How I Plan My Day and Why it Matters

 

I have a lot of stuff going on in my life all the time. I am a mother of two college aged daughters. While we are not all up in their business, their dad and I make ourselves available to give them guidance when needed. When they were younger, we were constantly on the go taking them here, there, and everywhere. They were active in academics, scouting, and sports. We altered our schedules to accommodate their involvement in educational and youth related activities.

Starting Out

When I started my side hustle business, I realized that success depended on my ability to meet the needs of those who participated in my services. That makes sense, right? I still, however, had an obligation to be available to our daughters, who were in middle school at the time. This meant that I had to be super organized. Getting them to after school activities required active coordination.

At about the same time, my father’s health started deteriorating. He was 80 years old when he had a heart attack. Always jovial and outgoing, few people knew that he had to go to dialysis twice a week. My parents lived out of state over four hours away. I traveled to their home on a regular basis to provide limited support. Their routine was set, and they remained self-sufficient. Occasionally, my mom would go to a bowling tournament with her league and I would get to spend a weekend alone with my dad. He transitioned when he was 82 years old.

During this time, I tried many techniques to plan my day. This included checklists, to-do apps and several different calendars. I needed to experience consistency and stability while trying to juggle life. My husband and our daughters continued to be a priority. I continued to work full-time and had a new side hustle business. The business needed my time, guidance, and energy to grow. Furthermore, I felt committed to care, love and support my parents through their aging as much as possible.

Additionally, unexpected events often occurred rendering my plans useless. At first, I blamed myself and then began blaming the planning technique I used. So, I changed the technique. Those failed, too. I felt frustrated, stuck, and overwhelmed. Stressed and tired, I knew I had to do something different. Consequently, I developed a process to plan my day that works for me.

Daily Mission –

My day begins with a mission that I state out loud. Before I get out of bed, I declare what I will experience and express throughout the day. For example, my daily mission may be to experience gratitude. This means that I will practice and share gratitude all day. My thoughts, feelings and actions will revolve around being grateful.
I could also state a mission to greet others with a smile. Smiles are contagious. If I give one, often, I will get one in return.
My mission is an important part of my daily plan. It sets the tone for everything I do, say and feel. The daily mission guides my behavior, attitude, and responses.

Accomplishment –

The next part of my daily plan addresses accomplishments. I set priorities for what I want to accomplish. The focus, therefore, is on outcomes instead of actions. Additionally, I use my daily mission as a guide to help me prioritize my desired outcomes. Just like prioritizing actions, I decide what I should accomplish first and move on from that point.
Focusing on outcomes instead of tasks creates opportunities for collaboration, coordination, and cooperation. I feel free to ask for and to enlist the help of others to achieve my prioritized outcomes.

Me –

The third part of my daily plan focuses on me. I commit to self-care and me time. I cannot take care of my family, work, or business without taking care of myself. Every day I carve out time for myself throughout the day.
Most days, I am working to meet the demands of my family, work, business, and aging mother. I must re-energize myself to get through the day without losing it. Time alone enables me to read, meditate, or just be. I rest and renew my mind, body, and spirit by integrating mindfulness, calming breaths, and simple relaxation, in everything I do.

“I want to be happy, whole, satisfied and successful. What about you?”

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