How to plan your time so that you can do everything. Francesco Cirillo Method

Date: August 5, 2016

All moms are different. But we are all concerned about the question: how to learn to plan your day in order to do everything. And if not all, then at least the most important. And here time management comes to the rescue with its planning tools. But they also need to be able to use.

To be honest, planning is not easy for me. And at first I made a lot of mistakes. I still struggle with them. And to make it a little easier for you, I will talk about the mistakes that prevented me from being effective.

Mistake 1. Keep everything in your head

I underestimated the importance of the to-do list. I tried to keep everything in my head. But we all know that mom has too much to remember and follow a lot. Free your mind and write down at least the most important things on paper or using apps on your smartphone.

This is the basis of time management. And it helps a lot. First, the list serves as a silent reproach, an assistant that will not let you put off the matter until tomorrow. And secondly, looking at the plan of the day, you will definitely find time for yourself and your interests, at least half an hour.

Mistake 2. Planning too much

After I realized the importance of lists, I tried to fit in one day all the possible cases. And walks with a child, and developmental activities, and household chores, and reading literature of interest, and watching educational videos, and I also want to spend time with my husband.

I quickly realized that doing everything in one day is possible, but difficult. And I don’t want to live every day in the “driven horse” mode.

The main skill of competent planning is to distribute important things so as not to infringe on any of the facets of our lives.

Now I make a master plan for the week, in which I write down the key tasks. And every day I just supplement it with urgent matters. I try to do only the most important, and if I manage to do more, I praise and encourage myself for productivity.

Mistake 3. Perfectionism in planning

You know that force majeure happens often with children. Either illness, or unexpected whims, or he doesn’t want to go to bed on time. Do not judge yourself harshly if, due to unforeseen circumstances, you do not have time to carry out all the plans for the day. Be mentally prepared for this and don't give up.

Another funny manifestation of perfectionism in planning overcame me at first. I didn't know how to learn how to plan my day... in an ugly notebook! And if there were blots in the plan, it had to be rewritten. This is really funny. Now I use the application on my phone and do not pay attention to such nonsense. After all, the result is important.


Mistake 4. Multitasking is the enemy of successful planning

Things such as educational games with a child, training or work require maximum attention. Otherwise, the result will not live up to expectations. The ability to do several things at the same time is sometimes very useful. But there are things that need to be given 100%.

According to the Arguments and Facts newspaper: people who have to constantly multitask are more distracted and worse at distinguishing important information from insignificant.

Sometimes it’s better to have time to do a few things, but it’s good than wasting time on rework later.

Mistake 5. Incorrect prioritization

We often confuse values ​​and priorities. Let me give you a clear example. Everyone knows that it is good for health to eat homemade food, which you cook yourself from fresh ingredients and control the entire cooking process. And, of course, for all mothers, the health of her family is in the first place. This is a value.

But sometimes we can afford to buy not very healthy ready-made food. For example, please your husband with his favorite pizza. In this case, the priority task is to free yourself for the evening from cooking. As a result: the husband is full and satisfied, and you have time to have a good time together or go about your business.

Your effectiveness depends on the correct prioritization. To learn how to correctly prioritize, you can use an effective time management tool - the "Eisenhower matrix". We simply divide all the tasks for the day according to the degree of importance and urgency.

Thus, you can clearly see important matters that cannot be delayed. And also get rid of the "time eaters" and free up time for relaxation.

Mistake 6. Ignore your routine and neglect your health

Surely you know the division of people into "larks" and "owls". Some people can’t wake up in the morning, while others already fall down at 9 o’clock in the evening. Always make a plan for the day, taking into account the peculiarities of your biorhythm.

If mental work is difficult for you in the morning, then go for a walk with your child or do household chores. And if you are a "lark", do not force your body, trying to finish at night what you did not manage to do during the day. Our body is smarter than us and will still take its toll.

Try to plan the most labor-intensive tasks at the peak of your activity. And then you never have to think about being and procrastinating.


Mistake 7. Paying insufficient attention to vacation planning

Being a mom is sometimes hard. After all, every day she gives her warmth, attention and love to children and inspires her husband to exploits. Therefore, rest should be as important a part of your plan as taking care of loved ones. The more energy you have, the more you can give and the happier your family will be.

Take time to analyze what gives you pleasure, inspires and energizes you. Maybe it will be sports, books, music, a favorite hobby. And let you always have a list of books or a skein of yarn at hand, in case you have a free minute and you can take time for yourself.

