How to Plan Your Day in 5 Minutes (Step by Step)

Planning the Next Day

Ross Harkness recommends planning the next day the night before, especially when your schedule is busy. His method is designed to take under five minutes and help protect time for the work that matters most.

1. Plan on paper. Use a pocket or regular notebook. Harkness says writing by hand can make the plan more memorable and encourage you to follow it.
2. Brain-dump tomorrow’s tasks. On the right-hand page, list everything you think you need to do. Check your calendar for meetings and other commitments.
3. Prioritize the list.
   • Use the Eisenhower matrix to sort tasks by importance and urgency:
     • Do urgent-and-important tasks yourself.
     • Schedule important-but-not-urgent tasks.
     • Delegate urgent-but-not-important tasks where possible.
     • Remove tasks that are neither.
   • Or identify your most important task (MIT): the one that would make tomorrow a successful day if it were the only thing you completed. Rank the remaining tasks by how much they advance your goals.
4. Schedule tasks in priority order. Put the most important work first and allow enough time for each task. Harkness says doing priority work earlier can help you use your best focus and energy on it.
5. Add daily wrap-up blocks. Reserve time—often the final 30–60 minutes of the day—to handle emails, messages, problems, and other interruptions. You could also use two shorter blocks, such as one around midday and one at the end of the day.
6. Review and prepare for tomorrow. During the final wrap-up, compare your plan with what you completed, consider what disrupted your schedule, and decide how to address recurring obstacles. For example, if your team repeatedly asks about a task, create a standard operating procedure (SOP).
7. Handle new issues during the wrap-up. Decide whether to resolve, delegate, or schedule each issue rather than abandoning planned work whenever something comes up.

Presenter and Source

• Presenter: Ross Harkness
• Named method: Eisenhower matrix