Bojan offers 7 simple steps to plan your day perfectly:

“It’s a known fact that people who are planning their time, simply achieve more. Not only do you get visualization of your time when you plan it, you also figure out, right on the spot, which tasks are important, and those which aren’t. When you have a clear picture on what you need to do, everything is a breeze. Until you start to procrastinate, but with careful planning, that can be avoided. People who are planning are happier, achieve more and overall more effective than people who aren’t investing their time properly. If you don’t have time to plan, you’re planning to fail. Let’s focus on what we can do, in order to plan smarter!“

Bojan’s 7 are:
1. Start with pen and paper, not your computer.
2. Weed out unimportant tasks.
3. Plan your locations.
4. Avoid tasks that are urgent to other people.
5. Review and track your time.
6. After you complete your task list, import it into your smartphone and print them.
7. Take time out and clean your mind.

My Comments
1. I keep my master lists of projects and tasks in Things for Mac, and meetings in iCal. But when “today” arrives, I pull out my paper schedule … and start writing the things that are important and top-of-mind for me for that day. I then review Things and iCal for meetings and day-specific tasks – but the paper schedule is the master list for “today.” I think differently on paper than I do on the computer – less constrained in form and function – perhaps that’s the best way to put it.

2. I’ve kept a time log on my computer every day for … about 12 years. I can go back and review what I did on any business day … how I’ve spent my time, which projects are eating up too much time (processing email!), and how I’m going to plan on projects and areas of responsibility. I don’t find it a burden to do – it’s very habitual now, and I use a tool that makes it very easy.

3. On #7, I fully agree. Each day, writing in my journal is a critical early step. I feel “lost and disconnected” if I don’t do this early in the day. When facing big choices, or lots of change, pulling out my paper journal and writing for 15-30 minutes is a life saver.

4. I would add a “0” to the list – being clear about what you are doing, and especially what’s important beyond the “day.” Having a longer term perspective of say 3 years is good, but it has to be broken down into smaller chunks and achievement points.

5. What works for you?