Were there elements in them that made you stop planning?

Evaluating these aspects will help you hone in on what type of daily planner or calendar you should choose.

Try not to get distracted by all the pretty bells and whistles on some planners. Instead, focus on the core layout.

Related Posts:

• Staying Organized with the Erin Condren Life Planner
• 10 Tips for Maximizing Productivity with a Daily Planner
• Erin Condren Horizontal Layout: What it Looks Like & How To Use It

Make a Habit of Using Your Daily Planner

First, you need to get in the habit of writing EVERYTHING down.

Second, develop a routine of putting your loose notes into your planner.

Your system will work best if you take about five minutes per day to enter all your random notes and appointments that you’ve been jotting down into designated time slots.

Keep your planner or calendar near you at all times. This makes it easier to add tasks as they come up.

Have a Planning Day

Designate one day a week where you will sit down and go over your planner.

Planning Day:

• Enter all loose notes into your planner.
• Plan out your next week.
• Move any tasks that weren’t done to the next week.

Having a planning day ensures that we get appointments and events on our calendars (instead of on random post-it notes.)

My planning day is on Monday. I used to plan on Sunday night but I found that wasn’t working because Sundays are usually reserved for family fun around here. If we were having too much fun, I wasn’t getting my planning done.

Now I incorporate my planning day into my Monday workday routine.

Make an alert on your phone to remind you about planning day.

While you’re at it, make a daily alarm to check your planner once a day. Try to do it at the same time everyday in order to make it a habit.

This may seem like a lot at first. Just take it step by step, until daily planning becomes a habit. You’ll feel less stress, have more free time, and improve your life just with this simple hack.