Using a Schedule Management Plan to Stay Organized
No matter how you look at it, finding more time very day just isn’t possible. There are only 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week and 8,760 hours in a year. Time isn’t something that you can manufacture more of, make last longer than the week before or purchase. This is why Schedule Management is the key to Managing Your Time and Staying Organized.
Planning, organizing and scheduling your day in advance will help keep you focused and you’ll start reaching daily, weekly and monthly goals and Stay Organized. Which will, of course, ease stress and anxiety, reduce the aging process and give you peace of mind.
Organization Direct has been working one-on-one with clients this month to help them develop personalized Schedule Management tools that work with their individual personalities and needs. There is no one “cure all” way to stay organized through Schedule Management. (Unless you really would like to continue trying system after system – and stay frustrated!) Following are three examples of how we have helped our clients develop good, productive and personalized Schedule Management Systems to Stay Organized.
1. Identify your daily tasks that are required in order for you to function. Being aware of daily tasks and what actually needs to find a home within your schedule will help you determine when and where to fit these tasks into your schedule. This, we feel, is important because it helps avoid the need to feel like you need to multi-task. (Which is totally counter-productive by the way). Staying focused on one task at a time allows you to concentrate and ultimately, you will spend less time getting things done.
2. Identify what appointments and “extras” are scheduled every week. This would include things such as short-term changes in your schedule, i.e. the development of a new product, your children’s soccer practice schedule or a class that you just signed up for. These things are important Now, absolutely! However, they won’t be in your schedule forever. They are short-term projects and/or goals that will not be on your schedule next season. You will need to have them in your schedule management system for a short period of time…not a lifetime!
3. Use schedule management tools to help you “fit” everything into your schedule. Identify what and how to manage your schedule by assigning an importance level to each item on your list. You’ve heard it in the past, many other professionals have talked about assigning a number to everything that is on your list. That never worked for me. What does work, however, is to identify which things on your list have to be handled every day. These are things that: if not handled, scheduled or met will have a negative effect on your day, life, family and life or business. This all resonates well with our Find It, File It…Fast system too.
Managing your schedule isn’t easy. Sometimes it takes an outsider – accountability partner, mentor, coach – whatever resonates with you. What I will say is, you are Not alone. Schedule management is something that more and more people are realizing is the answer to staying organized on a daily basis. Give it a try and let me know about your progress.
Linda Clevenger, Organization Direct
www.organizationdirect.com
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