Mornings are when you have the most energy and the least clarity. Planning the night before fixes that: you start the day doing, not deciding.
The 5-minute routine
- Close today (1 min). Tick off what's done. Anything left: move it to tomorrow or drop it on purpose.
- Pick three priorities (1 min). If tomorrow only had room for three things, which would they be?
- Give them a time (2 min). Put the hardest in your best hours, usually the morning. This is time blocking.
- Set the start (30 s). Wake-up time, and the first thing you'll do.
- Put the phone away (30 s). Scrolling after planning undoes it: here's how to make it stop on its own.
Doing it in ARCO
- On Today, tap the date strip and choose tomorrow.
- Open Plan your day and place your tasks and habits at a time, or leave small ones as Anytime.
- Set your Wake up alarms: up to five, minutes apart, so the morning actually starts.
- Add a Blocked Hours window for the night so the feed doesn't eat your sleep.
Why it works
Deciding is tiring. Doing it at night, when the day is fresh in your mind, removes dozens of small decisions from the morning, and a plan made in advance is much easier to follow than one made under pressure.