Scheduling My Adventures

Calendars, Schedules and timelines are intrinsic to planning.

We can make a list of goals as long as your arm but if you don’t consider when they can feasibly take place they are only a wish list.  Making goals and not being practical about your time and energy will only leave you feeling defeated and less productive. If you imagine your goal to be on the other side of the river then imagine your scheduling to be the bridge. You have to schedule time to accomplish your goals or else they just become another to do list. 

Being intentional with your schedule doesn’t need to be stressful. I know some people find it to demanding to be time oriented and like to go with the flow. I know people that have two appointments on their schedule “At Work” and “At Home”. I don’t have the discipline to make that work so I find rest in a little more structure.

So here’s my plan:-

1. Consider your current work load. Fixed times such as work schedule, daily routines and home life. Schedule this on your weekly calendar so that you can recognize your free time.  Make sure you schedule a buffer for those occasional things that come up. You will learn by experience how much buffer time you need as time goes on. At this point I would suggest 2 hours a week. If those occasional things don’t occur (lucky you!) your buffer can be used for catch up time. We always overschedule rather than under!

2. Consider your breaks and bank holidays.  If you are fortunate like me and happen to work in school you get scheduled breaks. I will not use all of these breaks for family holidays so I can use some of that time for special projects. Get those highlighted on the calendar early. 

3. Consider seasonal changes and holidays.  Plan it out on a year-to-a-view calendar. Creative people draw their inspiration from the seasons and celebrations throughout the year. I love technology and like to keep a digital schedule but there is nothing more settling than seeing the big picture before me.  I will take that into account when planning my adventures.

With this done I can now look more realistically at what can be accomplished. It will also help me better assess how I spend my time. Maybe something needs to be cut to make room for something better? Being intentional with my time is part of smiling at my future

If you need free Calendar Templates for 2012 here’s one I like. They have a great three month to a page one that has space for notes.

Free calendar templates