How To: Create A Schedule That Actually Works For You

Most of us would agree: we’d love to follow a self-designed routine and stick with it. However, we end up faltering more often than not. We may even end up asking ourselves, “why can’t I follow a routine?” or “why is it so hard for me to stick to a schedule?”. While there’s an endless number of reasons as to why we end up sabotaging our respective routines, I want to look beyond those and figure out what we can do instead. Luckily, based on my own schedule-following failures and work with my clients, I have some pointers. Read on to learn how to make a schedule work for you, once and for all!

Establish a Morning Ritual

Successful people like Tim Ferris, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Barack Obama have their own versions of morning rituals, things that they absolutely must start their day with. Whether it’s hitting the treadmill, meditating or making the bed, these activities are all aimed towards energising the body and mind for their day ahead. While Oprah likes to get a head start to her day by going for a walk to gather her thoughts, Obama instead likes to stay on top of the news. Whatever morning ritual you choose, let it set the tone for your day and help you maintain your physical and mental wellness.

Split Your Tasks Into Categories

I find that categorising tasks as per the level of priority really helps me see what I need to be doing through the day. In the span of a day, there are some tasks (including self-care!) that you need to be doing through the day, while there are some that you can choose to include. I’ve recently been recommending a scheduling system for some of my clients.

On a sheet of paper, divide your tasks between 3 categories – The Must-Do’s, The Can-Do’s and The Maintenance Tasks. This helps prioritize and stay on top of the most important things! You can even schedule your week this way, to make time for the secondary tasks that always get left behind.

Make sure to Schedule-In Adequate Breaks

While you power through your work day, make sure that you have tons of breaks scheduled. Often, breaks get a bad rap, accused of “derailing” us from our jobs. However, we’re not machines and breaks provide healthy time-outs to help us refresh and refocus. In fact, working at a stretch without a time-out can often cause exhaustion and burnout from the task at hand; reducing productivity. Plus, breaks don’t have to be super long! So, make sure to factor in time to get a snack, get your body moving or just take a musical time-out while you listen to your favourite tunes! You can do whatever you want in your short break, just make sure to enjoy this little nugget of time to the fullest.

There is an endless number of such techniques, we need to try these for ourselves to understand what works best. Tell me which ones you've tried!

PS: Stay tuned for part 2!