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How to Fix Your Schedule, Pt. One

So you just made a great schedule for all of your needs (work, school, exercise, self-care, chores, social time, etc.) and guess what? For whatever reason, you are not following it. Don’t get upset, it happens to everyone! Routines and schedules take time to adjust and stick to.  Now, before you beat up on yourself, stop and ask yourself these questions:

Am I trying to do everything perfectly? (which tasks can I delegate or eliminate?)

Am I doing too many tasks on the same day?

Am I getting enough sleep?

Am I getting up early enough?

Am I scheduling more than 3 main tasks a day?

Am I scheduling more than 2 extra things to do (outside of my daily 3 main tasks)?

Am I scheduling my down-time/breaks in advance? Am I distracted by social media, phone calls, smartphone/devices or other people during downtime and/or during my tasks? 

Am I using my time between tasks productively?

Are my tasks too far apart from each other (on different sides of town?)

If you answered YES to any of the questions above, read below for how to edit your schedule so you can stick to it!

Be honest and review your entire schedule. Delegate and/or eliminate what you can.

Decide what tasks you can delegate to others in your household that you can trust to get the job done.  Talk to your partner about helping you with these tasks. Maybe he or she is closer to the grocery store and they can shop after work instead of you doing it. Talk to family members and assign chores/errands to those that can handle the task. If you have no one else to delegate to, edit your tasks and see what you can afford to delegate to free up more of your time (maybe automate your bills or use a laundry service to wash and deliver your laundry). Resist the urge to do everything by yourself or to do it all perfectly. 

Get rid of or re-schedule for a later date any tasks that are not urgent and important.

Be honest:  do you really need to deep-clean your bathroom every Saturday morning? Do you have to iron your sheets every time you do laundry? Why do we torture ourselves with time-sucking activities that are not urgent or important? Instead, find a way to get the bare minimum done and schedule more time-consuming tasks at a later day when you have more time.

For instance, do a 20-minute of the bathroom on Saturday and schedule to do a deep-clean twice a month (the 1st and 15th) instead of deep-cleaning the bathroom every Saturday. You may realize that some tasks can be minimized and/or eliminated altogether. How do you know if a task is urgent? A task that must be done immediately; it absolutely cannot be done at any other time except right now. How do you know if a task is important? A task is important when it contributes long-term missions and goals.Check out the Eisenhower Decision Matrix for more info on urgent vs. important tasks.

Decide on a bedtime that allows you to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. 

 Set a time when you stop working and start your bed-time ritual in order to fall asleep at your designated bedtime.

Get up 15-20 minutes before your designated wake-up time and get out of bed. Set a wake-up time that allows you to complete your morning routine without feeling rushed.

Do not over-schedule yourself. Leave room in your schedule for error.

Even the best planned-schedule and the most disciplined person will sometimes fall off the wagon! IT HAPPENS because SHIT HAPPENS! Sometimes you have to stay late at work to keep your job, the babysitter will cancel, trains will be delayed or your will get a flat tire.

So do not fight with yourself about it! Just get back on schedule!

But an effective way to anticipate these unexpected mishaps is to leave room in your schedule for error. How do you do this?  By not over-scheduling yourself! Keep your day to the recommended 1-3 main tasks and 1-2 extra tasks, nothing more. And the less amount of tasks that you schedule, the better! Schedule one main task and if you get that done, do the second task. If you get those two tasks done, then do the third task and then stop. If you can, do the one extra task, (no more than two extra tasks) and then stop. Stick to your scheduled rest and wind-down rituals.