Tips for a Productive Day

There aren’t enough hours in the day.

I still have so many things to check off on my to do list.

There is no way I can get all of this done today.

Chances are, you’ve said those a time or two. There are many days I feel the same way. There isn’t enough time to get everything done. From cleaning the house to running errands to finishing work tasks to cooking dinner to spending quality time with family to paying bills to keeping in touch with friends. There are so many days I look back and wonder where the time went.

 In order to get everything done, you don’t need more hours. What you need is to prioritize and a plan of action. You need to know what works for you and your family. Most of all, what is most important for you to do that will leave you feeling accomplished at the end of the day and not overwhelmed.

Last year, I shared my tips for things to do each month to help keep you organized. Today, I’m sharing some of the things I do each day to keep on top of things. Things I do to help me run the house while running a business. Things that, when done help to keep my sanity and make me feeling like I’m not drowning.

Wake up before the kids. 

I shared why this is the most important thing I do for myself each day in this post.

Pick your top three for the day.

Pick three things that are the most important to accomplish for that day. I am and will always be a list maker. I have to write things down and often have 10 lists going at once. But focusing on three specific things each day is an attainable goal. If you get those three things done, then add on to the list. But don’t make a page long to do list for the day that will leave you feeling overwhelmed every time you look at it. I have a master list for the week that I take tasks off of each day.

Fold one, Wash One. 

This has become a daily habit for me that has made such a difference in keeping on top of laundry. Everyday, I wash a load and fold a load. When I put a load in, I’ll fold the load from the previous day. It takes no longer than 10 minutes and eliminates the laundry being piled high.

Pick time to clean. 

In your planner, make a specific time to clean. Set a timer for 20 minutes and do not do anything else during that time. I usually have one thing I focus on each day. I have a printable list I made here, which will be updated this month. So each day, I do the dishes in the morning and again at night. I make sure the kitchen counter is cleaned off everyday and then I completely one cleaning task from my list. On Friday, I’ll do a bigger clean to make sure the house is good going into the weekend. I usually do this during Luke’s nap and make sure I have that time set aside for it.

Keep on top of important tasks.

For me this is about email. It’s hard for me to keep up with my personal email, business email, FB messages and who knows what else when it comes to communication. I set aside three specific times a day to touch base on email. I check it in the morning when I get up, at lunch while the kids eat and at dinner, again while the kids eat. If there is anything I didn’t get to, it waits until the next day. I have a policy set in place that states I may not respond to emails for up to 72 hours. While this isn’t usually the case, I know I need to give myself extra time for the crazy days.

Take a break. 

So so important, especially when running around all day keeping after kids or at work. We all need a break to regroup, relax and just catch our breath. I know for me, I am more productive on the days where I give myself a break.

Do one thing at a time. 

This is the thing I need to work the most on. When I focus on one thing, I am much more productive than when I’m trying to do a million things at once. A lot of times I need to take a step back, refocus and get back to the one task I started.

Meal Plan. 

What’s for dinner?  The most dreaded question in our house. I will be the first to admit that meal planning as taken a back seat in the past few years. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on but have really struggled with. This has lead to eating out more and because of that, spending more money on food than I’d like. I used to share meal plans on here, it’s time for me to start making that a habit again!

What tips to you have to be more productive and get the most out of each day?