by Mandy Green, Head Women’s Soccer Coach, University of South Dakota
In my endless quest to be more efficient and productive, a pretty common thing I am finding is that what separates the successful from the rest is that before the successful go to sleep, they plan ahead so they can start the next day with a purpose.
Planning keeps successful people on course in achieving their goals and objectives.
Planning is also the difference between reacting to the day’s events as they occur vs being proactive in determining what you will achieve during the day.
What does a reactive day look like? You arrive at work in the morning with no clear idea about what you want to achieve. Things begin to happen and you just fly by the seat of your pants—you open your email, the phone rings, one of your players drops by. With a flurry of activity, you put forth considerable effort to respond to these various demands with very little to show for it by the end of the day.
So here is what you need to do.
Take out you’re your planner and prepare your action plan for the next day before you leave the office or at least the night before. Decide what will make the day highly successful. I am a big believer in making a plan for each day based on your goals and vision for your program. What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you’ve been productive and successful? Write those things down in whatever time management system you are using.
Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do something.
It’s really that simple. It takes about 15 minutes. It is being more proactive vs being reactive. Take the time to put a little more thought and intention into what you are going to work on during the day.
For you coach, this plan becomes a map to guide you from morning to evening in the most effective and efficient way. This guide tells you what you have to do and what is more or less important which will help save you a tremendous amount of time that you might have otherwise wasted on less important busy work that isn’t necessarily going to move your program forward.
Please try it and let me know how it works for you. Email me at mandy@mandygreencps.com