Are you living day-to-day? Do you wake up every morning with a game plan, or like Lebron James in games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, do you let the game come to you? As Lebron clearly learned in the later games of the series, an aggressive posture can yield significant results. Having a plan of attack for everything you do is essential for success. The Ririan project recently published an article that included steps for getting 200% more out of your day. The step that caught our attention was number one, “get ready the night before.”

“It does make life in the mornings SO much easier. Whatever you can get done the night before, from laying out the outfit you plan to wear, to setting the breakfast table, to checking your to-do list, to filling your car’s gas tank, the more you’ll be able to get done the next day.”

Remember when “moms” made you get your clothes ready the night before school, made you take a shower at night and asked you to put your book bag by the door so you wouldn’t forget it in the morning? What a concept. Somewhere between middle school and college this practice went out the window, didn’t it? If you want to be more productive, we suggest attempting to bring this practice back in the form of something we like to call the “evening reset.”

The concept is simple. After you arrive home, take a little time out of your evening to “reset” for the next day. Some examples of what you might do include, packing your clothes for the gym and placing you gym bag by the door, making your lunch, choosing what you will wear to work the next day, taking a shower, etc.

To begin, we suggest picking just one item to reset or setting a time limit for how long you will spend “resetting.” As you get more comfortable with the routine you can add more tasks. It is important, however, not to go overboard. Remember to take time to “reset” your mind by relaxing and mentally preparing for the next day.

Having a plan of attack and a little preparation will do wonders for your day and week. If you have any tips for getting your day off to the right start let us know in the comments. - IM