Do you want to become a reader of the magazine "Succeed with children!"?

Who among us has not wondered what is the greatest value? Quite often opinions differ on this issue. Some believe that information, others - time. Despite the fact that modern society has enough opportunities to save time, for some reason there is just not enough time. And immediately thoughts come to mind: “Why is technological progress playing a cruel joke?”, “How to have time to do everything and even well?”, “How to distribute and plan your day in order to at least partially unload yourself?”. Everything is very simple. You just need to learn how to plan the time correctly.

Rules to follow if you want to be successful

In order to do everything and have time to rest, you should:

  • develop a specific plan;
  • prioritize dealing with small matters of importance, without leaving them for later;
  • do not waste working time on unnecessary things;
  • analyze completed tasks on a daily basis;
  • properly prioritize according to importance;
  • to keep order;
  • develop the willpower to follow new habits.

How to learn to plan your day: the stages of planning the time of the head

It seems to be correct to allocate working time, to determine the sequence of daily work is not difficult, however, not everyone can do it. If thoughts come to mind about how to do important things in a timely manner and not get tired, it is important to learn how to properly plan and allocate time. An important role here is played by a properly drawn up plan of the daily routine.

Do not forget about such an important factor as limited time. Time cannot be stopped, changed, returned, which means that the same applies to work, affairs, and our life in general.

There are the following stages of working time planning:

  • developing discipline (learning to control your day is an important task for a successful leader);
  • determining the degree of importance of cases (it is allowed to plan no more than 3 urgent cases per day);
  • rational distribution of cases into important, urgent, light, simple, insignificant;
  • drawing up a phased plan for the implementation of work;
  • getting rid of simple, small, easy things that take less than 10 minutes to complete (unloading the next days);
  • refusal of the manager from activities that “steal” time (watching TV shows, many hours of communication on social networks, gatherings with friends);
  • definition of each thing in the house and at work of its place;
  • getting rid of work junk (10 minutes a day is enough to sort through documents and throw away unnecessary);
  • choice of hobbies for leisure.

In order not to lose friends and save time correctly, you need to follow the rule: visit pages on social networks 2 times a week, set aside weekends for meeting friends, plan personal meetings in advance, reduce the time of “empty” telephone conversations to 15 minutes a day.

How to make a work plan

Fruitful planning is possible if you adhere to the following sequence in your work:

  1. Determine the goals and objectives on the basis of which to develop a work plan. It can be short-term (for a week) or long-term (for a month, quarter, year).

Attention: A successful leader should not deviate a single step from the plan. You can make adjustments to it, for example, swap things around, the days of important meetings, plan events for another time, but you can’t change it radically in any case.

  1. Assign tasks and set deadlines for their completion. It is important to learn first of all to do things that have a limited time frame and those that require a lot of effort. Then you can plan medium-term tasks and work that requires the implementation of standard functions. The last thing to do is the less important work.
  1. Mandatory marking of urgent matters that arose on the eve of execution in your diary or calendar (allows the manager to have time to do everything on time, without missing important points).
  1. Analysis of all cases, reduction of the list of tasks (as far as possible).

To unload your day, it is important:

  1. Follow the restriction of the execution of cases: no more than 3 urgent, no more than 10 in total per day.
  2. In planning, adhere to the completion of complex tasks at a more favorable time, preferably in the morning, light ones - at the end of the work shift.
  3. Do not perform the next work without completing the previous one (it is important to plan the tasks in stages, having completed the previously agreed ones).
  4. Do not leave unfinished business, do not transfer them to the next business day.
  5. If there are still outstanding tasks, it is recommended to make a note about them in the calendar of important cases, where they should be specially noted. In the event that the same task stably "lives" in the diary for several days in a row, it is worth considering how to refuse it or simply transfer it to another person performing it.

Secrets of rational planning

Proper planning of the day will allow:

  • assessment of the work plan, adjustment of tasks, drawing up a daily routine;
  • control over the execution of cases, elimination of the simultaneous execution of several tasks (otherwise there is a risk of low performance in work);
  • completion of the started cases;
  • elimination of obstacles that prevent the manager from fulfilling the assigned tasks, distract attention, affect plans;
  • alternation of work with rest;
  • time planning analysis;
  • continuous improvement of their performance.

