I work as a professional organizer with my business reSPACEd here in the Portland Metro area, and over the years I have found that a lot (maybe even most) of our organizing clients struggle with creating a schedule that works for them.
Many people chafe at the thought of a schedule, because it feels so rigid, boring and/or a set-up for failure when they inevitably can’t stick to it. Yet a schedule is a necessity if we want to get all of life’s tasks done. After a certain point, we just can’t keep it all in our head and hope to remember everything we need to do! So that’s why I think my friend Danielle’s schedule (above) is so brilliant.
Danielle looked at the main categories of her day, then chunked them up so she has windows of time to work on them instead of adhering to a specific time (e.g. no minute-by-minute break down of the morning routine). That creates FLEXIBILITY, which will help those of us who hate rigid timelines.
But the best part of Danielle’s schedule is that beside each category of the day, she wrote the way she wants to BE. That is, the kind of person she wants to project to others, the kind of characteristics she wants to encapsulate. As I read somewhere, “We are human BEINGS, not human DOINGS.” And Danielle’s schedule perfectly reflects that.
If the BE aspect of her schedule doesn’t resonate with you, I could also see a column for WHY instead. For my clients who struggle with household maintenance (e.g. cleaning, paying bills, etc.), having a column that reminds them of WHY they are making themselves do these tasks each day could inspire them to keep doing them.
My husband suggested a column called END GAME instead of BE or WHY. He is thinking of his work schedule, and all of us working as employees can sometimes struggle with finding meaning in some of the drudgery of our day-to-day tasks at work. The END GAME column allows you to write in what that meaning is, what it is all leading up to.
Can you think of any additional columns that would add meaning and inspiration to your schedule? Please post here and let us know!
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