YO U R
PERFECT
DAY CHECKLIST
the step-by-step guide:
how to 10x your productivity-today
Step 1. Plan your day ahead
• Start one night before.
• Write down the tasks you want to get done next day.
Step 2: Do not overcommit
• Scan through your task list.
• Highlight the critical things and mark them as prioritized.
• Identify the points that can be omitted.
• G
et rid of extra tasks that are not going to add value but will only waste your
time and distract from what really matters.
Step 3: Schedule your day
• Break down huge tasks into manageable chunks.
• Determine the approximate time required to complete each task.
• B
atch the similar tasks together. Group them into blocks (40–60 minutes
each).
• P
ut them in a prioritized order by scheduling them throughout your day.
Allow for small breaks between the blocks.
Step 4: Prepare for productive work.
• Put your phone on airline mode
• Go offline. Shut down the social media pages.
• E
nter your alone zone by escaping the possible sources of unnecessary
distractions and interruptions.
Step 5: Get down to work.
• Stick with your schedule.
• U
se a second couple of eyes when you need a brief feedback in order not to
get stuck with the creative task.
• S
ay No to new commitments. (Remember: You already have a tailored task
list and a schedule to stick to)
• A
void time stealers. Get away from those who want to start yet another
unnecessary chat and get your attention scattered.
BONUS PRO TIP
How to get more things done by doing less
High efficiency doesn’t last too long.
Your productivity is going to fall drastically after 7 consecutive hours of work.
Therefore, do not try to squeeze several days of work into one. After all, you
need to move towards the things you want to accomplish and not to burn out
too fast.
Ruthlessly cut your task list in half in order not to consciously put yourself on the
path of busyness and overwhelmedness.
You may wonder how to do this since there are things you have to do on
your list...
Here’s the approach that allows successful people to work smart instead
of working hard and achieve more by doing less.
The Eisenhower Decision Matrix
When you scan through your task list, you are likely to find out that it mostly
consists of important and urgent tasks.
Urgent means that a task requires immediate attention and are usually
associated with achieving someone else’s goals. These are the to-do’s that shout
“Now!” Urgent tasks put you in a reactive mode. They force you to embrace
a defensive, negative, hurried, and narrowly-focused mindset that won’t let you
produce the results worth being proud of.
Important tasks are things that contribute to your long-term mission, values,
and goals. These activities have an outcome that takes you closer to achieving
our own goals, whether these are professional or personal. Sometimes
important can also be urgent, but typically they’re not. When you focus on
important activities you operate in a responsive mode, which helps you remain
calm, rational, and open to new opportunities.
It’s a pretty intuitive distinction, yet most of us frequently fall into the trap
of believing that all urgent activities are also important.
Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle helps you quickly identify the activities
that you should focus on, as well as the ones you should ignore.
URGENT NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT
QUADR ANT 1 QUADR ANT 2
REDUCE SCHEDULE
IMPORTANT
QUADR ANT 3 QUADR ANT 4
NOT
DELEGATE DECLUT TER
To use the tool, list all of your tasks and activities, and put each into one of the
following categories:
• Important and urgent.
• Important but not urgent.
• Not important but urgent.
• Not important and not urgent.
Then schedule tasks and activities based on their importance and urgency.
When it comes to executing your tasks, focus on important ones. They will help
you make a solid progress towards things you want to accomplish and provide
you with the sense of satisfaction. Try to delegate the not important but
urgent tasks. And completely avoid the unnecessary distraction in form of not
important and not urgent tasks.
Have a nice and effective day!
