An executive gets sidetracked (by a phone call that causes his mind to wander) and loses track of what he had planned. With a written plan, he could have hung up and gone back to his highest priority task.

A father who wants to be with his family for important events can't finish his work during regular business hours. With proper planning, he could complete his tasks for today and plan for tomorrow as well.

Taking the time to plan and organize will propel you toward success. Here's how you can plan and organize your time:

MONTHLY

· Block two or three hours at the end of each month to plan your upcoming month.

· Write out your life's mission or purpose and identify important personal and business goals for the upcoming month.

· Prioritize top personal and business goals.

· Remember to include goals for each of the six areas of life that together make up the total person: Family and Home, Mental and Educational, Spiritual and Ethical, Social and Cultural, Financial and Career, and Physical and Health.

· Break your top personal and professional goals into smaller high-payoff activities.

· Set up a tracking method in your planner to measure your goals and high-payoff activities.

· Schedule blocks of time for your goals and high-payoff activities.

· Copy your monthly goals and activities so you can give them to someone in your professional and personal life who will hold you accountable.

DAILY

· Take five to 10 minutes every day to plan and prioritize your activities.

· Transfer scheduled appointments and commitments from your monthly plans to your daily plans.

· Review your scheduled commitments and appointments for the upcoming week.

· Organize each day beginning with your top personal and professional goals and high-payoff activities. Work in the lower priority items as you can.

· Prioritize your imperative and important daily tasks and activities.

· Organize and group your communications for the day into one area.

· Close every day by recording accomplishments and tracking progress toward your goals.

(Compliments of Rutherford Publishing (www.Rpublish.com)

2. Keep your planner with you at all times.

3. Set aside two or three hours monthly to plan for the upcoming month.

4. Schedule major priorities at least a month ahead of time.

5. Take five to ten minutes daily to plan and organize your next day's goals and activities.

6. Prioritize your activities so that you do the important things first.

7. Bring about a closure to each day. Decide what to do with unfinished tasks by dumping, doing, delegating, or delaying them.

8. Record all your commitments and promises in one place. Jot notes in your planner regularly.

9. Organize and group your communication tasks by listing them in one area.

10. Track your progress toward personal and professional goals by noting achievements in your planner. Remember to reward yourself for your successes.

(Compliments of Rutherford Publishing www.RPublish.com)