Getting Started: Setting Daily Goals-Maximizing Your Productivity Zones

Setting Your Sights: Daily Goals for Productivity Zones Okay, I'm assuming you're already familiar with SkedPal's productivity zones. Just as a quick recap, these zones represent the different categories of work you juggle.

Think about it: what are the broad areas of your work that reflect your core responsibilities? Hopefully, you've already set up some zones with budgets.

Now, the Status Tracker takes these zones to the next level by allowing you to define daily goals for each one. Essentially, you tell SkedPal how much time you want to dedicate to each zone every day.

For example, if you're a freelancer who prioritizes creative work, you'll want SkedPal to nudge you and remind you to spend at least a certain amount of time each day on your creative endeavors, preventing you from getting sidetracked by administrative or marketing tasks.

Let's get practical. To set up your daily zone goals, navigate to the web app settings and select 'Zones' from the left pane.

When you select a specific zone, you'll see an option to set a minimum time you want to spend in that zone for each day of the week. This is fully customizable, allowing you to leave it blank for weekends or any other days where you don't want to set a daily goal.

It's important to understand that these minimum daily goals don't directly impact SkedPal's automatic scheduling. SkedPal's scheduling is primarily driven by how you prioritize your tasks.

Instead, these daily goals serve as a proactive reminder system. SkedPal will provide you with a notification at the start of the day and throughout the day if you are falling short of your targets for a specific zone.

Often, your initial schedule will already include the minimum time you've set for a zone. However, as we all know, distractions and competing priorities can arise during the day. This is where the Status Tracker steps in, providing that helpful nudge to carefully consider your options and stay aligned with your goals.

It's also important to be aware of the zero-sum game at play here. If you decide to engage in an activity mid-day that will cause you to fall below your daily goal for a zone, it's beneficial to receive that notification in the moment, enabling you to make a more informed decision about how to proceed.

In addition to receiving notifications, you can also check the Agenda view in the desktop app to monitor your daily goals and track your progress. This view displays what you've already completed and what's still scheduled for the remainder of the day. Note that this information will only appear if you have set up at least one zone with a daily goal.

Now you understand how to set up daily zone goals and how they help you stay on track throughout your day. However, setting goals is only part of the equation. The real power lies in receiving the right reminders at the right time. In the next video, we'll guide you through setting up your notifications to help you stay focused, motivated, and make the most of every day.