Do you ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done; even though they are? As someone who juggles multiple responsibilities and personalities, from work, career, business and family to hobbies and personal projects, I know this feeling all too well. But over the years, I’ve learned that one of the most effective ways to stay on track and accomplish your goals is through writing out the key result you want to achieve for that day.
In this blog post, I’ll share my approach to planning my day and how it helps me stay intentional as the day goes by.
I’ll provide a practical approach for anyone looking to optimize their day, whether you’re a busy professional, a student with a packed schedule, or just someone who wants to make the most of their day, I hope that my experience and advice can help you achieve your objectives and design a more intentional lifestyle.
Starting Out
For years, I found that setting daily goals never seemed to work for me. I thought it was a reflection of my intelligence and work ethic. However, in 2021, something clicked for me when I realized that I could bring my experience with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from my career into my personal planning system. My bosses had previously commended my ability to draw out business strategies, leading to their recommendation that I become a Business Analyst.
Using KPIs, but in a simplified form, I implemented this idea into my planning system, and it has been working great so far. Instead of focusing on goals, I now focus on the key results I want to achieve for the day. By doing this, I have become more efficient with my time.
Understanding KPIs
In the context of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), a key result refers to a measurable outcome that contributes to the achievement of a specific goal or objective.
For example, if an organization’s goal is to increase sales revenue, a key result for this goal may be to increase the number of leads generated by 10 this week; this key result can be tracked and measured cause it is specific and measurable that help track progress towards achieving a particular goal or objective. By focusing on key results, organizations can prioritize their efforts, monitor their progress, and make adjustments as needed to improve performance and achieve their desired outcomes.
Now imagine, applying that to your daily planning system; for example, if your goal is to increase your income, you make sure you have one objective for the day and the key result you will tick off for that day.
This system is what I also apply to my yearly, quarterly, monthly, and weekly planning systems, but before embarking on this journey ask yourself this:
- Do you want to plan your day before or on that day?
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The Next Step To Planing Your Day Intentionally
Settled down on the above answer, before you move to the next instruction; one piece of advice I want you to remember is that not every key result will be achieved, this could be due to time, network, electricity, people and chores to do.
From your weekly key results page, pick 2 key results you want to achieve from every area of your life for that week, an example below is of week 2 of February and the key result for the week:
Example With Key Result
| Key Result in Area of Life | Day of the week |
|---|---|
| Monday Get 2 members to sign up for the community Talk to 2 of the community members 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Sent 2 cold emails to prospective clients Update the website about me by removing redundant words Update the novellisteer airtable content Engage with 5 community member Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 4 steps | |
| 9 to 5 Get 5 members to sign up for the community Talk to 5 of the community members Publish 1 email via substack Cold email 10 people to join the community Set up a Notion dashboard that will help manage community activities | Tuesday Get 3 members to sign up for the community Talk to 3 of the community members 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Update portfolio with 1 case study Clean up 1 of the google doc to H5 Update 1 novellisteer old blog post to a conclusion Write the business plan to 40% Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 4 steps |
| Skill up 7 days of the Excel course on Coursera 7 days of Chinese practices Read chapter 1 of building an anomaly detection Update your catalogue with 2 new pieces of information | Wednesday Cold email 5 people to join the community Publish 1 email via substack 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Set up the community discovery calendly calendar Clean up 1 of the google doc to H5 Update 1 novellisteer old blog post to a conclusion Write the business plan to 30% Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 3 steps |
| Freelancing Sent 2 prospective clients cold emails Update portfolio with 1 case study Clean up 2 of the google doc to H5 each Update the website about me by removing redundant words Set up the community discovery calendly calendar | Thursday Cold email 5 people to join the community Sketch out the Notion Dashboard 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 3 steps |
| Business Write a business plan for novellisteer Update the novellisteer airtable content Publish 1 blog post Engage with 5 community member Update 2 novellisteer old blog post | Friday Create the Notion Dashboard to be 80% ready by next week 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Read chapter 1 of building an anomaly detection Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 4 steps |
| Mindset Write the daily page for 7 days Morning routine follow for 7 days | Saturday 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Publish novellisteer blog post Update your catalogue with 1 new piece of information Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 5 steps |
| Sunday 30 minutes of Excel class 30 minutes of Chinese practices Update your catalogue with 1 new piece of information Write on the daily page with 500 words Follow the morning routine by less than or equal to 5 steps |
The Tips To Staying Intentional
The table above is a quick example of what mine might look like if it was real, planning your day with key results instead of goals, can help to streamline your efforts, monitor your progress, and achieve better results.
Here are some steps you can follow to use key results to plan your day:
- Start by setting your top area of life: Before you can determine your key results, you need to have a clear idea of what area of life for the day are you going to work on. Write them down and use them to assign your key results.
- Identify the key results that will help you feel more intentional about that day: For each area of life, identify the specific outcomes that you want to achieve. What are the measurable results that will indicate that you have successfully completed that priority? These are your key results.
- Assign metrics to your key results: In order to track your progress, you need to assign specific metrics to each key result. For example, if one of your key results is to complete a report, you can assign the metric of “number of pages written” to that key result.
- Track your progress at the end of the day: Doing this will help you stay intentional about the next day, whether you need to switch things up for the next day and allow you to make adjustments as needed to ensure that you are on track to achieve your goals.
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Final Thought
By setting a clear key result for the day, you can tick off some of your key results for the day and make progress towards your long-term goal. Of course, planning is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and what works for me might not work for everyone. But with the right mindset and strategies, anyone can design a daily planning system that suits their needs and preferences.
Whether you prefer using a paper planner, a digital tool, or a combination of both, the key is to stay committed, stay flexible, and stay motivated. By regularly reviewing your progress, adjusting your approach as needed, and celebrating your successes, you can create a daily planning routine that intentionally enhances your quality of life.
So, if you’re looking to optimize your daily routine and achieve more with less stress and effort, I encourage you to give this strategy a try. With a little bit of practice and persistence, I’m confident that you can join the ranks of those individuals who are living their best lives through intentional daily planning.
Chat With Me
Thanks for reading! I hope this blog post on using key results to plan your day has been helpful in you staying intentional about your day.
Now, I want to hear from you.
- Have you tried using key results to plan your day?
- If so, how has it worked for you?
- Do you have any other tips or strategies for using key results in your daily planning?
- I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights in the comments below.
Let’s continue the conversation and share our experiences to help each other become more intentional in our daily lives.
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