When I was young, I had a pink piggy bank on my dresser—and a very important goal to buy a shiny, red bike. Each time I earned money on chores, I ran to the piggy bank. Over time, thanks to my small, consistent habit, my coin collection wasn’t just spare change any more. I finally came up with enough money to buy the bike.
What my piggy bank was then to me, my daily schedule is today.
We all have a vision for the future, and it can feel overwhelming to stare it down from afar, especially without a plan. The best way to accomplish goals is to break them down into smaller, daily habits. That handful of coins might seem inconsequential today, but what you do repeatedly ultimately creates the quality of your life.[1]
Everyone’s personal routine will look different and are based on their individual goals and values. But applying a few general principles to your daily schedule can help maximize your effectiveness and productivity and, over time, help you accomplish your goals.
Here are five practices to help get you started in creating a daily schedule.
1. Prioritize Your Values
“Success” is as unique as the person pursuing it. But all successful people have one important thing in common: They strategically design their lives to align with the things they care about the most.[2]
Practically, that means before you can create a daily schedule that helps you accomplish your goals and live the life you want to live, you have to define what you value. An understanding of these things will help you pinpoint priorities that make sense and, ultimately, organize your day accordingly.
As a first step, carve out some time to think about what’s important to you. Make a list, in order. Then, find ways to incorporate those things in your daily and weekly routines in time blocks that honor how important each value is.
For example, if your biggest goal is health and fitness, then you should prioritize working out and healthy eating before other, less important hobbies. If your top priority is family or friends, then you’ll want to make sure you carve out time each day to connect with people you love before you jump into work.
Defining your personal priorities prevents the things you value from slipping off your to-do list and into the margins. It also allows you to delegate and outsource the tasks that aren’t in accordance with your values.[3]
2. Include a Morning Routine
It’s not uncommon for productivity gurus to boast of their 4 AM wake-up calls and elaborate pre-sunset routines. But there’s no perfect time to rise and grind—your morning alarm will depend on your own, individual rhythm. No matter when you start your day, though, there’s something to be said about including a morning ritual in your daily schedule.
Why is morning so important? The first thing you do after getting up ultimately sets the tone for the rest of your day. If you roll out of bed, half-awake, and jump right into your email, you’ll likely struggle to focus and engage, and you’ll run out of steam before too long.
If, on the other hand, you habitually make your bed, meditate, and eat a healthy breakfast each morning, your brain will learn to pivot from “rest mode” to “productivity mode” more seamlessly—and you’ll probably be in a better mood, too.
It’s up to you what you do in the morning. The goal is to kick off your day by doing the same thing—ideally, something that both aligns with your personal values and clears your mind and prepares your body for the tasks ahead.
3. Designate a “Most Important Task”
Your day will inevitably include essential tasks that don’t propel you toward your goals—taking phone calls, hopping into meetings, answering emails. To make sure these things don’t derail you, always define what you absolutely need to accomplish every day and incorporate them into your daily schedule.
Every week, when you plan your schedule, consider your goals. What needs to get done to keep you on track? Then, choose an MIT (most important task) for each day.[4] When you know what you need to accomplish to stay on track, you’ll waste less time on non-essential work.
It helps me to schedule my most important tasks during the times I’m most focused and productive and focus on tasks that don’t require as much brain power when my energy wanes.
There’s plenty of research showing that our ability to function cognitively shifts throughout the day.[5] For most people, including me, peak productivity occurs between 9 and 11 AM, which is why I always reserve that block of time for MITs rather than less-demanding busy work like answering emails.
If your productivity levels heighten later on in the day, you can take the opposite approach. Either way, make an effort to understand your peak work times and schedule your MITs accordingly.[6]
4. Schedule Time for Things That Normally Distract You
If you’re anything like me, you end up in your inbox or on Twitter several times throughout the day (and end up staying there for far too long). There’s nothing wrong with taking breaks to check social media, and we all need to respond to emails to do our work. But these things can also be a significant distraction from the most important tasks.
Instead of allowing yourself to mindlessly scroll, take a proactive approach by building blocks of time to engage with potential distractions. For example, your daily schedule could include time frames where you can “process” your email or social media accounts two or three times a day—once in the morning, again before lunch, and once more at the end of the day. The important thing is to treat these items like any other task—just another line item on your daily schedule—rather than allowing them to infiltrate your day.
5. Include Breaks
Every day, I schedule an hour-long lunch break and several 10 to 15-minute breaks to meditate or go for a walk. It might seem counterproductive to plan out time in your day when you’re not working, but remember that nobody has endless capacity to work at full steam, constantly. And if you try, you won’t be as productive as you want to be.
There’s scientific evidence that the occasional pause can actually enhance productivity.[7] For one thing, pausing from time to time can boost your ability to think creatively and strategically. Sometimes, the brain needs a change of scenery (and a break from constantly thinking) to come up with fresh ideas.
Scheduling breaks throughout your day also provides something to look forward to—an end in sight. When you know you’ll have a chance to rest or do something you enjoy at the end of a work block, even if only for five minutes, you’ll be much more likely to muster more energy—and focus—for the tasks at hand.
Final Thoughts
As author Mason Currey writes in her book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, a routine “fosters a well-worn groove for one’s mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods.”[8]
Even the most successful people can fall prey to getting off track. Designing your ideal daily schedule ahead of time is an essential practice for preventing distraction and prioritizing what’s most important to you. Think of your schedule as an investment in your future. It may take some time to “save up” for the life you want, but little by little, you’ll see your goals come to life.
More Tips on Organizing Your Daily Schedule
- Powerful Daily Routine Examples for a Healthy and High-Achieving You
- Daily Routine of Successful People That Will Inspire You to Achieve More
- How to Plan Your Day for a Healthy And Productive Life
Featured photo credit: Eric Rothermel via unsplash.com
Reference
| [1] | ^ | Forbes: This Is How Highly Successful People Plan Their Daily Routines |
| [2] | ^ | Forbes: This Is How Highly Successful People Plan Their Daily Routines |
| [3] | ^ | Entrepreneur: Entrepreneurs Are Scheduling Their Days Down to the Minute for Ultimate Success |
| [4] | ^ | Forbes: How Millionaires Plan Their Day |
| [5] | ^ | PubMed.gov: A time to think: circadian rhythms in human cognition |
| [6] | ^ | The Balance Small Business: How to Organize Your Home Business Work Day |
| [7] | ^ | Huffington Post: 5 Science-Backed Ways Taking a Break Boosts Our Productivity |
| [8] | ^ | Harvard Business Review: The Daily Routines of Geniuses |
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