Scheduling Your Time Vs. Going with the Flow
In recent months, I have been experimenting with intentionally scheduling my time throughout the week.
Everyone has a schedule. Some of us have a more refined and specific map than others, but nevertheless, all humans operate on some sort of plan.
The definition of schedule from dictionary.com is: a plan of procedure, usually written, for a proposed objective, especially with reference to the sequence of and time allotted for each item or operation necessary to its completion.
For some, the only schedule followed is the one given from a place of employment. This is how I spent the large majority of my adult life. My days were broken up into structured, scheduled work days and unstructured, go with the flow days. During work days, I didn't give any thought to scheduling my life outside of my job.
Sure, I'd have events with friends I'd plan to attend, concerts, and other things I wanted to do, but for the most part, I was employing the 'fly by the seat of your pants' model.
It turns out, this doesn't make for a productive life
For much of my life, I've been a dreamer. I'm a bit of an idea factory in regards to ambitious plans and ideal outcomes for my life. But I've also been a serial-procrastinator, someone who would talk the talk but rarely walk the walk.
I eventually reached a point, somewhere in my mid-20's, where I became very cynical about these dreams and aspirations. I hadn't come close to achieving a large percentage of my major life goals, and I was floundering to figure out what was going wrong.
Deep down, I knew it had everything to do with my lack of organization and focus. Combine that with a lack of persistence and discipline, and you've got the recipe for every procrastinator's worst outcome.
Chaotic and disorganized schedules lead to little to no results
If you don't prioritize your life, list your desired outcome for each part of it, and then schedule out an activity in service of this desired outcome...you are likely doomed to fall short of achieving your dreams.
Big ideas are great..when actual work is done to make them a reality. Dreams become nightmares when you do no work in service of the goal.
When a friend asks how your goals are coming along, if you haven't spent any time pursuing them you will immediately feel something akin to getting punched in the gut.
Being reminded of your failure to commit the time towards making your dreams a reality is an exercise in facing the shadow. It's not the embarrassment of having to explain why you didn't reach your goal that pains us the most, it's the fact that we have let ourselves down that leaves a splinter in our mind.
Schedule your time on a weekly basis
Tired of having too many damn head splinters that I wasn't able to pull out, I knew something had to change. About 6 months ago, I listened to "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey. It is an all-time classic in the genre of self-help and organizational management.
As a 31-year-old, my expanded perspective on life allowed me to see the value in seeking guidance from those who have managed to organize themselves effectively. I had made enough messes in my life to know it was about time to get myself a mental vacuum and clean up the spiritual lint pile.
My mother had gifted me "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" by Sean Covey when I was a teenager, but since I was far from possessing any of the habits myself, I never started the book. I suppose that's the bitter irony of the self-help genre. Perhaps if you were capable of scheduling time to read the book about being effective, you wouldn't need to read the damn book to begin with!
Steven Covey's seminal work is truly a perspective-shifting gamechanger if you go the extra step of applying what is taught. The most useful element of this book has been the concept of defining your roles, stating the desired outcome for each role, and scheduling an activity for each outcome.
Breaking down your life into separate roles is extremely useful
This is what my whiteboard currently looks like
We are many things in our life. We're a family member, a friend, a spouse, a parent, a steward of our career and finances, a steward of our mental and physical health, etc.
It is important to distinguish our roles because our desired outcomes will likely be completely different for each area. If we aren't intentional in how we approach one role or another, it's inevitable that this role will fall to the wayside.
This is why some people who excel in their career often experience a crisis later in life because they neglected every other role that was important to them. Balance is critical, and I have found it can only be achieved through structured goal setting, activity scheduling, and consistently reviewing what worked and what didn't.
I am still not perfect in this regard, as I have, at times, relapsed back into old behaviors of not defining my outcomes and activities on a weekly basis. And these weeks usually end up less productive than others if I'm not careful.
You still have room for going with the flow within the framework of a schedule
I am not suggesting that going with the flow is a bad thing. Sometimes, life throws us a curveball and we have to shift our schedule around to deal with more pressing matters.
Additionally, scheduling periods of free time, where you can do whatever inspires you in that moment, is still a valuable thing to do. The difference is, you are scheduling this time out for yourself instead of having every moment that isn't spent in work be your 'free time'.
Running my life as if I were my own organization has, funnily enough, led to more organization. It's made the big ideas that used to lay dormant as mere fantasy become much closer to being achieved.
It has been said that no one can make time, they can only schedule it. When it comes to your highest ambition in life, perhaps its time to schedule it into your calendar. It's the only way to see it through.
All uncredited pictures from pixabay.com
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You're posts always add value to my day.I always tend to plan what I am going to do the next day just before I head to bed.This is what has worked for me so far. 💯
Thanks so much, happy to hear that!
Heh, yeah whatever works for ya. I think weekly planning is the best way to ensure you fit everything in, as some days are more open/appropriate for certain activities.
True i agree
I like this. I'm going to try this for a month, see if it has an impact. My life is fairly structured with work and kids and such, leaving me with very liffle free time to myself. I have noticed that once i get to those moments of free time i get nothing done that i had wanted to because my 'go with the flow' additude allows me to be distracted easily, pulling my attention in too many different directions. Since i have a finite amount of free time, i need to work on structuring that time to make the most of it. Thanks for the reminder. Now, what was I doing?
Yep, time slips by when you aren't accounting for the minutes and the hours...