For me personally, if I am going to be as productive as I would like to be then I need to have a daily schedule/list consisting of exactly what needs to be done. Even if I know what needs to be done during my day, I find myself procrastinating if I don't write myself a detailed list with imposed restrictions. I found however, when looking into this, that this is true for many other people, that they aren't as likely to get everything done in the day without the help of a list/schedule, even when they know what they should be doing.
The great thing about having a list of things to do gives your day purpose and keeps you busy. Even if you feel your day has purpose without a plan, having it all laid out in front of you, I find at least, to be comforting because you know exactly what you are doing and where you would like to get to.
I absolutely hate the feeling of a wasted day. If I haven't done what I have needed to get done during the course of the day, then to me that is a day wasted - a feeling that I can't stand. To be honest, a problem I have is that if I'm not productive or haven't done what I should have, then I will often feel quite down and disappointed with myself for allowing it to happen. This is the main reason why I started a daily schedule where I know exactly what I am doing at what time.
Your list/schedule can be made to be as simple or as complex as you would like to suit your needs. So if you are someone who just wants a list of things to do in no particular order then that's fine, or if you are someone who wants everything planned out to the smallest letter then that's also fine.
Things you may want to include:
- Obviously a list of tasks/jobs that need doing (as this is the whole purpose of having a plan) :).
- How long each task should last for.
- What time they should be carried out.
- What happens during each task. For example: If one of your tasks was to practice the guitar for an hour a day you could go into greater detail by writing what your practice should consist of. Another example could be to do 30 minutes cleaning your room. You could go into further detail by specifying what area(s) you will be focusing on.
I normally have three columns for three titles. The first column is for the jobs that need doing in the day, the second column is the time scheduled for each one, and the third column is for the small completion boxes that I tick once I have completed each task. For some jobs that I need to do but don't have a specific time set, I will mark with a asterisk, and they are to be completed when's best. For the vast majority of things though I will make sure that I schedule a time.
I like to get up early so I can have a good head start to the day. I can get all of my 'main' jobs completed by lunchtime, which is great. If I get up at 06:00, that gives me 6 hours, or 7 hours if I get up at 05:00, before lunch to get a main chunk of my schedule completed. I hate the feeling of having things hanging over me that I know need to be done, so by getting my main ones out of the way during the first half of the day feels brilliant.
I write my list/plan the night before. I have sometimes done it in the morning for the day, but to me the morning is when I am feeling most productive, if I spend that time writing my list of things to do for that day - I feel like it is a waste of time I could be using to get things done. In fact, I now include writing tomorrows list on today's schedule so I don't forget.
Whether it is a detailed minute-by-minute plan that you use or simply a very rough plan of what needs doing, having something there as a tool to improve your productivity is an excellent choice.
An old post of mine that you may enjoy is: 7 Benefits of a Schedule.