Stop Wasting Time and Start Maximizing Each Day with This 3-Minute Routine

Implement a proven practice from “the Father of Management," Peter Drucker, and have your best days ever.

The PDI / ADL method has helped me live my days more intentionally. My wife, Kerry, has even start using it some days to make sure she is making the most of our precious time on earth.

Are you tired of wasting your life away on time killers like social media?

Then, in the next two minutes, I want you to learn a simple technique to regain control of your time..

Why learn it?

Time is the most important resource we have.

The method is called the Perfect Day Itinerary and Actual Day Log or PDI/ADL for short.

PDI/ADL is a mashup of two methods:

1. The Perfect Day Itinerary from entrepreneur Lewis Howes

2. The Actual Day Log from management executive Peter Drucker.

Drucker notes that you can do it for a few weeks at a time at least twice a year. Others do it more frequently, and adjust their schedules based on what is actually productive. I recommend trying it for at least two weeks, and returning to it whenever you feel your focus drifting. On days I feel distracted, I do a PDI / ADL to regain focus.

There are just two steps — PDI (1) and ADL (2).

Step 1. Complete the Perfect Day Itinerary (PDI)

(Time: ~3 minutes)

A Perfect Day Itinerary I put together 8 years ago. I still do this practice to this day.

The premise is simple. Make an itinerary for your perfect day.

You can do this in a journal or on an app like Notes or Google Calendar. I prefer doing it in a journal because that way I can avoid looking at my phone for awhile after I wake up.

On the left side of a journal, write the date and PDI at the top of the paper.

Then, number the hours you want to be awake.

Next, schedule what you want to accomplish in your perfect day. Include breaks, meals, time with friends and family, and whatever you really want to do.

You can draw your tasks or action items from a project management software like Asana or Monday.com or a running to-do list you have. Or you can brainstorm them on the spot. That’s what my wife likes to do.

You can see an example of what one of my PDIs from eight years ago looks like above. My current itineraries have much more margin built in — time for relaxing, quality time with my wife, etc.

That’s it. You’re done with step one.

Step 2. Keep an Actual Day Log (ADL)

An actual day log lining up with the same day as the Derfect Day Itinerary.

In his 1966 book, The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker writes:

“The effective executive…knows that to manage his time, he first has to know where it actually goes.”

In order to track time, Drucker encourages readers to keep an Actual Day Log.

Once again, I find this easiest to do in a journal or on an app like Notes.

Number it just like you did your PDI above. Every 30 minutes to 2 hours, write what you actually did during that time. This will show how you're using your time.

You’ll be able to spot where you’re using your time wisely and where you’re wasting time.

The idea isn’t to be a productivity machine, but rather to be intentional of how you’re spending your time, and concious if you’re achieving that or not.

Try PDI/ADL for at least a couple weeks, and watch how much better you get at utilizing your precious time on earth.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

- Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

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Thank you for reading!

Please comment below. How do you make sure you are making the most of your time?

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