Proactively Stay on Track with a Daily Wrap-Up

Successful professionals start each week with a plan, prepared to address what's important and having scheduled all priorities. Yet, then, things can get thrown off track. A client has an urgent, unexpected issue arise, desperately needing your time to get the situation fixed. Or a team member calls in sick, leaving you to help with some of his responsibilities. Maybe some of your employees need your direction on meeting a deadline, having had questions arise while working on the project. Whatever has popped up to detract from your game plan, it is vital to reboot as best you can and get back on track.

I encourage you to end each workday with a Daily Wrap-Up, which can be imperative in getting your week back on track and helping to maintain what you created in your Weekly Strategy Session. Work through each item below to keep each day productive and help you organize for success:

• Communications - Get end-of-day updates from appropriate team members, touching bases to drive awareness and get everyone on the same page. Verify you're up-to-date processing received emails and following up on voice mail.

• Tasks - Review your to-do list from that day and look over the next day's to-do list. If something wasn't completed today, determine at what point in the next few days can time be allocated for completing it. 3-5 items on any given date's to-do list is realist and allows you to hit the ground running when you return to work the next day.

• Time - Evaluate your schedule for the next day and verify that you are prepared for everything scheduled.

• Space - Whether you're in 4 walls, an open office space, a vehicle or working from a bag, tidy up your workspace... File new items and put that day's work back into each item's home. Finally, make sure what items you will need for the next day's activities are ready and easily accessible.

• Successes - We live in a do, do, do society, meaning we don't necessarily take time to celebrate when we achieve the goals for which we strive. When we take time to celebrate our successes, we are better motivated to keep working towards even greater accomplishments. Therefore, make sure you take time to celebrate daily successes, no matter how large or small.

• Gratitude - While there is a vast amount of research regarding how gratitude improves productivity, you can click here for 20 such ways as shared by Lifehack. With that in mind, you can use the power of gratitude to drive your daily productivity. End each day's Daily Wrap-Up with gratitude, and make note of that for which you are grateful each day. 

Share your story... Do you take time at the end of each day to properly wrap-up that day and plan for the next day? Alternatively, what issues have you encountered when you haven't been able to regroup and end each day by getting back on track.

Use a Weekly Strategy Session to Organize for Success

It's Friday afternoon, and, as you look back on the week wrapping up, how productive are you feeling? Usually, when we come into the week with a game plan, we are able to address what's important, rather than getting caught up in putting out fires or handling what's urgent; we tackle our priorities. Yet, if we wait until we walk into the office to determine what must be done, the phone rings, we get an emergency email or someone stops by to ask for our time; then, we're pulled in totally different directions, not meeting our goals.

I urge you this afternoon (and every Friday afternoon going forward) to take time for a Weekly Strategy Session, where you wrap up the week that's ending and properly plan for the week ahead. Going beyond prioritizing our schedules so we're scheduling our priorities can be extremely powerful. It's amazing what being proactive can do for achieving important objectives!

Work through each item below to properly plan the week ahead:

• Carryover Tasks - Evaluate which of the ending week's tasks were completed, determining what's left undone and to when those undone tasks must be carried forward.

• Client Communications - If there are people with whom you've been meaning to connect, call or email to schedule a convenient time to chat in the following week. Likewise, connect with clients you've done business with previously but haven't heard from in awhile; remind them of how you enjoyed working with the in the past, suggest new ways you can help, share what's new in your organization and pass along articles you feel might be helpful to them.

• New Tasks - Schedule time to complete any tasks moving towards their deadlines, making sure each what that must be done has a when for moving it from "to-do" to "done".

• Time Commitments - Review next week's commitments to ensure you're prepared for related tasks and appointments, making sure there is time for preparation and travel to each.

• Development Options - Determine opportunities for personal and professional growth, scheduling what will move you towards your goals and keep your priorities in focus.

• Strategy - Map out a specific game plan for addressing the upcoming week's task and time commitments, empowering you to start each day with only 3-5 "must do" items.

Especially when you first start implementing the Weekly Strategy Session, set a timer. Knowing you have a certain amount of time in which to complete this checklist will better ensure your planning doesn't run longer than necessary. Plus, shorter times lead to an extra burst of energy to get more done in less time.

No football, basketball or baseball team would go into a game without scouting the opponent and creating a game plan. Similarly, you should never go into a week without properly planning, evaluating what's ahead and determining how you will address all that you must handle. It is with a Weekly Strategy Session that busy professionals can be organized for success.

Share your story... Do you take time at the end of each week to properly plan the week ahead and proactively address your priorities? Alternatively, what issues have you encountered when you haven't been able to plan adequately?