How Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency w FREE Printable

Hi friends! What a weekend! I don’t usually get to do much Storying (is that a word now?!) on the weekends since we’re doing all the family things, but I made an exception this weekend and did a video tutorial as a visual aid to my hair curling tutorial post.  Then y’all were asking for a Day 2 hair tutorial and I did that too! Well, as best I could with Jordan ‘helping’! If you missed them, the video hair tutorials are saved to my regular Instagram as a highlight.  Highlights are those circles below my profile and above the regular pictures.  Go check it out if you haven’t already!

On Sunday, we watched the Superbowl from Ali-Shaun’s house and it was a fun fest with kiddos!  Did you watch?! Were you impressed by the commercials or just JT?!

For today, I hope you’re all settled in with your hot cup of coffee or tea and ready to dive into today’s post which is a combo of an adorable ‘almost Spring’ outfit- I couldn’t resist when I found this top! AND a How to Plan Your Day post with a FREE Printable that I’m absolutely giddy for! Two for one!

I couldn’t even resist waiting to show you the back of this lightweight knit sweater because it’s just that charming! I’m wearing the “flamingo” pink, but it also comes in a bright yellow, subdued black and bold stripe!

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

White Jeans 25 (TTS) • Bow Back Sweater XSP (TTS) • Nude Heels • Tan Bag • Watch • Similar Link Bracelet • Similar Necklace • Bracelet • Coil Ring • Blue Aviators

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag 1

It’s pretty much business in the front with the solid, crew neck that shows off your necklace,

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

and then party in the back with four light blue and white bows!! So cute, right?!

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

My white jeans were happy to see the light of day again!  This is my go-to pair that are slim (cigarette style), but not super skinny.   They fit like a real jean (98% cotton) and not a jegging like so many white jeans, so they fit really nice and smooth.  The Jen7 Stretch Skinny Jeans would be a good skinny jean alternative.  I tried the Jen7 brand recently and really liked it because their jeans are super slimming and flattering.  They even made this short girl’s legs look longer.

And I want to try the Current/Elliot Stiletto white ankle jean next.  They are also jean material, not that stretch fabric that gives us the dreaded “sausage legs.” They’ve gotten a ton of great reviews- I just need to find them in my size!

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

But can we talk about this sweet bag for a minute?! The circle metal ‘bracelet’ handle is darling, but it also comes with a removable crossbody strap!  It’s a decent size (10×9) to hold the important things for running errands or a night out. The tan color is a great shade and it also comes in black for under $50!

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

Transitional Spring Outfit- bow back sweater with white jeans, heels and tan bag

White Jeans 25 (TTS) • Bow Back Sweater XSP • Nude Heels • Tan Bag • Watch • Similar Link Bracelet • Similar Necklace • Bracelet • Coil Ring • Blue Aviators

HOW TO PLAN YOUR DAY FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY

So now that we have that sweetness out of the way, let’s move on to the meat of the post, How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency!  I’m going to walk you through how I plan my day using this FREE Printable I created.  I hope you find it as useful as I do!  It’s actually ridiculous how giddy I get over stuff like this!

FREE Printable - How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency #planning #planner #planyourday

FREE Printable

** Subscribe to my blog to get a free PRINTABLE VERSION and my entire printable library.  If you’re already subscribed, look for a link to my printables library in the HWH Weekend Edition on Saturday.

Take Care of You

In the upper right hand corner is a space to remind you to take care of you.  So often we wake up and jump right into getting about the business of our day without checking in with ourselves or taking a few minutes for self care.  If we don’t give ourselves a few minutes, it will never happen.

This printable has a checklist for the Miracle Morning items if you’re doing them, but even if not, you can still check off a few of the things as they pertain to you.  If I don’t set aside time in the morning for these “SAVERS” items: Silence, Affirmation, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing (writing), I will at least meditate for 10 minutes using the Headspace app before jumping on my computer in the morning.  This one thing helps set the tone for my day and instead of being all crazed and overwhelmed with how much I have to do, I calm down and settle into a focused productivity.

It’s also good for us to get into the habit of drinking water daily, so there’s 8 water glasses for that too, and you can simply check those off as you drink water throughout the day.

How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency w FREE Printable 1

Dinner

It will help ease your mind to have an answer to your favorite question, “What’s for dinner?”  For the most part, we plan our meals on Saturday morning and grocery shop later that day.  I only cook about 4 times a week and we eat lots of leftovers.  Having that Dinner section written in at the beginning of the day helps me either: 1) get something going in our new fancy fast/slow pro or 2) make a note of when I need to start dinner and then forget about it for the rest of the day! If for some reason I don’t have groceries for dinner, at least I know that at the beginning of the day and can plan to stop at the store after picking up James from school.

FREE Printable - How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency #planning #planner #planyourday

Cold Shoulder Sweater XSP

Top 3

If you’re like me, you wake up with a to-do list a mile long and not enough hours in the day to get things done!  If you read my Day in the Life of a Lifestyle Blogger, you know I have my mom here daily until 3:00 (thank God!), so that’s when my work day ends.  At 3:00, I have to pick up my son from school and from then on, it’s all about family/household responsibilities/chores/play.  I know I won’t be able to get any more work done until after the kids go to bed, and by then, I’m too tired anyway, so I have to make efficient use of the time my mom is here during the day.