Secrets of saving the manager's time

  1. It is important to combine similar tasks, for example, combine negotiations, parse correspondence, respond to emails.
  2. Equally important is the creation of a calm environment. This is necessary so that nothing distracts from work.
  3. Limiting your working time will avoid unproductive results from business meetings.
  4. The ability to prioritize is an important indicator of rationality and consistency of affairs, which affects the achievement of goals.
  5. Performing exceptionally important tasks allows the leader to achieve high performance in his work.
  6. A significant part of the time will help to save the distribution of tasks between employees.
  7. Equally important is the phasing in the work. Moving towards the goal is much easier if you climb the stairs, starting with small things and reaching heights.
  8. Keeping a diary of important things will help eliminate the overlap of one task on another, the accumulation of cases at the end of the month.
  9. Important decisions are best made in the morning. In this way, you can create a feeling of success for the whole working day.
  10. When making plans, schedules, it is important to take into account the true level of ability to work, since it is he who affects the final result of the work.

Not everyone understands the importance of daily planning. But, those people who began to plan, very quickly were able to appreciate the benefits of this approach to the distribution of personal time. If you have not yet fallen in love with planning, and do not know why you need it, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of benefits that it provides.

1. Planning disciplines.

The ability to discipline oneself is very valuable for a person who seeks to achieve success in various areas of life. But, it's not easy to learn. Daily planning helps us to discipline ourselves, because we will act within the established framework. Over time, daily planning will help build a habit of discipline that can be used in other areas of life.

2. Planning simplifies the workflow.

Getting to work according to a plan drawn up in advance, we will be able to cope with its implementation much easier, because we will have clear instructions. Thanks to this, you can be less tired from daily activities and not overload yourself emotionally and physically.

3. Planning makes us more efficient.

By following a plan made in advance, it is much easier to get good results in the shortest possible time. Planning allows us to realize our maximum potential, because it directs our energy in a clear direction, not allowing us to scatter it in vain.

4. Planning reduces stress levels.

The daily activities of every person are inevitably associated with stress. Stress deconcentrates, disrupts the normal functioning of the body and nervous system, and reduces productivity. But, working on the list can significantly reduce stress levels.

5. Planning develops punctuality.

Making a daily to-do list helps you learn how to properly evaluate your time and allocate it. Thanks to this, punctuality gradually develops, and the ability to clearly determine how much and what task will take time. If you want to be the “master” of your time, start by making daily to-do lists.

6. Planning frees up free time.

Many today complain about the lack of time for personal life, leisure, recreation or any other business. Planning can help with this. Thanks to the fact that it increases your productivity and allows you to manage your time efficiently, you will work faster. Due to this, you will regularly have free days in order to spend them the way you want.

7. Planning keeps things organized.

Where there is order, everything is always simple and clear. Where there is no order, problems always accumulate that are difficult to unravel, like an unwound ball of thread. With daily to-do lists, your work will be clear, simple, and always organized. Of course, planning does not exclude the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances, but they do not have such destructive consequences as in the case of chaotic activity.

8. Planning frees the brain.

And because of this, it works much better and faster. If you don't write down the necessary tasks, you make sure to keep them in mind. Because of this, you can't use your mind to the maximum because it is busy with other tasks - trying not to forget what needs to be done next. But, if all your tasks are kept on paper, your brain is free from the need to remember everything, and will work to the maximum.

9. Planning promotes inspiration.

Probably, many people like to work in a state of inspiration. When you are inspired, filled with creative energy and inspiration, any task seems to be within your power. And you manage. Inspiration reveals creative potential, helps to solve even the most complex tasks easily and naturally. To stay in this state more often, you should start practicing daily planning. While you write down your affairs, you tune in to them, and a head free from worries is easily filled with inspiration.

10. Planning contributes to the achievement of goals.

Any successful person in their life will tell you this. Without a clear plan, of course, you can achieve your goal, but the process of conquering it will take much more time and effort. Having a clear plan of action in front of you, achieving the goal is easy and simple!
As you can see, there are a lot of advantages to daily planning, and not all of them are described in this article, but the most basic ones. By developing the habit of planning, you will put your life in order once and for all!

Set yourself goals like this
to be hard to miss.



Every change starts with a desire. In order to strive for something, you must first want it. The greatest success is achieved by people possessed by strong desires, often pathological passions. What, if not passion, made it possible for the greats of this world to spend 12-14 hours at their desks, leaving only the necessary minimum for sleep and food. However, these people are rarely happy, and passion itself is not a guarantee of success.

