Have A Plan For The Day

It always amazes me how people will take the time out to plan a trip yet refuse to spent even a few minutes planning their lives. As we all know, having a plan when traveling helps to prevent getting lost. It also keeps one on the proper path to make sure that time lines are maintained. Not surprisingly, planning our lives has the same effect. Setting forth the direction that we are heading and the time periods for accomplishing different things increases the chances that we will not get lost.

Many write about the importance of setting goals. It is true that short-term and long-term goals give us insight into what our lives will look like. Creating a longer perspective spanning a few decades enables one to develop a fulfilling life. The shorter goals provide the stepping stones to these achievements. Goals in writing offer the incentive to overcome those obstacles as they arise. They are our roadmap on our trip of life.

As important as having a life plan is, it is incomplete without breaking it down to the shortest time period possible. As much as we tend to focus on the months and years of our lives, this is not where we live. Like they say in twelve step programs, we live 'one day at a time'. Upon awakening, each of us faces 12-18 hours before we retire in bed again. How we utilize this time is what separates the quality of life among different people. Of course, the way to make this most time most effective is to plan it out.

Many have a daily planner that they use. This is especially true in their business. All the appointments for the day are entered. Deadlines are noted along with plans for achievement. However, this is an incomplete 'plan'. To neglect one's personal affairs is what often leaves people feeling a bit unfulfilled.

The same twelve step programs mentioned above contain the aspect of daily plan. Part of their curriculum is to look at the day ahead to prepare for those situations where moments of weakness might arise. The temptation to fall back into the addictive behavior is reduced if one anticipates a troublesome area. Also, by concentrating on how one will attempt to respond in those circumstances, the perils are lessened.

If this concept is effective in combating addiction, how much impact would it have on the life of a non-addict? The answer is that it can take one's life from a 'lost journey' to one that has purpose. By knowing where one is headed on a daily basis, the tendency to get lost is eliminated. We move from activity-to-activity seamlessly. Tasks that do not fit into our plan are not considered. A focused mind has a tremendous amount of power. A daily plan concentrates the mind on what is important.

Marc Victor Hansen, author of The Chicken Soup For The Soul series, claims to get up at 4:00 am each morning to set down his daily plan. He writes out his day in detail. It includes who he is going to see, what he is going to do, what he hopes to accomplish, and what he looks to give to each situation. Is it any wonder that he has sold over 100 million books? With a habit like this, nothing is left to chance. In effect, he 'lives' his day in his mind before he actually experiences. The chances that circumstances will go as he desires are increased since he already 'lived' the situation that morning. With his script for the day complete, he only need to follow it much in the same way an actor performs a scene. There is a certain amount of ad libbing involved. However, the basic essence of the scene comes off as it was written.

The time spent planning your day will be dwarfed when you see the results that it produces. One quickly realizes that a few minutes of planning saves an equal, if not greater, amount of time. Time wasters are eliminated since an itinerary for the day is set. Those unexpected surprises can be dealt with in a more powerful fashion since the overall 'essence' of the day is in place. Give yourself this wonderful gift by planning your day in advance.

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