Do you have visions of a perfect day at work? Whether you work in the corporate environment or out of your home office, it is so easy these days to lose focus with your goals, tasks and to-do lists. In this article, we will provide some tips for planning that productive day that eludes you. We will also discuss a specific planning tool called the Franklin Covey Plan Plus software. For the purposes of this article, we will assume that you work from home as this can actually be the most difficult to overcome when it comes to sticking to a plan.
What do you do when you first sit down to begin your work day? Many people check their e-mail first thing in the morning and this can be a potential time suck if you do not have a clear plan for tackling your inbox. If you do choose to check your email first thing in the morning you should get in the habit of allowing yourself only a certain amount of time to do so as this task alone can really derail your morning.
Here are some tips for effectively sorting through your email. Set a timer for 15-20 minutes or whatever time you need to allow so that the morning does not get away from you all due to e-mail. Skim subject lines and immediately delete spam and non-important e-mails. Utilize a labeling or folder system for e-mail organization and immediately put them into the correct labels and folders for ease of use later in the day. If you are using the Franklin PlanPlus, one very cool feature is the ability to turn e-mails into daily tasks simply by dragging them to your task tab within the software.
We actually recommend that you refrain from checking e-mail first thing in the morning. Instead, the most effective use of your time would be to sit down with your cup of coffee and plan your day. To be most effective with this task, you would also have a plan for the month and week at your disposal so that you can easily track your progress towards specific goals and targets for the month, week and day. This overall plan, of course, is what will have you on track for a successful year and your long-term goals and vision.
Planning is essential for success when it comes to running your home business. Successful people have this in common and they know that in order to achieve goals, they must first be able to envision an outcome of what that success will look like. There are many planning tools to help you to get from where you are now to a day projected into the future. All of the FranklinCovey books, planners and programs are very popular and effective in helping people with this type of organization. The FranklinCovey PlanPlus is no exception and if you are currently using a paper system for planning and Outlook for your e-mail system, this is the perfect integration of the two for you.
Here’s to your successful planning and many productive days ahead!
