Importance of a Daily Schedule

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Image courtesy of silent-penguin

One of the most important things that you can do to be more productive is to create a daily schedule. When I first started working for myself, I had a standard “To-Do List” – a list that included all of the things that I wanted to accomplish during the day. For some reason however, I was never able to get through my list. Some days I did fairly well and got through the majority of the items on my list. Other days, I was only able to get through one or two items. At this time in my life, I felt that since I worked for myself, I didn’t have to follow a set schedule. I wanted to be free, spontaneous and not feel that I had to structure my life.

I enjoyed the ability to do whatever I wanted but still became frustrated by the fact that I just wasn’t able to accomplish my daily goals. This was when I realized that in order for me to manage my time effectively, I would need to create and follow a schedule. I came to understand that there are different types of freedom and that if I did not learn to discipline myself to follow a schedule, I would not have the freedom to accomplish my goals. Eventually, this would mean that I would have to go back to working for someone else and adhere to someone else’s schedule – something I definitely did not want to do. While working at home meant I could set my own schedule, it did not mean that I could abandon a schedule all together.

Working for yourself allows flexibility but it is still important to keep on task and accomplish your professional as well as personal goals. To establish a schedule when working from home, you need to look at family needs and ensure that you set aside time to take care of your family obligation – including spending time with your children and your spouse. They may mean having to schedule your work time around the needs of your family: preparing meals, driving children to and from events, picking up children, etc. It is also important to let your family know when you will be working so that you can minimize distractions.

Because I work from home, I include personal time as well as working time in my schedule: time for exercise, meditating, study, working on hobbies, relaxing and meals.

Some Principles for Creating a Schedule

Be realistic

Your schedule should be attainable, not just a wish list of things you would like to achieve. If you find you are not able to follow your schedule, revise it. Working with an unrealistic schedule will just cause frustration and eventually, you will abandon it completely.

Assign tasks to certain times

A list of things you have to do is not a schedule, it is a to-do list. To create an effective schedule, write out everything you want to accomplish during the day and assign a specific time period when you will work on each task. At first, this will only be an estimated time period as it may take awhile to determine how long a particular task actually takes.

Be flexible

Things undoubtedly will pop up which will cause you to deviate from your schedule. Allow yourself the flexibility to move things around on your schedule or work later if need be.

Start slowly

If you are used to getting up at 10:00 a.m. and now want to start getting up at 5:00 a.m., you will need to begin by getting up 9:00 for an entire week, then at 8:00 the next week, until you have reached your goal of getting up at 5:00. It takes time to learn a habit – some say 30 days of continuous practice – so give yourself time to adapt to your new routine.

Schedule personal time

If you schedule only your work time, you may become frustrated that you are not achieving your personal goals. Anything that is important to you – and this should include time for recreation and relaxation – should be a part of your schedule.

Include long-term goals

We all have a list of things we want to accomplish in our lifetime – perhaps learning a foreign language, learning to play a musical instrument or another hobby we wish to learn. We often tell ourselves that “someday” we will get around to it. The only way to make it happen however, is to add it to your daily schedule. If you want to learn a language for instance, schedule a half hour or hour a day to devote to it. Remember – if something is out of sight, it is also out of mind.

Allow your schedule to be a work-in-progress

Evaluate your schedule from time to time to see how it is working for you and whether it is realistic. Very often, we tend to underestimate how long something will take. For instance, you may think that it takes you 45 minutes to do your grocery shopping, where in reality, it is closer to two hours. Revise your schedule as necessary.

Don’t be afraid to eliminate

We often have an unrealistic picture of how much we can accomplish during the day; there are, after all, only twenty-four hours in a day. If you find it impossible to accomplish everything on your schedule, you may need to remove some things. Don’t try to force yourself to achieve more than realistically possible.

Use timers or calendar reminders

In yesterday’s post, I talked about using a timer to remind yourself to take breaks. You can also use timers to remind you when it is time to move on to your next task. Instead of (or in addition to) timers, you can send yourself reminders via your electronic calendar program. Both Outlook and iCal include this feature.

By using a schedule, you can determine whether you are on track with your goals, and if not, what you need to do to get back on course.