3498: [Part 1] 30 Days of Daily Planning for a Better Life by Michael Mehlberg on How to Increase Productivity

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00] Überlass deine gesunde Ernährung und die Gains nicht nur deinem Bauchgefühl. Denn bei der Ernährung gaukelt uns unser innerer Schweinehund manchmal ganz schön was vor. Sag stattdessen Hallo zu deinem neuen Coach, Yasio. Yasio ist die meistgenutzte Ernährungs-App Europas, made in Germany. Egal ob Massephase oder ein bisschen Abnehmen, tracke Kalorien, Proteine, Carbs, Fette, Bewegung und Intervallfasten. Und mit den Tasty-Rezepten bist du ready für deine Ziele. Let's go! Lade die Yasio-App jetzt herunter.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_01] This is Optimal Living Daily, 30 Days of Daily Planning for a Better Life, Part 1 by Michael Mehlberg of michehlmelberg.com. And I'm Justin Malik. Welcome to one of the only podcasts in the world where blogs are narrated to you for free with permission from the authors. It's an award-winning podcast thanks to you. Today I have a bit of a longer post so I'll read the first half today then finish the rest for you tomorrow. So with that let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_01] 30 Days of Daily Planning for a Better Life, Part 1 by Michael Mehlberg of michehlmelberg.com. The last place I ever wanted to be was on a twin-engine propeller plane in an ice storm. Yet there I was sitting in seat 2B listening to the engine's labor to keep 20 tons of metal and humanity afloat.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_01] Unlike the constant drone of a jet engine, this prop plane had a chant, a repetitive roar intermingled with a gnarly growl, like a lion voicing his displeasure as he tumbled around in an industrial dryer.

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_01] In an instant, the growl swelled to a shriek. The plane dipped right, the engine screamed, and a gunshot sound rang through the cabin as something, a sledgehammer for all I knew, hit the outer side wall as hard as a wild pitch from Max Scherzer. In an attempt to reduce our blood pressure, the pilot came over the intercom in a calm and confident voice.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_01] Uh, ladies and gentlemen of the cabin, this is your captain speaking. We had a bit of ice buildup on the propeller here, so we spun it up to throw it off. Sounds like some of it may have hit the side of the plane, but there's nothing to worry about. Everything looks clear now, and we should have a smooth sailing ahead. I didn't believe him until we landed. And we did. Land, that is. We landed and watched the maintenance crew on the tarmac pointing to the dented fuselage.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_01] We watched them laugh, and I imagined them joking at how we'd narrowly escaped death. It was then that I realized that the captain, in his thousands of hours of training, had encountered this problem before. He had drilled and exercised this very scenario. He had a plan that kept us on track and got us safely to our destination, albeit rattled. Prevent unnecessary failure.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_01] Planning for common failures makes sense. If ice builds up on your propeller mid-flight, you don't want to be inventing a solution while cruising at 35,000 feet. Panicking and making the wrong decision could mean certain death. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so it's best not to die when learning through failure. But planning for failure is only half of the equation. Planning a path to your destination also makes sense, and not just for flying an airplane.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_01] With all the moving parts, deadlines, stakeholders, and budgets typically found in a big project, creating a plan is fundamental to its success. Imagine trying to build something as complicated as a house without planning. Even simple things like putting up the drywall before the electrical is strung could set you back an enormous amount of money and time. The drywall team wouldn't notice or care that the electricity wasn't installed. They'd just finish the job you asked.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_01] The electrical team wouldn't care that the drywall was already up. They'd tear down chunks as necessary to make room for their installation. Madness. Save energy. Save energy. Breed excellence. More practically though, planning, whether to prepare for in-flight problems or to take on a big project, saves energy and breeds excellence. When you've planned thoroughly, your end goal doesn't seem so insurmountable.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_01] Having a plan is tantamount to laying stepping stones between where you are and where you want to be. Should you encounter obstacles along the way, you'll still be ahead of someone who doesn't have a plan. You won't have wasted brain power on simple expected issues, leaving more of your energy to deal with the unexpected. Set yourself on the right path forward. And the unexpected will happen. You've probably already heard the quote by Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_01] This is true, and not just for professional boxers. Getting punched in the mouth is symbolism for any number of factors that distract, interrupt, or otherwise disrupt our day. While you may have a plan to, for example, get to zero inbox by noon, your product could unexpectedly break down, causing thousands of angry customers to email you at 11 a.m.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_01] While you may have a plan to, for example, leave work early and take your family out to eat, your boss could drop a last-minute task on your plate, causing you to work later than expected. That's the equivalent of getting punched in the mouth. That's okay because it's not your plan that's important, it's the planning it took to get there. The process of planning helps you anticipate the unexpected. Planning helps you identify strengths and weaknesses.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_01] Planning helps you identify inefficiencies and make the most of your available resources. If and when your plan goes to s*** because you get punched in the mouth or ice builds up on your proverbial propeller, throw your plan out. You won't be flying blind, you'll have all the thoughts from the process of planning to guide you to the right solution. Plan today, tomorrow.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_01] In answer to the question at hand, you can probably anticipate what I would suggest you do in 20 minutes a day for the next 30 days to make your life better. Plan. I'm not talking about planning for problems in flight, nor am I talking about planning to get in the ring with Mike Tyson. I'm not even talking about planning for major projects, big events, or other such activities. Planning for those things is necessary, of course,

