ByI’ve met several people who usually tell me, “Andrews, I have a lot to do today.” But in most cases, these people aren’t able to complete what they’ve cluttered their minds to do.
I have noticed this happen to several people. I personally didn’t have a suggestion for their problem at first, because I wasn’t used to organising my days. It was until I finished reading “The Principles and Power of Vision,” a book written by Dr Myles Munroe, then I followed his teaching. I gradually learnt how to organise each of my days until I had become so good at it today.
But I asked myself, “why should I keep this knowledge to myself if others struggle to do what I find so easy to do?” So I began teaching anyone who came and told me about this issue, especially my close friends and team members.
Today, I am glad to share it through this medium. It’s in four simple steps. But before you’re done reading this article, I urge you to print it or save the webpage as a PDF in order to practise it well.
1. Note your not-to-do list
Where there is a focus, there are distractions too. Once you’re determined to make your day productive, several distractions will come, wanting to take your attention from what’s necessary. Some of them are subtle and hardly recognisable. A familiar example is taking a few seconds off to check out your social media content feed during serious work hours.
Where there is a focus, there are distractions too.
When you wake up, spend some time with the Lord and do your morning devotion, the next thing to do is to organise your day. First, create a list of things you’re not supposed to do. You can also choose to add what you don’t want to do in the list.
Now, knowing these things will help you recognise distractions faster in order to refocus. Some of them are hard to get rid of, especially when it has been a habit you’ve practised for years – like chewing your nails and checking new messages on your phones. But you can minimise the time you spend doing such things gradually until you no longer have the desire to do them anymore, no matter where you find yourself.
2. Create your to-do list in a random order
After discovering what you’re not supposed to do, you can then move on to create your to-do list. There are several ways to do this. Some use to-do mobile applications such as Google Tasks, Microsoft To Do and Apple Reminders.
However, I write them down in a book devoted to recording my tasks. I chose to use a hard copy book to do this because I may not check my phone every time a task is due to be done. When the book is before me as I work, I know when to do this and that.
Whatever option works best for you – whether an app or a book, use it. Don’t worry about listing your tasks in order. No! Write it in a random order as much as you remember them. But do it in the morning or the evening before the next day (that is for the next day’s schedule). And assess yourself on what you could and couldn’t do in the evenings.
3. Arrange your tasks in the order in which you’ll do them
Even if you’re the best day planner, without step three, your day will still get messy and disorderly. Look through the long task list you’ve written and arrange them according to how you want to do them, one at a time. Since you need to organise your day, I recommend you use a small sheet or flashcard to list them. I use an A4 sheet.
When you do this, you’ll minimise cluttering your mind with several tasks because everything will be in order before you. And even the Bible tells us to practise this, not just in ministries and organisations but in our personal lives (1 Corinthians 14:40).
4. Follow the schedule as you enjoy your day
It’s terrible to do steps one, two and three only to ignore step 4. You must be determined to follow the task schedule you’ve just developed. However, I want to caution you about feeling overwhelmed, especially when the list is so long that you’ll find it hard to accomplish everything.
Please, it’s better to reschedule what you know it’ll take more time or can’t be done today. You can do this by simply writing a short acronym against the task, such as “res” – for “rescheduled.”
Be consistent
Stick to the plan and follow hard after it, making room for only what is necessary to give attention to, not what will distract you or make you procrastinate.
Make this a daily practice. You’ll become better at doing it with consistency.
Don’t forget to ask God for strength to do the tasks. He wants your life to be in motion, as well as His purpose with you to be fulfilled. I pray this article was a blessing to you.
Also read an article I wrote on our ministry website: Life Plan — How to do and follow it with God’s help
Sign up here to receive new teachings in your inbox
