Daily To Do List

Who likes scheduling? and even worse following a daily schedule? Even though this practice might not be most fun and spontaneous, it definitely is very practical. So every night I take a time out to sit down and plan out my tomorrow. This practice has turned out to be a very helpful tool for me. My daily TDL ensures that I do not wake up everyday wondering what the hell am I gonna do today. Instead every morning when I wake up, I have set goals I will try to accomplish.

There is many ways to do it... you can write it down on a piece of paper, use a computer software like Word or even a scheduling software... you can even jot it down on napkin if that's all you have available... just make sure you write it down and are able to see it first thing in the morning. The software I use is a computer Journal called Journel (for Mac) and I use it for all my writing which includes: daily thoughts, goals, recipes, poems, quotes I like... I mean pretty much anything.

As far as the format, that again is up to you. You can schedule it minute by minute, hour by hour or just have a general overview of the day. In my case, I like to schedule things in block format which includes lots of flexibility because as we all know life happens and you can not always follow a schedule to a minute.

Well, I guess I'll just make it easier and show you what I mean. Below is an example of what my TDL might look like:

9:00 - Breakfast - Juice

9:30 - 10:30 - Bike Ride

11:00 - 1:00
- write back Jane (DONE - call back around Fridy)
- Check Jobs (5-12 applied to X Company - Follow up on Thursday w/letters
5-12 applied to Y Compny in EG - Follo up Thur. w/letters
5-13 applied to Z Company - Follow up w/letters Fri.)
- Call Doctor (DONE - Doc will call back - Call him Fri. if don’t hear back)
- Finish Jason’s Project and email (DONE)
- spend at least half an hour working on website (ongoing)
- spend at least half an hour on blog (ongoing - done) 1
- spend at least half an hour on portfolio (ongoing) 1
- spend at least half an hour on Maggies Wedding gift (ongoing)

12:00 - glass of water w/lemon

1:00 - EAT - 1/2 oatmeal (70)

1:30 - 2:15 - Fold clothes, clean bedroom (DONE)

2:30 - EAT - 1/8 cup walnuts (80)

3:45 - EAT - 1/2 can of fish + 2 small slices of bread (155) 305

2:15 - 5:00 - Keep working on unfinished stuff from earlier today (DONE)

5:00 - EAT - apple (75) 380

5:00 - 6:30 - Free Time

6:30 - 7:30 - Yoga

Rest of the evening do whatever you’d like :-) but don’t forget to plan tomorrow!

6:15 - mixed veggie salad w/avocado n dressing (350) 655


So there you have it. Pretty simple, huh? This way I can make daily notes so I don't forget anything and know whether the project or appt. is completed or what the next step might be. And since I'm working on making healthy food choices, I also keep a track of the food I eat and usually will plan that the night before.

So again, I believe this is a very important step in self development and achieving your goals. It has worked wonders for me. It has kept me on track and makes me much more productive. Just give it a try and see how it works for you. To Happy Living!