The need for planning at work

An article from Shine.com

Most of us may think that it is time consuming and tedious to plan, not realizing that few minutes of daily planning can lead to an increase of over 20% in productivity. Here is how.

The merits of being well organized are too many to count. The argument that, “It’s too time consuming to plan” is flawed because the time saved is significantly more than the 5-10 minutes of time invested. In fact, research suggests that, if done right, these few minutes of daily planning can lead to an increase of over 20% in productivity!

Rest assured, a well planned schedule allows you to more efficiently manage your daily activities and time. This does not mean that you need to account for what to do for every minute of your day. In fact, experts recommend planning for just fifty percent of your time because you cannot expect to follow your precise schedule minute to minute. Instead, you should anticipate that there will naturally be delays and interruptions, and plan for them. When interruptions do occur, you will have the flexibility to work around them and if they don’t, you can add on other tasks to your to-do list for the day!

Putting aside those 10 minutes for planning as you commute to work, eat breakfast or wait for your car pool can be valuable. A trick to get into the ‘planning mode’ is to do your planning at this same time every day. Scientists claim that, unconsciously, your to-do list will play at the back of your head the rest of the day and encourage you to complete all the tasks. Reviewing past task lists and checking off items as you complete them will add to your sense of accomplishment.

Planning forces you to firstly, list everything that needs to be completed and secondly, to rank the relative importance of each activity, so that you can allocate your time accordingly. Instead of keeping a running tally of things to be done in your head, and then complaining, ‘My mind’s like a sieve these days’ when you forget something, planning will force you to keep writing down all activities/ tasks in your journal as and when you remember them. By evaluating the importance of alternate activities competing for your time, you can prioritize and improve productivity significantly. E.g. If you have been squandering your mornings checking routine emails rather setting up important meetings aimed at motivating the sales team bright and early, then this will be the wake-up call you need. This exercise encourages you to be more systematic.

Being committed to work is great, and planning will help you manage your workload better. But you must always strive for balance- and try to also plan for time with family and friends, for sport and recreation as well as social activities. These are equally important aspects of your life, and you should invest enough time to enjoy holistic well being.

Neha Didwania Garodia