When you look around at people who have achieved great success, it’s hard to fathom how they manage to keep up with everything happening around them. Running a successful company or writing a best-selling novel can’t be that easy, can it? The truth is, highly successful people know how to create successful plans, which directly translates to accomplishing their goals. As Leonardo da Vinci once said, “People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”

Successful people don’t sit around waiting and hoping for desired results. They understand that success is never accidental, but rather the result of careful planning, preparation, and aligning their time with their most important goals. Here are eight ways these successful individuals make the most of their time and create successful plans.

1. Saving Decision Making for Important Things
Highly successful people simplify their lives by minimizing the amount of decisions they have to make on trivial matters. They understand that only a few decisions truly matter when it comes to planning for success. They internalize the fact that every decision doesn’t have to be optimal or perfect, which frees them to make quick decisions most of the time. They automate and simplify decisions in their daily routine, allowing them to focus their decision-making abilities on the highest impact decisions they face each day.

2. Having a Consistent Morning Routine
Successful people create momentum at the start of the day through consistent morning routines. They use successful plans that include activities such as meditation, reading, journaling, exercise, prioritizing their day, envisioning a successful day, and eating a nutritious breakfast to fuel their day. Each successful person customizes their routine to fit their own lifestyle and set themselves up for success and motivation.

3. Having a Consistent Nightly Routine
Successful people don’t wait until the morning to prepare for a successful day; they start the night before. They unplug from their devices, read, meditate, and plan for the next day. By doing this, they wake up relaxed and stress-free because they have already designed the blueprint for a productive day. They understand that successful plans can only be implemented when they’re well-rested and mentally prepared.

4. Planning Ahead Thoroughly
Detailed and strategic planning is a major factor that sets highly successful people apart from average performers. They spend more time thinking about their big-picture goals and ideas, allowing them to make key decisions deliberately, methodically, and strategically. Successful people create thorough plans that provide clarity on what they should be working on at any given time. By separating the planning and creation processes, they are able to produce at high levels.

5. Creating a System for Planning
Highly successful people understand the importance of carving out time for planning. Bill Gates, for example, secludes himself from distractions during Think Week twice a year to review projects and generate new ideas. They regularly schedule time to review their priorities, goals, and roadmaps to achieve them. By monitoring their progress and iterating their plans based on results and lessons learned, they ensure that their successful plans remain relevant and effective.

6. Prioritizing
Successful people consistently evaluate their priorities and reorganize the order as circumstances change. They understand that if they don’t prioritize their projects, they will be swayed and pushed around by the agendas of others. They cultivate the habit of turning down requests that don’t align with their most valued goals. By focusing on working on the right things instead of getting more done, they strive to produce their highest quality work for their highest priority projects.

7. Focusing on Important Projects
Highly successful people understand the distinction between what is urgent and what is important. They focus on activities that are important but not necessarily urgent. These activities may not yield instant results, but they produce massive, long-term results. By spending the majority of their time on these important projects, they avoid constantly putting out fires and truly make progress towards their goals.

8. Using Willpower Wisely
Willpower is a limited resource that becomes depleted throughout the day. Successful people leverage their full willpower in the morning by working on their most important project first. They take advantage of their fresh and clear mind, as well as the lack of distractions in the early hours, to make significant progress towards their most valued goals.

In conclusion, highly successful people don’t possess superpowers that make them more productive than the rest of us. They simply implement time management strategies that help them plan their time effectively. By understanding the importance of creating successful plans and following through each and every day, you too can achieve your goals. Choose one of the habits or strategies mentioned above and start implementing it in your daily life. Through personal development, you’ll find that your own plans begin to lead you closer and closer to success as you eliminate bad habits and embrace great ones.