At 2:45 p.m. every day, I sit down and assess what I got done for the day and what needs to happen tomorrow.  I pick the TOP 3 things that are the most important to get done and write them here.

How do you determine the Top 3?  Ask yourself, what is the most valuable use of my time?  It’s easy to get “busy” doing lots of things, but they might not be the most important thing (“MIT”).  That’s where a lot of us go wrong.  Often the MIT isn’t the thing we want to do, but it’s the thing that will add the most value to our lives. Eat That Frog is my favorite quick read for the most practical help on how to get more done with your time.  It’s been a game changer for me and I recommend it to anyone who wants more than a ‘barely getting by’ life.

How to Accomplish Your Top 3

Once you have identified your Top 3 MIT, concentrate on each of them and nothing else until they are complete. I use the Be Focused App to help me work on a single task until that task is finished.  The timer is set for 25 minutes, then gives you a 5 minute break.  If my #1 priority for the day is to write a blog post, I work on that for 25 minutes without interruption.  I don’t check email, respond to incoming texts, or answer calls. If something pops into my mind that I need to do (and it often does), I write it on a notepad that sits next to me on my desk.  During the 5 minute break, I’ll do quick tasks like calls, emails, texts.

FREE Printable - How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency #planning #planner #planyourday

FREE Printable - How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency #planning #planner #planyourday

Call, Email, Text, Buy

Which brings me to the next section.  I will jot down people I need to call, email or text here and I keep a note of things I need to buy.  Putting those random thoughts onto paper clears my mind and puts me at ease that I won’t forget something!

Good Morning Sunshine

With this printable, I wanted to combine a timeline that includes my wake up time because, hey, if I’m waking up at a time that starts with a 5, I want credit for it!  I want to SEE it in print! But, we also have things going on after 6 with sports, and I like to write in my bedtime so that it helps me stick to it.  Many day planners only go from 6-6, so I like that this one represents more of your day.

I use the time side to block off and schedule tasks so that I can visually see how long something takes.  Put your Top 3 here and see if you estimated the correct amount of time to finish them.

Notes

Finally, there’s a section at the bottom for notes and you can write out a motivational quote, notes for the day, etc.

FREE Printable - How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency #planning #planner #planyourday

FREE Printable - How to Plan Your Day for Maximum Efficiency #planning #planner #planyourday

I’d love to hear your feedback on the printable! 

I love making them! If you missed it, get my How to Plan Your Year FREE Printable here.

Now go make Monday great!

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

28 Comments

  1. I absolutely love the sweater. I was wondering about the bows. I think I can tell that they will need to be ironed after washing?? Do they untie so you can iron and then retie them? Thanks.

  2. Love your productivity posts! Between working from home and All The Things, it’s hard sometimes for me to stay focused. I’m giving your printable a try.

  3. Love this! I’m a list maker, too – doing a “brain dump” helps me stay calm & focused. I read Eat that Frog and it’s helped me be more efficient, too! Work hard so you can play hard right? 🙂 LOVE your blog always! :)/Sarah

  4. This is one of the best daily planner pages I have seen! It matches up with my lifestyle. I am going to start using it! Thank you for your productivity posts and tips. They are so helpful!

  5. I absolutely LOVE the printable and all of the efficiency posts! I wish you designed a planner!! 🙂 I’m loving the 2018 posts…super motivating. Thank you!

  6. I really need to becoming a better planner. Thanks for the post. One item for sure is exercise. Could you recommend a great youtube or free video workout?

  7. This is great! Do you write it out each morning when you wake or ?? I tried to find that answer in the post, but didn’t see it – hopefully I didn’t just miss it. Thanks in advance!

    1. I usually write out my daily list mid/day before my mom leaves for the day. I know that’s kind of weird but that’s how I get prepared for the next day. Then I will review again in the morning!

  8. I love this Printable! Exactly the info I want and need to plan my day. I was writing in a notebook, but this is so much better. Thanks so much for sharing. Can’t wait to start using it!

  9. I love this post! Thank you for sharing. I started working from home when we relocated for my husband’s job (my employer in Dallas let me keep my role, which has been great), and I am in a rut of putting on workout clothes to drop my daughter off at school and then staying in workout clothes (or pjs if I’m honest) all day. I am determined to shake up my routine and workout before the rest of the house wakes, shower and dress as if I still have an office to go to, and be much more intentional about my day. I’m going to start using this (and other printables you provided). Thanks for the motivation!

    1. I think that will be so beneficial for you Emma. I remember going through the same thing when I first quit my job to stay home with our son. Look at this post and I bet you can relate! https://www.honeywerehome.com/2010/09/road-to-schlumpadinkaville.html

      It’s sucks when the alarm went off at 5:20 today, but AFTER that workout I felt amazing! And am getting so much more done today! Let me know how it goes for you! I’m sending good energy your way!

  10. I love your planner page! It really checks all the boxes, pun intended! I do have a question, though. Do you keep all of these in a binder or folder in case you need to look back at them? And do you have some kind of monthly glance for appointments and such that are scheduled months in advance? I would love to know how you incorporate all of this into one system. Thanks for the free printable!

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