An animal's desire is instinctive and unformed. If you want to put the full power of the human intellect to the service of your desires, then you will have to act consciously and methodically. Methodical and conscious change requires a formalized and conscious desire, and formalization and awareness of desire is goal setting.

Target- an extremely powerful and effective tool in working on yourself. A well-defined goal performs three functions at once:

  1. She is helps to direct efforts. Until you set yourself a goal more or less formally, there is always a risk of falling under the influence of a stream of circumstances, being a leaf in the wind, doing not what you need, but what others are asking, or what to do now more comfortable and enjoyable, or do nothing. The goal is the first step to planning and structuring life.
  2. She is allows you to evaluate the success of actions. Knowing what we are striving for, imagining that point in the space of possible situations that we need to be, we can assess at each step how close we are to it.
  3. Goal Achievement brings positive emotions, which serve as positive reinforcement, reinforcing a constructive model of behavior. When you set a goal and achieve it, you experience the joy that will help you repeat this cycle: set the goal again, achieve it again, and experience joy again. Spinning this wheel in your character, you can turn yourself into a machine of success that will no longer be stopped.
Goals can be used to improve your performance at work, in your personal life, and in any other area where you want to make a difference. However, setting the right goal is not so easy as it may seem. In order for you to clearly understand whether the goal has been achieved or not, it must be clear enough. For example, if you set a goal to increase your professional level by one and a half times, then it is unlikely that you will be able to objectively control this milestone. If you set the goal of "becoming a foreman" (or a senior manager), then such a goal can also do more harm than good, since its achievement depends not only on you. This is a lottery. You can do your best, but you will never be appointed as a senior manager.

So in this case, for example, the following option will be correctly set: "Learn to weld ceiling seams", "Study the entire range of goods" or "Learn how to draw up invoices on a computer." And don't forget about deadlines, so you don't give the lazy guy in you the opportunity to gradually bring the whole enterprise to naught.

Thus:

The goal must be specific.


And, just as important:

Achieving the goal should depend only on you.


If you set yourself a task that is impossible, or one for which the chances are not great, then you have too many chances to receive negative reinforcement, and to fix in your subconscious a behavior pattern aimed at failure. However too simple a goal is also not good. Its achievement will not bring pleasure, feelings of overcoming. So the difficulty of the target should be optimal. In the event that you nevertheless suffered a failure, learn positive lessons from it too: analyze what went wrong? Did you put in enough effort? Or went the wrong way? Or was the task more difficult than it seemed at first? In any case, now you know and can do more than before.

So remember that:

The complexity of the goal should be optimal - significant, but feasible.


But at the same time:

Learn positive lessons from negative results as well.
Do not stop!


Now let's think about time scales. Remember how Khoja Nasreddin promised the Emir to teach the donkey to speak in 30 years? He reasonably reasoned that in 30 years someone would definitely die - either the emir, or the donkey, or Khoja himself. Similarly, a goal that is too distant in time will not help much in organizing life. On the other hand, in one day or a week you can hardly do much. How to be?

The simple way out is to structure goals, roughly like this:

  1. The goal is a dream. Orientation for decades, and even for a lifetime. For example: "I want to become a person who has all the knowledge and skills that are useful in life." This goal is difficult to set clearly. When this time passes, both you and the world will change. But still it is useful to have it on the horizon.
  2. Long term goal."Learn English to a conversational level - 3 years", "Learn to drive a car - 1 year" and so on. This level is more specific, but even here there is some uncertainty, since we are forced to plan actions about which we still know too little.
  3. intermediate goal. This is not what you need directly, but it is this level of planning that allows you to evaluate the success of moving towards larger goals. For example: "Learn the rules of the road - 1 month."
  4. Short term goal. What needs to be done right now. These tasks can be recorded in a weekly journal. For example: "Learn 5 cards." Short-term goals help you plan your day, week and turn a not-so-interesting activity into a game, into a competition with yourself.
Close targets, summing up, form more distant and larger ones. Once you reach one milestone, you already know what the next one will be. But from time to time they all need to be reviewed - after all, you learned something, became wiser, changed.

So, when setting goals, follow two more rules:

Structure your goals
And
Revise long-term goals as you get closer to them.


Of course, setting a goal is not the same as achieving it. But about how to move towards the goal, we will talk later. And you still need to start with the choice of the goal.

Maybe you're running into trouble trying to make sense of your life, or maybe you just want to organize your day. Either way, you'll need to make a plan. It may seem difficult to you, but with effort, creativity, using the right tools, you can properly prepare a plan and begin to achieve your goals.

