While browsing the Internet last week, I came across a website offering business management tips. The bulk of the information was obvious, and I use many of the tips on a daily basis. But one tip stood out, and it was one that I had never considered - over planning your day.

Knowing how I function and my personality, I would never dream of over planning my day. Besides the goal is to be more productive and less stressed. On the surface, over planning one’s day seems to create additional problems. Rather than have four or five tasks to complete, there’s now seven or eight. And what about down time?

But after a little meditation, I think I understand the significance of the advice.

A large percentage of people don’t complete their daily to-do lists. There’s always a tendency to slack and fall short of our own expectations. In other words, if we have five things on our lists, we might complete two or three. Increase this number to ten, and we may complete seven or eight tasks. I don’t know why…but the more assignments we have, the more we’re likely to accomplish. So by over planning our days, we might actually become more productive.

I haven’t tested this theory, so I don’t know if there’s any truth behind the statement. But anything that claims to increase productivity is worth a try. I’m going to put this method to the test. Who knows, I may have stumbled on a new way to accomplish more. And if it works, I’ll have to incorporate this technique into every aspect of my life.