Step-by-step guide to scheduling

Well for some of us we need and thrive on a schedule, for many others it's just a hard thing to do. Maybe you make a schedule, but you feel like you are not being the most effective throughout the day. Most people can make a schedule or a plan, but it might not be the most effective way to go through your day. Making an effective schedule is something else all together. I find that I need a schedule, a to-do list, something that gives me task that I need to accomplish and something to bring scrutcure to my day. When I was laid off the first time during the pandemic, I didn't really make a schedule. And I found that the days just blended together. I also felt like I came out of the 2 months wondering what I did with all that time and feeling like I had wasted an opportunity. So going into it for the second time I made sure that I was going to do things differently to make use of my time.

First you need to make sure that everything you need to do, anything that is coming up that you write it down. If you don't write it down then you will forget. I am a planner person, as well as a pen and paper person. So I usually have a planner with me. If you are not like that or you just don't have that option all the time, then a great thing to do is to have a running list in your phone. Just keep a to-do list running on your phone at all times. If you think of something or if you are told something well away from home, then put it on your to-do list so that you don't forget. And then transfer it to your planner or whatever system that you are using once you get home.

Different planners and schedule types

Again I am a big believer of planners and always have at least one planner. If you don't usually have one or think that you are not that type of person, try it. It brings so much to your life, even just by being able to see everything written down in front of you. I usually have a standard planner which has a month at a glance page and then separate pages for the week at a glance. I like to be able to look at a few days at a time so that I can see on Monday if there is something I need to remember for Friday. You can also get a planner that has the month and then a page for each day. This works if you are a person that has appointments each day that you need to keep track of. Like if you have clients or meetings for work. The third way that I find effective is a planner from Jordan Page, called the productivity planner. If you can't purchase one then you can get a blank notebook and just write it out. The main principle is that you break the day into blocks for a few hours at a time. Each block will have a category, such as work block, tidy up block and going out block. In that planner you have a page per day where you then write out your blocks for that day. I think this really would work for a stay-at-home mom or someone that works from home in any way. If you don't know what way will work for you. Then just try one of the three. Get a notebook from the dollar store and try it out for a few weeks before you spend money on a planner. That way you don't purchase a planner that isn't going to work for you.

Plan out the month for important and known events.

At the start of the month I like to write out anything I already know is going on for that month. Birthdays, appointments, planned events and anything you need to do before the actual day. I also do the same thing at the start of every week. Usually on Sunday or Saturday I will plan out the following week. I will plan out my meal plan, make a grocery list and plan out anything else that I know is going on that week. For me I also plan out my workouts for the next week, so that I know what is going on.

Plan out the next day the night before

The most important thing that I started doing was that the night before I would plan out the next day. I review the day, see how product that I felt I was and just how many goals that I accomplished. By going over if I accomplished my goals or not it keeps me more accountable. It's good if you make goals and everything but if you don't actually track if you are doing things toward your goal then it means nothing. It would be the same as if you didn't make any goals at all. By planning out my day the night before it does a few things. It keeps it fresh in my mind when I start my day, it makes sure that I can plan out things relvant to that day. If you plan your days too far in advanced then you will find that it will be hard to stick to and your task for that day might not be the most important thing for that day. Don't put too many task for one day. By putting too many you will find that it will be hard to stay focused and accomplish everything. You want to make sure that the task for that day are things that you are able to accomplish. Put 3 main task for that day. Some call these push goals. These are the 3 main things you want to accomplish for that day. And make sure that they help you to accomplish your bigger goals for the month and for the year. Making small goals that go with your large goals are the most important thing to help you reach them. You can see my article about goals and goal planning here; https://shopping-feedback.today/humans/set-goals-not-resolutions.%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}

For those that don't plan ever, keep it simple.

Don't get overwhelmed. I know there is a lot of information about planning and schedules. And if you are not good at this, I can see how it can be overwhelming. Start off simple and make sure that works for you first. The night before make 3 main goals or task for the next day. Also at the start of the week write out any and everything that you need to accomplish that week or anything that is coming up. Such as birthdays, holidays, task due at work or deadlines coming up.

To be more productive and effective.

If you have a schedule or a planner but you feel you aren't being as productive, first I have been there. Try a different system. If you do page by day, try the productivity planner instead. If you don't try something new then you won't know if there is something else that works better. The biggest thing you can do, is to make 3 main goals for that day. And make sure that they go with your larger goals. Such as, if one of your goals for the year is to lose weight. Then one of the goals for a day could be to eat no processed foods or a hard workout you want to do.

If you are staying at home a lot more, like a lot of us, then try to make sure that you still make a schedule. When you are at home is when you need a schedule the most. Let's use our time wisely and be more productive this year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read it. If no one told you today, you are enough and you are appreciated for just who you are.

- T