While having a bustling schedule may be a necessary part of your role, it can also leave you in a state of stress. Everyone has had that moment when they struggle to pivot and make schedule arrangements when something inevitably changes for the week. Unfortunately, these sudden changes can leave you in a constant state of anxiety that can impact your work and keep you from focusing during your downtime.
But, what if there was a way to mitigate this stress in your life and to get hours of your time back through a simple, fifteen-minute technique you can do at the end of each day?
The Plan Tomorrow + 2 Technique is a practical way to ensure that you are prepared for whatever the next few days throw at you. This strategy has been transformative for so many of my clients and has allowed for a much greater work-life balance.
Time Management Techniques are Worth It
Many people START their day by looking at their calendar and to-do list, then begin their planning. But, if you wait until the morning to look at your calendar and to-do list for the day, it's too late. The day is already crashing down upon you and if there's anything you forgot about, you are fully unprepared.
Plan Tomorrow + 2: How This Time Management Technique Works
The Plan Tomorrow + 2 technique works by ending every day looking at tomorrow’s schedule plus the two days beyond that. For example, at the end of each day, look at the calendar tasks for tomorrow, plus two days after that. You'll be able to see your schedule, what meetings you have, what your available time is, and how to plan accordingly. With this simple technique, you will have a much easier time answering questions like:
How do I prepare mentally for those activities?
What do I need to do to prepare physically?
If I want to do something after work - such as go for a run - should I set out my athletic gear beforehand?
This strategy will help you improve your work-life balance and eliminate unnecessary stress.
Why Plan Tomorrow + 2 Works
Because tomorrow doesn't always go as planned. If you're only focused on what you can do today, you will struggle to reorganize if something changes. For example, if a client suddenly changes a meeting date and you push off the original work for that day till later, you may be pushing that meeting to an already full day that you didn’t realize was completely booked. And while a five-day time horizon may be too much to keep track of mentally, a three-day horizon is not. Knowing your schedule a few days in advance will help you prepare for anything that comes your way.
Taking The Next Step
The Plan Tomorrow + 2 technique can assist you in keeping yourself organized and less stressed out during the week, as well as helping you to focus on your evenings and enjoy much-needed downtime.
I recently saw the success of this time management technique with a client of mine. This particular person is a high-level business executive who found herself struggling to keep up with her packed schedule and wasn’t able to enjoy any downtime she did have. Unable to keep track of her tasks for the day due to a constantly changing schedule, she decided to implement this strategy. After a few weeks of leveraging the technique, she told me: "My days are still very packed and very overwhelming, but by doing Plan Tomorrow + 2 every day, it enables me to see what's on my schedule, know that there is a plan, and then I can actually close my laptop with some peace of mind and clarity to then focus on my evenings."
Anyone can leverage and benefit from this powerful technique. Taking just 15 minutes at the end of each day to leverage this strategy can give you peace of mind to actually enjoy your evenings and feel prepared for what is coming over the next few days. Give Plan Tomorrow + 2 a try this week. You’ll be glad you did.