Steps

Method One: Planning the Day

    Take a sheet of paper. You can write in a notebook, notepad, or create a text document on your computer, whichever is more convenient for you. Write a list of things to do that day, including scheduled appointments. What are your goals for the day? Do you want to include time for exercise or rest? What do you absolutely need to do?

    Create a schedule for yourself. What time do you need to finish the first task, project or task? List all the tasks, starting with the very first, and schedule tasks for the day by the hour. Be sure to include appointments if they are scheduled. Of course, everyone has different plans, so everyone has their own schedule. In general, the plan should look something like this:

    • 9:00 - 10:00: Come to work, check mail, answer letters.
    • 10:00 - 11:30: Meet Oleg and Natasha.
    • 11:30 - 12:30: Project #1.
    • 12:30 - 13:15: Lunch (healthy food).
    • 13:15 - 14:30: Review project #1, meet with Alexander to discuss project #1.
    • 14:30 - 16:00: Project #2.
    • 16:00 - 17:00: Start project #3, prepare materials for tomorrow.
    • 17:00 - 18:30: Leave the office, go to the gym.
    • 18:30 - 19:00: Shop for groceries on the way home.
    • 19:00 - 20:30: Prepare dinner, relax.
    • 20:30: Go to the cinema with Dima.
  1. Shift your attention to something else almost every hour. It is important to set aside a little time so that after each task you can review how effective you were during this time. See if you've done all you need to. Then allow yourself a moment to rest: close your eyes and relax. This way you can effectively move on to the next task.

    Review your day. When most of the day has passed, review how you were able to stick to the plan. Were you able to finish everything you wanted? Where did you make a mistake? What worked and what didn't? What distracted you, and how can you prevent it in the future?

    Method Two: Life Planning

    Part One: Assessing Your Own Roles

    1. Determine what roles you play in life. Every day we play different roles (from student to son, from artist to biker). You need to think about what roles you play in life at the moment.

      • These roles may include traveler, student, daughter, writer, artist, worker, tourist, grandson, thinker, etc.
    2. Decide what roles you want to play in your life. Many of these future roles may overlap with those you currently play. These are the nouns you want to identify yourself with at the end of your life. Take note of the roles you are currently playing. Are there any that bother you a lot? If yes, then they do not need to be played further. Make a list of roles in order from most to least important. This will help you determine what you truly value in life and what matters most to you. But do not forget that this list can change significantly, as you, too, are constantly evolving.

      • Your list might look something like this: mother, daughter, wife, traveler, glass blower, caregiver, volunteer, backpacker, etc.
    3. You need to understand why you want to play the roles you want. Choosing a role for yourself is a great way to define who you are, but the reason you want to play a role is because of its meaning. Perhaps you want to be a volunteer because you see the problems in the world and want to do your part to fix them. Or perhaps you desire to be a father because you want to give your children a wonderful childhood.

      • In order to determine the purpose of your role, you can imagine your funeral (this may seem terrible, but it works well). Who will come to them? What would you like to be said about you? What do you want to be remembered for?

    Part Two: Goal Setting and Planning

    1. Set big goals that you want to achieve over the course of your life. How do you want to develop? What are you striving to achieve? Think of it like a list of things you want to do in your life before you die. These should be the goals you really want to achieve - not the ones you seem necessary. Sometimes it's easier to categorize goals to make them easier to present. These categories include the following (of course, not only them):

      • Career/Vocation; trips; family/friends; health; money; knowledge/intelligence; spiritual world.
      • Here are some examples of goals (in the order of the categories listed above): print a book; visit all continents; get married / get married and raise children; lose 10 kg; earn enough money to educate children at the university; get a master's degree in the specialty "Philology"; learn more about Buddhism.
    2. Set specific goals and determine specific dates by which they need to be achieved. Now that you have your life goals in general, set specific goals. That is, determine the dates by which you need to reach them. Here are examples of more specific goals than in the previous paragraph:

      • Submit the manuscript to 30 publishers by June 2014.
      • Travel to South America in 2015 and Asia in 2016
      • Until January 2015, lose weight up to 55 kg.
      • Your goal is to print the book and send the manuscript to publishers by November 2014. At this point, you have already written half of it, but you are not completely sure that you like it.
    3. Decide how you will achieve your goals. What steps will need to be taken to achieve it? Evaluate and write them down. Let's continue the book publishing example:

      • From now until November 2014, you need to: A. Re-read the first half of the book. B. Finish the book. B. Redo things you don't like. D. Correct grammatical, punctuation, spelling errors, etc. E. Have a few critics you know read the book and ask for feedback. E. Determine which publishers might want to publish your book. Y. Submit the manuscript.
    4. Write down all your goals in steps. You can do it in any format convenient for you: manually, on a computer, draw, etc. And congratulations! You have just made a plan for your life!

