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The Power of Daily Plan

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There is a P in my MBTI result

In other words, I find it difficult to set clear plans, and I am more accustomed to handling things spontaneously. The reason I use the words “difficult” and “accustomed” is not because I dislike planning or prefer working on impulse.

I don’t know about others with a P-type personality, but at least for me, I want to be more like a J.

Especially in my profession as a developer, having a well-structured plan is often essential for getting work done effectively.

Why Planning Matters

People who have achieved great success in life all have one thing in common: they plan their day before they start.

They don’t do this because they have too much or too little time. Instead, they take a sacred moment to determine the priorities for the day.

I describe it as “sacred” because it is a moment where we acknowledge the natural limitations of time that we, as humans, cannot escape.

The Challenges of Planning

But planning isn’t easy.

  • Should I be conservative with my plans to avoid failure?
  • Or should I set goals based on my ambition to complete everything I want?
  • What should I do when unexpected events force me to adjust my plans?

Even though I am a P-type, I don’t start my day without any plans at all. However, I struggle to create detailed plans. I leave multiple possibilities open for tasks that may change, so it’s hard for me to set a clear, measurable goal for what I will complete.

Learning from the Best

So, how do highly skilled people approach this?

Someone I deeply admire follows a simple rule: They plan their day based on the maximum number of hours they can fully focus on work.

Within that time, they prioritize the most important tasks instead of simply listing everything they need to do.

Even though their to-do list was short, they carefully considered the importance and urgency of each task. This approach made them a smart, efficient, and highly capable worker.

The Importance of Planning in Workplaces

Many IT companies require employees to plan their daily tasks and share them with the team. However, not all workplaces have such systems in place.

I believe that creating a daily work plan is the single most important task, even if your company doesn’t require it.

This habit offers more than just team alignment and problem-solving efficiency.

More importantly, it helps you understand your own workload and set priorities to maximize productivity within your available time.

If You Haven’t Been Planning, Start Now

Regardless of experience level, if you are still starting your day without a plan, I strongly encourage you to make a change immediately.

At first, I also thought, “Why waste time planning? I should just get to work.” Because of this mindset, I missed multiple opportunities to build a solid planning habit.

But as my workload grew and I needed to prioritize, I realized that changing my deeply ingrained habit of not planning was incredibly difficult.

Even now, I am still working on improving, and I am writing this to keep myself motivated.

If You Don’t Know Where to Start

That’s okay. Planning is never easy.

No one is good at it from the beginning. But with time and practice, you will get better at it.

One important thing: don’t be too ambitious. If you plan too many tasks, you will only end up feeling overwhelmed.

Instead, prioritize what truly matters within your time constraints, and have the courage to delay or eliminate tasks that don’t fit into your schedule.

We cannot do everything

Even the exceptional people we look up to don’t do everything. The difference is that they distinguish between what is important and what is not.

They don’t try to do it all. Instead, they focus on their priorities with a sense of humility — knowing that time is limited, and they must make the most of it.