The Importance of a Schedule | 3 Ways to Conquer Your Day
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I tell clients that a schedule is the precursor to creating a routine. Writing a schedule systematizes a process you learn, repeat, and eventually establish as routine. Routines are habits that require very little thought to execute. In this post, I’m going to suggest a few things that work for most people when trying out a new routine. First, it’s important to understand why you initially write out a routine.
Think of your commute to work.
Have you ever headed somewhere on a Saturday, and without thinking you end up driving to work by mistake? Yea... I’ve done that more than a few times… smh. This auto-pilot effect takes place because you’ve built an ingrained routine, day after day during the week. It’s a simple habit similar to how you brush your teeth, do your hair, load the dishwasher, etc. I have an entire post about how to optimize mindless tasks to be more productive, so I’ll spare you the repeat explanation. Just go read it HERE if you’re curious.
I would be remiss if I didn’t disclaim that driving is NOT a mindless task. I care about your safety, so please don’t misconstrue my meaning here. My intention is merely to draw attention to an automatic intention.
So, think about writing out a routine as a schedule for a period of a few months. This helps establish it as a routine that hopefully gels with your lifestyle well enough to stick with it. To get started, I’ve included a few schedule templates that’ll help you develop productive routines.
A. The Single Task Agenda.
B. The Focus Calendar.
C. The To-Do List.
Let’s talk about the Single Task Agenda.
I use this term to describe a block schedule for batching tasks. It’s best used for tasks that either require a lot of focus or time.
The Single Task Agenda breaks your days into blocks of time during the week. I typically recommend two to three-hour blocks devoted to one or two types of tasks. I emphasize SINGLE to discourage task switching, often referred to as that naughty M-word, multitasking. Try to focus on finishing one thing at a time.
Be as broad or as specific with your block categories as you’re comfortable with. If you’re new to structuring your time in this way, I’d suggest keeping things simple with no subcategories until you’ve got your routine down.
An example could be -
Morning block: Family Tasks
Afternoon block: Work Tasks
Evening Block: Catch up.
Let’s say your morning block is from 7:00 - 10:00 AM
Include all of your personal morning duties. Ideas are making the bed, brushing your teeth, making breakfast, getting dressed, packing bags and lunches, emptying the dishwasher, picking up dry-cleaning, commute time, responding to emails, etc. Put some thought into each task you’d like to get done in this block.
Realistically consider how long it’ll take to execute each item. Do you like to cook breakfast, or pour a bowl of cereal and call it good? How long is your commute? Do you have email template responses or do you write every email organically? Calculate your time realistically according to how you function.
If you want to improve time management of a certain task, experiment with ways to speed up a process. For instance, maybe pack your bags or lunches the night before so you can devote that extra 20-30 minutes to your commute. Avoid switching things up too often. I suggest trying the initial change for at least two weeks. There will be times when it appears your tweak doesn’t work, when really, there was a fluke circumstance of that specific moment. You must stick with a change to more accurately gauge its effectiveness.
Your afternoon work block could start after lunch and go from 1:00 - 4:00 PM.
You may choose to structure your time between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM too, but I find having some flexibility between blocks is helpful when your day doesn’t go as planned. For afternoon tasks, repeat the thought process of what you typically need to do and assess how long each task takes. Make tweaks as necessary and stick with them for a while.
Your evening block could go from 6:00 - 9:00 PM.
Clean up dinner, rotate some laundry, tidy up the house, prep your coffee for the morning, fold some clothes while you watch Netflix with a glass of Malbec, and take a freaking bath with another glass of Malbec.
It’s important to assess the cycle of this schedule day to day. Ask yourself if you’re a morning person or a night owl. This plays a huge role in how you choose to designate tasks during your morning and evening blocks.
If you’re a night owl, think of all the things you could do to prep for the following day since you know you’re a useless lump in the morning. In contrast, are you a morning person who goes to bed at 9 PM and needs 10 hours of sleep to function? Start your morning block an hour earlier and use that extra time to set yourself up for success. There’s no right or wrong answer here unless you’re trying to do what doesn’t work for you personally.
Let’s move on and talk about the Focus Calendar.
I designed this calendar to be uber simple. Admittedly, it isn’t applicable as an all-in-one option for your daily schedule because of its simplicity. It’s meant to either help you get started with creating a routine or augment your daily agenda. This is also a fantastic way to help you... wait for it... FOCUS on one or two specific things in a day rather than trying to overcomplicate and do it all.
If you work from home or create your own schedule, the Focus Calendar will be your new, new best friend. Give yourself around 7 categories. I don’t suggest having more categories than days of the week to keep things easy. Choose things like - errands, social media, cleaning, finances, writing, editing, and catch up.
Assign each day of the week 1-4 tasks within each category. The calendar design allows you to track how often you devote time to each thing throughout the month. Here’s an example of how you could set this up.
Click to download
I always suggest scheduling a catch-up day at least twice a month because you will need it. Nothing ever goes 100% according to plan, and no schedule is ever going to change that. I always tell clients- As long as you’re meeting your deadlines, you have no reason to feel guilty doing less in a day.
If you choose to pair this calendar with your Single Task Agenda, I’d recommend designating a focused task to one of the daily blocks. For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday afternoon and you’re planning your week. Monday, May 4th, on your focus calendar is “errands.” Think through all the errands you might have that week (groceries, bank, hair appointment, and post office.)
If you can realistically fit all your errands into one day, do it. If you’re going to be out running around anyway, you may as well knock it all out in one go. You might not get to everything during a single block. Do your best to estimate your time, plan your travel route, and see if there are errands you can divert to a catch-up day.
As you get used to using your Focus Calendar, you’ll develop some routines that gel with you. Maybe Monday work really well for errands, so you schedule appointments or meetings for that day. The beauty of this is that you can set boundaries simply by saying, “I take meetings every Monday between X and Y. Which Monday works for you?” This lets everyone know you are otherwise occupied the rest of the week and you’ll have fewer surprises. Again, this schedule is a great option if you’re feeling spread too thin and need a more clear vision for your day.
The last schedule to talk about here is a simple To-Do List.
I recommend keeping this list wherever you go to make it easy to use. What’s the one thing most of us always have on our person all the time (even in the bathroom)? For better or worse, it’s your smartphone. A small, pocket-size notebook works too. I find the easier the better, or you won’t use it. I’d suggest creating a simple checklist in Evernote. Every time you think “oh, we need more toothpaste!” Or “crap, I forgot to return my friend’s book!” Put a quick note on your digital checklist.
The key to an effective to-do list is writing things down as soon as you think of them. A lot of times we only remember that we need to buy more toothpaste when we’re in the bathroom. So while you’re brushing your teeth, pause your favorite YouTube video for a sec, and write “buy toothpaste” on your list.
When you’re planning your schedule for the week, whip out that list and plug in the items from it you know you can tackle. Prioritize more time-sensitive items and be sure to determine how long each task takes.
These three schedules work in tandem to help you get more done, focus on one thing at a time, decide what’s most important to accomplish in a day, and remember all the random little things that need to (finally) get crossed off your list.
If you’re struggling to establish good routines, I offer virtual productivity coaching to design custom schedules. Book a free consultation to get on my schedule and finally conquer your day!
