Schedule your day. Those three little words are so simple to say. Is it really possible? I am here to tell you it is possible to schedule your day! It’s not always easy. Well, actually it is REALLY easy. The hard part is actually FOLLOWING the schedule you wrote down.
#1) Make a plan on when to schedule your day!
As in: When I wake up in the morning, I’m going to do this, and this, and finally sit down and spend 30 minutes on planning out my day. Do this. Everyday. Make it a habit.
#2) Prioritize the items on your to-do list
Do exactly what #2 says. Prioritize your to-do list. There can be NO ties. What has to be done first. What has to be done this day! Number them in order of priority.
#3) Schedule out your priorities in 50 minute work blocks
For example:
9:00 am – Write ‘Schedule Your Day’ blog post (then you will take a break)
10:00 am – Plan out our editorial calendar through May
11:00 am – Meditate for 20 minutes :30 Work Block #3
12:00 pm – complete Work Block #3 :30 have some lunch
#4) Give yourself some slack when it doesn’t all work out as you hoped, planned, wanted…
Read a sample of how my day goes to figure out how this last rule applies!
Step #1 – When I plan my day
It is an ongoing war I have with my day. Mornings are SO easy! I know what needs to be done, and if I start off my day doing what I’m supposed to, everything gets done. For the morning. Then enter life. In the morning almost everyone is asleep. Only Papa and I are awake in the wee hours of the morning. So we get up, stretch, take the dog out, pray, have a cup of hot cocoa, and finally plan to schedule our day. Next comes a shower, some work email, and waking up Vanity. Not necessarily in that order. Then out the door we go, all by 5:15 am!
Teaching seminary is easy. We get there, get ready, say a prayer with the other teachers, then gather our students and teach! Even going home is good. We listen to scriptures, talk about what went good, what didn’t, what could be better, and about what we want to teach the next day.
Even getting home is pretty good. We know what needs to be done. Papa spends the next hour or so on planning the next day’s seminary lesson while I am usually puttering around getting a little tidying done, perhaps making some breakfast, working out. I’m usually good to go with what needs to be done.
Step #2 – What I do to get some of my priorities accomplished
We plan our top priorities to get done in the morning. And in doing so, we’ve put a sign on our room letting our family know there are to be no interruptions. In essence they are to pretend we are at work. At a workplace that is not at our home. This really does help to ensure we get our work blocks completed without getting sidetracked by our family’s needs. Obviously, if it’s an emergency, just as if we were at an away from home workplace, go ahead and interrupt us.
Step #3 – What can be done after a work block
Eventually we’re done with our private morning and off to work we go! We work from home, so this is where it can get a little dicey. We work in 50 minute blocks. These are great as you keep your focus on one aspect of your day for 50 minutes and then take a 5-10 minute break and do something else. Move, think about something different, meditate, etc. It doesn’t really matter what you do, just do it! Then do another 50 minute work block, 5-10 minute break. Rinse and repeat as necessary to get your priority items complete!
Step #4 – This might be the most important step of all
The problem we encounter is the afternoon! Once our family has our permission to come and say ‘hi’. To come and tell us about the picture they drew. To tell us how the kids were amazing in science this morning. How Stinky Bubbles has decided to go on strike from completing her homework. It’s so hard to get back on track. To work on that last one or two work blocks we wanted to get accomplished. To get in those hours of reading we need to do in order to become amazing bloggers. In order to become masters in our field! To be able to share with you the knowledge that is out there in order for us all to have peace in our life!
By the end of our day we haven’t gotten everything done on our list. Our schedule isn’t perfectly followed. But it is in place. As you noticed, I mentioned priorities. Our priorities were completed. So I say, “Schedule your day!” It IS possible. And even if it’s not done perfectly, you were able to complete the things that had to happen! Baby steps. We can do this!