Plan 60% of your workday

Sometimes you need a reminder of stuff that you kind of already know. For me, that happened last week. I saw a tip on LinkedIn: plan only 60% of your workday.

I needed that reminder.

The week before, I was unhappy with how much work I finished. I felt disappointed in myself. I was wondering: do I need to be more productive during the week? Or am I just planning too much and is it just not realistic?

And that made me feel down

The thought that I needed to do more, made me feel stressed. The negative self-talk started: ‘It's all my fault! I am terrible in achieving things. How am I going to run this business?! This is a failure. I am not made for this.'

So I looked for a fresh perspective

I discussed the topic with my business/accountability buddy (we meet every week). She said: ‘I think you are the type of person that’s more likely to plan too much than be not ambitious enough. How about skipping a few things from your list for next week?’ And she is right. I forget that about myself sometimes. But it’s true: I am more likely an overachiever than an underachiever.

So yeah, I realized planned too much for that week.

I wish I can do stuff in 5 minutes. And I secretly expect that from myself, to work so fast. And that’s how I set myself up for disappointment. So after my conversation with my buddy I saw the LinkedIn post. Plan 60% of your workday. The other 40% is time for unexpected ‘must-do’s’ and if something takes a bit more time than expected.

I skipped a few things from the list for this week.

I asked myself: what tasks make the most important impact for my business now? These are priorities. The other things are extra: if I can manage to do them, great. If not: next week.

It’s giving me a way more motivated feeling!

I am happy with the things I do and I celebrate them. It’s way more rewarding! The negative self-talk is replaced with encouraging thoughts. And that state of mind makes me automatically more productive!

How do you plan your day?

Is it packed every 5 minutes? Notice how that makes you feel. Or do you plan a bit less to give yourself some space? Notice how that is different!