Simplify Your Daily Planning to Reduce Stress

Anna Majowska
4 min readMay 24, 2023

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A tense manager in front of her PC

Are you tired of feeling weighed down by stress every single day? The constant worry about achieving your goals can pile up and overwhelm you. But fear not! The solution is simpler than you think. Let’s try to kick stress to the curb and simplify your daily planning. With a few easy steps, you can reduce stress, bring structure to your life, and conquer your goals stress-free.

What causes stress to add up?

Before we dive into the magical world of stress-free planning, let’s consider what’s causing all the chaos. Meetings that seem to have no real purpose, adding nothing new to the information already distributed in other channels, like email or task boards? Check. Repeat tasks that the right technology could automate for you. You bet! Unclear work action descriptions and vague goals set by your boss? That too! Our minds cannot rest in the face of goals we don’t know how to reach. That’s why the solution is to make an action plan with step-by-step guides on realizing our aims.

The following are a few ideas on how to say goodbye to unnecessary chaos and take control of your daily routine and stress level.

Woman sitting calm and collected in front of her PC screen

Plan your day and share your information.

Set aside a few moments in the morning to map out your tasks and share the schedule with your colleagues. Not only will it keep you organized — it will also allow others to see what you’re up to. It should also help avoid annoying interruptions since you’re letting everyone know when you might be available for a quick chat. That’s as if you’re sending a VIP invitation to your productivity party!

Prioritize like a pro.

Picture this: you have a mountain of tasks staring you down. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, assign a priority value to each of them, and sort accordingly. Identify the items that need your attention the most and tackle them head-on, or — if you’re having a bad day — start with the small and easy ones to get warmed up, then move on to the real meat and potatoes. By including priority or urgency gradation to your work list, you’ll be able to focus on what truly matters at a given moment, and at the same time, you’ll free up mental space and conquer your to-do list with swagger.

A kanbantool.com task board with one column’s tasks sorted by priority

Forget multitasking.

Ah, the myth of multitasking — it’s high time to debunk this productivity sabotage. Instead of juggling multiple tasks simultaneously, give your undivided attention to just one thing. Though focusing solely on one item, you’ll unleash your true potential and get it done faster and better. Kanban practitioners with their Work In Progress limits have known this for several decades, and it’s time it became common knowledge already!

Break things down.

Big, complex, ambitious, and corporate jargon-filled projects can be intimidating for the best of us, no doubt about it. But don’t let the vaguely sounding paradigm shifters paralyze you with fear. Break them down into small, manageable steps, and you’ll see there’s hardly any danger underneath all those big words. It will make the workload less daunting, and you will also get a sense of accomplishment with each completed step moved to “done” or ticked off on the list. Think of it this way: Rome wasn’t built in a day but it was built one brick at a time.

A kanbantool.com project board with a task split into to-do items

Embrace imperfection.

Perfectionism can be a sneaky little stress monster. Instead of striving for perfection on every small task, aim for good enough. Trust us — it’s a game-changer. Try to reach your goals rather than obsessing over the tiniest details and hoping for a gold star on each small task. Not only will it save you time, but it’s also healthier for you overall. Keep in mind that progress is more important than perfection.

Start strong, finish stronger.

Want to squash your stress right from the get-go? Kickstart your day by tackling a challenging task. By facing the beast early on, you’ll build momentum, experiencing relief and a confidence boost as the day progresses. Make things fun for yourself — tough start and all downhill for the rest of the day.

So there you have it! We hope this helps you welcome a more organized and relaxed workflow. By simplifying your daily planning, you’ll be strutting through life with sass and checking off your goals like a pro. Unleash your inner planner and take charge of your stress-free future!

The article was fist published on the Kanban Tool Blog.

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