      Review and adjust your plan. Like everything in this world, your life will change with your goals. What was important to you at 12 may not be as important at 22 or 42. Changing your life plan is normal: it shows that you yourself understand the changes in your life and adapt to them.

    Method Three: Problem Solving Plan

    First part: identifying the problem

      Determine what problem you are facing. Sometimes the hardest part of making a plan to solve a problem is having doubts about what the problem is. Often it gives rise to other troubles. In this case, you need to understand the root of the problem - the main issue that needs to be addressed.

      • For example, your mom won't let you go skiing with a friend in four weeks. This is of course a problem, but you need to understand its root. The bottom line is that you have a 3 in math, so your mom doesn't want you to go skiing on the weekends. So the problem is that you don't do well in math class. This is what you need to concentrate on.
    1. You must know what results you hope to get by solving the problem. What goal do you want to achieve by eliminating it? Perhaps you are hoping for more than one outcome. Focus on achieving the goal, you will get the rest after that.

      • For example, your goal is to get your grade up to at least a 4 in math. At the same time, you hope that when you improve your grade, your mom will let you go skiing.
    2. Determine what your actions are causing the problem. What habits may contribute to its development. Take your time and consider what you are doing wrong.

      • Your problem is 3 in math. See what your actions are causing the problem: you talk a lot with your neighbor in class, or you don’t do your homework in the evening because you recently signed up for football, and all you want after practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays is dinner and lie down sleep.
    3. Consider what external factors are contributing to the problem. In addition to their own actions, due to which a problem may arise, external factors can also cause it. Think what it could be.

      • You have a 3 in math and this needs to be corrected. Perhaps it's the fact that you don't really understand the material that's bothering you, not the fact that you're talking in class. Maybe you've never been good at algebra. After all, you don't really know where to look for help.

    Part Two: Finding Solutions and Making a Plan

    1. Identify possible solutions to your problem. You can simply write them down on paper or use special techniques, such as making an associogram. Whatever you choose, find solutions to correct your own actions, as well as eliminate external factors that contribute to the development of the problem.

      • How not to talk to your neighbor: A. Sit away from him. B. Tell him that you have a very low grade in the subject and you need to pay attention. C. If you have a writing assignment, ask the teacher to seat you so that you can concentrate better.
      • How to do homework despite training: A. Do some of your homework during your lunch break, or when you have free time during the day so you don't have to do everything in the evening. B. Make a schedule for yourself and strictly follow it: after class you will have dinner and then do your homework. After you're done, you can watch TV for an hour as a reward.
      • What to do if you do not understand algebra. A. Ask a classmate to explain to you what you do not understand (only if nothing will distract you). B. Ask the teacher for help. Approach him after class and ask if you could meet him sometime, as you have some homework questions. C. Contact a tutor or sign up for a course.
    2. Make a plan. Now that you've figured out the root of the problem and found several solutions, choose the ones you think will work best and write down a plan for yourself to help you visualize it. Hang it where you can see it often, such as on the mirror you look into every day. You don't need to use all of the solutions listed, but you should save a couple just in case.

      • Your math improvement plan should look something like this:
      • Plan to increase the score in 4 weeks:
        • Tell Sasha that I can’t talk in class (if he continues, then change seats).
        • Do my homework every Tuesday and Thursday during my lunch break so I can go to practice but don't have to do much in the evening when I get home.
        • Study with a math tutor on Mondays and Wednesdays; ask the teacher if there is anything else I can do to improve my grade.
      • Goal: By the fourth week, I will have corrected my grade from 3 to at least 4.
    3. When one week has passed, evaluate how successful your plan is. During the first week, did you do everything as planned? If not, what did you do wrong? By understanding what you need to work on, next week you will be able to stick to the plan more effectively.

    4. Once you've reached a goal, cross it off your plan to see your progress.
    5. Don't forget that planning is the only part of the job that turns chaos into mistakes. Don't expect that just because you have a plan, you can easily achieve everything without making mistakes. The plan is just a starting point.
    6. As you add details to your plans, try to guess what could go wrong and develop contingency plans.