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There are hundreds of management books which talk’s about
planning, impact of planning in your professional life etc. However, I would like
to share my personal experiences related to planning and the impact it has when
you plan your day effectively. Since, I am sharing my real life experiences, I am
sure many of you would relate to it, especially in your professional life. Every
day, when I reach office, the first thing I do is check my emails and then
prepare my TO DO list and plan my entire day accordingly.
Initially I used to prepare the list on paper but now since
the responsibilities have increased, I have started maintaining excel. I write
down all the activities which ideally I would like to complete in the given
day, and then I put a time stamp against each of the activity on the basis of their
criticality for the day. This helps me to identify what are those activities
which are must to be completed by end of the day and what needs to be carried forward
for the rest of the week.
Many people make fun of it and say that you spend good 15
min in preparing the to do list, it’s of not use. But now, I will tell you what
the impact of having it is and how it makes me stand out of the peer group and
enhances my performance for the day.
The moment you freeze your work for the day, you are completely
focused regarding the tasks that need to be completed for the day. There are no
doubts in your mind at any given point of time. Hence the quality of work
delivered is excellent as your focus is sharp. Another strong impact is that at
any given point if someone asks you or your boss or someone from senior management
wants to inquire about your list of deliverables for the day, you are always
ready with it and if there is something which could not be done in the given
day, then you have the exact explanations for the senior management that why it
cannot be done in the given day and when can they expect it to be done. This
will help you earn high reputation for yourself and you will never fail your
promises and you will earn the reputation of man who lives by his words which benefits
a lot in your professional career.
The impact of perfect planning is that you are always
relaxed, crystal clear throughout the entire day and you never miss on anything.
There would never be a situation, when you will say, “sorry sir I forgot to do
this”. You will always say, either the work is completed or will be completed
by xyz day due to ABC reasons which will earn you respect and trust of your
seniors/stakeholders. So try it just for one day and see the impact of planning
your day. I can guarantee, once tried, it will get converted into your habit.