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_01] but there's an often overlooked type of planning that can have a huge impact on your time, your energy, your ability to work on what matters, and getting s*** done. I'm talking about planning your day. Quote, If it's not on your calendar, it's not a priority. If you don't have goals for it, you're probably not thinking about it. If you're not thinking about it, then it's probably falling apart. Benjamin Hardy

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_01] Planning your tomorrow at the end of today is a simple activity you can do in 20 minutes or less to prepare you for the battle to come. Planning for the events of tomorrow before you head to bed tonight will drastically increase your productivity and help you focus on what matters while avoiding distractions that don't. Planning your day today for tomorrow and every day for the next 30 days will also make your life measurably better in the following ways. Number one, you'll become conscious of your free time.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_01] Number two, you'll schedule important work before distractions like social media take control. Number three, you'll better control when you work, when you rest, and when you take off. And number four, you'll begin to recognize how often you need a break and how long those breaks need to last before you can effectively get back to work. These benefits are why some of the most successful people, living and dead, plan their day in advance. Successful planning.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_01] Who and how. Benjamin Franklin is well known for his daily plan, which he laid out in advance. Every morning he'd rise at 5 a.m. to the same daily ritual. Work, read, work some more, rest, examine his day, and sleep. He's also well known for saying, by failing to plan, you're planning to fail. Good advice from a legend, but he's not the only one.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_01] Alexander Graham Bell once said, before anything else, preparation is the key to success. And if you think those two gents are out of touch with modern life, take notice of what former American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault does every night before bed, listing three important things he wants to get done the following day so he can wake up and begin working on what matters. In fact, in a survey of 163 corporate leaders from Fortune 500 companies,

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_01] the average leader spent 25 minutes on strategy and planning every morning. Finally, if this anecdotal evidence isn't enough, researchers Bruce Britton and Abraham Tesser studied the effect of time management practices on college students' GPAs. Shockingly, they showed that time management skills were a bigger influence on GPA than their ability to perform in school as measured by their high school SAT scores. In other words, if you want a higher GPA,

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_01] your ability to manage your time had a bigger influence than your previous performance. The takeaway? Planning your day in advance is the single most effective thing you can do to produce measurable results consistently. And the process is dead simple. Hear the process in tomorrow's episode. You just listened to part one of the post titled, 30 Days of Daily Planning for a Better Life

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_01] by Michael Melberg of michaelmelberg.com. I'll be right back with my commentary. Looking for a snack that works as hard as you do? Wonderful Pistachios is one of the highest protein nuts. Each one ounce serving has six grams of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value. Pistachios are known for their protein power, fiber, and better-for-you unsaturated fats for a combination that may help keep you feeling fuller longer.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_01] Plus Wonderful Pistachios is a complete protein, providing all nine essential amino acids. Super satisfying, cracking open the shell, but their no-shells varieties give you all that nutritious goodness without slowing you down. They're perfect for those busy days when you need a quick protein boost. With delicious options like sweet chili and honey roasted, there's a flavor for every craving. And their newest flavor, unsalted no-shells, holds the salt, but definitely not the flavor.

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_01] Whether you're powering through your day or unwinding in the evening, Wonderful Pistachios is your perfect snacking companion. Get snacking and get cracking with a snack that packs a protein punch. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more. Thank you to Michael. I'm glad the article moved more into planning our day specifically, instead of just settling on planning as a whole. Because I think planning and worrying can be easily confused.

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_01] They can feel similar, but they're very different. I've noticed in my own life, especially after reading and narrating thousands of articles on this show, that worrying tends to spiral. Takes us down these rabbit holes of what-ifs that aren't really helping us. Planning, on the other hand, is more constructive. It's about taking action and being prepared, rather than just spinning our wheels with anxiety. So we might convince ourselves that we're planning, but we might actually just be worrying. It's important to know the difference.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_01] For me personally, I tend to be someone who likes to go with the flow, rather than plan everything out. But I've learned over time, especially with running this podcast and our other shows in the Optimal Living Daily Network, that having some kind of plan really does make a difference. Like Michael said, it's not about the plan being perfect. It's more about the process of thinking things through. So if you're not much of a planner, I think this one's still worth a listen and hearing the steps in part two. So on that note, we'll finish the article tomorrow.

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01] For now, thank you for being here and listening. Have a great rest of your day. And I'll see you tomorrow for part two, Where Your Optimal Life. No weights.