How to Plan Your Day

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Here is a simple framework for planning your day to the glory of God.

I firmly believe that if we want to make the most of each day for Christ, we need to plan for it. When you plan your day in advance, you’re drawing a map for yourself. Having a map brings clarity and peace of mind even when things get hectic.

Unfortunately, most people don’t have a good system for planning their day, so they don’t do it consistently.

Most people don’t have a template for how to plan their day.

When I talk to other Christians about how they plan their day, one of the following elements is always missing.

  • They don’t plan for spiritual growth
  • They don’t plan for their goals
  • They don’t plan for their commitments

They may have one or two, but rarely will they have all three elements.

If that sounds like you, don’t worry. I’m going to show you a simple, repeatable framework for planning a God-honoring day that you can use every day.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Set a specific time for Bible reading and prayer.

Without hearing from God in His Word and speaking to Him in prayer, you will not grow spiritually.

So don’t leave these critical disciplines up to chance. Schedule a time (preferably in the morning) in which you will always spend some time in prayer and reading the Word.

I highly recommend having a Bible reading plan, as it takes the guesswork out of this part of your plan. Personally, I use the Five Day Bible Reading program. But here’s a roundup of some of my other favorite Bible Reading Plans for 2022.

There’s nothing like beginning your day with the Lord. So plan for it!

Step 2: Block out time for your goals.

The place most people go wrong in their daily planning, is they only schedule for reactive work.

By reactive work, I mean commitments that don’t make a contribution toward your goals. Things like answering emails and returning phone calls are reactive work. Someone else is setting the agenda and you are just reacting.

We all have to do reactive work, and we’ll talk more about that in step 3, but it’s critical to make focused time every day for work that brings you closer to your goals.

For example, I have a block of time on my schedule from 8:30 to 11 a.m. every day that’s dedicated to writing. During this time I mute my phone, I block social media, and I don’t check email.

Why?

Because most of my goals are tied to writing—writing books, scripts for videos, outlines for podcasts, courses, and newsletters. If I don’t make time for writing every day, it will get pushed aside by more urgent but less important reactive tasks.

So make sure you’re blocking out a specific chunk of time each day to make progress on your goals.

Step 3: List your commitments.

As I noted above, we all have commitments and obligations that don’t necessarily contribute directly to our goals and spiritual growth. But as good stewards, seeking to love and serve others, we still have to plan for them.

But managing your to-do list doesn’t have to be chaotic.

At the start of each day, plan for the commitments you want to get done today. Write them out on a piece of paper and put a star next to the most important, non-negotiable task. Do that task first, then work your way down the list.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve planned for spiritual growth, blocked time for your goal, and listed your commitments for the day you’ve got a plan of action. And you’ve done all of this in only about 5 to 10 minutes.

Now, go forth and execute on that plan to the glory of God!

P.s. if you want more help on step 3, keeping your commitments and not feeling overwhelmed by your task list, check out my course To Do Lists Done Right.


🎓 To Do Lists Done Right

Do you struggle to stay on top of your commitments?

Do you find yourself saying you’ll do something, then completely forgetting about it?

What you need is a to-do list. But not just any to-do list. You need a commitment management system grounded in biblical principles that’s flexible enough to work with any app or even just paper and pen.

In my course, To Do Lists Done Right, I teach you a practical system for managing your commitments in a God-honoring way.

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1 comment
  • The recommendation to Block out time for your goals was helpful.
    I had fit in the time around other responsibilities and interests. Today, I blocked out time and ensured this activity was considered a non-negotiable, second only to morning devotions

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