As I mentioned on Sunday, I’ve come up with a three part plan to get myself more organized and be more productive. The first part was my Sunday plan which has helped a little bit already, but will probably take a while to really be a habit. The second part of the plan is my evening to-do list. This is sort of linked to the third part of the plan, my morning schedule, but I’ll post about that tomorrow.
It probably comes as no surprise, especially to those who are naturally organized and productive, but I have found that if I get a few small things done in the evening before going to bed, my mornings are way easier, which of course leads to being more productive in the morning and getting to work at a better time, and generally leads to a better day.
I’m pretty sure that there are many home/life organizing blogs, websites, and even courses that cover the topic, so rather than go over all again, here is my “must do” list before bed. No exceptions.
Evening To-Do List:
- Wash the dishes & tidy the kitchen. I hate walking in to a messy kitchen in the morning. I don’t mind one or two glasses from an after dinner drink or something, but having all the dirty pots and pans from dinner the night before in the sink is just frustrating. And normally we don’t have time in the morning to clean them, which means that they are still there when we get home from work in the evening and want to make dinner. But I’m a horrible procrastinator, so I often leave them sitting there…
- Prepare lunches (& breakfasts) for the following day. I want it to be a simple grab and go in the morning.
- Check the meal plan for tomorrow. Take anything out of the freezer that might be needed (if required). Isn’t it the worst when you forget to defrost something? Check if there is anything to buy on the way home the next day.
- Empty Washing Machine. I don’t always do laundry during the week, in fact, I’m really trying to only do laundry once a week on the weekends, but sometimes it is required. Forgetting to take wet laundry out of the washing machine before going to bed just means that the load gets stinky and has to be washed again.
- Review the weekly schedule and to-do list (from my Sunday plan). Reschedule anything that didn’t get done.
- Review the list of things required for the following day (from my Sunday plan) and lay as much of it out as possible.
I wanted it to be only five items like the Sunday plan… that would have made it nice and simple, but six it is… I think that by doing these six things I should set myself up for a good morning… provided that I get to bed at a decent time as well… Hmm… Maybe I should add that to the list… I’ll leave it out for now, but will keep it in mind…
Do you have an evening “must do” list? Do you have it written out? Or are you one of those organized, non-procrastinating people that don’t have to think about it?
Title Photo Credit: Flickr
All-Round Better Me 