Scheduling as Self-care

Overwhelmed by multiple work projects, distracted by her phone, bombarded by an endless flood of emails, stressed about deadlines, my client was at a loss for how to manage it all. No matter how hard she worked, she seemed to be getting further behind. At the end of a session in which we had discussed how she would schedule a time for everything, she reflected back to me her epiphany: Scheduling is a form of self-care.

The practice of scheduling results in a more productive and calmer week. Just as your home functions best when everything has its place, life is more even-keeled when everything has its scheduled time.  

When your to-do list is infinite and deadlines loom, it’s hard to set aside time to think and create a plan of attack. Your natural response to these dire circumstances might be to put one foot in front of the other, work like a maniac, and hit repeat until you reach the finish line. There’s nothing wrong with working hard, but it doesn’t, by itself, relieve your stress. You will still worry about the pile of stuff you aren’t doing. It doesn’t matter whether you choose popular strategies such as block scheduling, the four burners approach, or the Stephen Covey quadrants to structure your workday, as long as you are scheduling your time. We often think of scheduling as a chore rather than a way to take care of ourselves, but in fact, compartmentalizing your tasks into designated blocks of future time makes you far more centered and effective in the present. Here are some of the positive impacts of scheduling.

Reduce Stress

Knowing when you will take care of tasks reduces stress. Instead of worrying about the unfinished report, you know that you will work on it next Tuesday afternoon. Whenever that worry swells up in your chest, you can tell yourself “It’s ok, I have time set aside to complete that task.” Scheduling is like taking a deep breath: it has a calming effect.

Improve Focus

When you have a plan for your workload, it allows you to focus only on the task in front of you. At each hour of the day, your schedule dictates what you should be working on. You might even achieve a state of flow, which is described as “energized focus, full involvement and enjoyment of an activity.” Being in the zone results in increased happiness and a more satisfying workday.

You Will Feel in Control

The workday is oppressive when you don’t have a handle on it. Rather than reactively dealing with whatever is thrown your way and feeling drowned by a tsunami of requests, actively creating a schedule puts you in control. Deal with email from 8-10am, have a daily meeting with your team at 10, check in with your boss at 11, make calls from 1-3pm. With this schedule in place, you won’t be worried about unanswered emails while talking to your boss and you won’t be concerned that you’re ignoring the team while making calls. When you call the shots you will feel more in control.

Boost Creativity

Without a daily schedule, your brain wastes an extraordinary amount of time and energy trying to remember whom you were supposed to call, and what you promised to give to Ben by noon today. When your brain is unencumbered by the detritus of future responsibilities, you are free to think creatively about your present work. 

More Energy

The nervous energy of worry results in adrenaline pumping through your body. This is a fight or flight reaction that mimics a survival-crisis mode. Adrenalin can temporarily make you super-productive, but it is an exhausting way to spend everyday and is unhealthy over the long term. Scheduling lets you decide where to put your energy and reduces adrenaline rushes. A steady workday also means having more energy to enjoy your evenings.

Easier to Say “No”

When you are harried and have no idea what your schedule looks like, you are more likely to say “yes” to everything. Back to your desk, you wonder what you were thinking. Now, because you said yes without consulting a schedule, you’ll be working late, giving up weekends, or rushing. Schedules are a visual reminder of how your time is mapped out, making it is easier to say “no” to less urgent requests. Schedules provide the presence of mind to delay optional meetings, projects or obligations. Tell your boss, “The team is focusing on the Jetson project right now and will be done March 15th. I’d like to begin the Flintstone project on the 16th.” Your boss will be impressed with your time management skills.

Catch-up Time

Schedule “catch-up” and “free” time. Block out Mondays or Fridays as meeting-free days, but put something on your calendar to remind you! Mondays can be designated “Research” from 9-2, for example, or Wednesday afternoons might say “Writing” on your calendar. This provides peace of mind because you know that you have a chunk of time to complete projects or deal with unexpected tasks that cropped up during the week. If you can’t block out a whole day, consider a 30-minute buffer after big meetings or at the end of the day. If there’s one habit you acquire, it should be scheduling open time. You will be amazed by how this cushion reduces your stress levels. 

More Time for Fun

The best side benefit of scheduling is that it frees up your nights and weekends, because your worry about unscheduled work no longer spills over into your personal life. Schedules establish boundaries. Take it one step further and schedule in time to enjoy your other priorities, hobbies, friends and family. When you can relax during non-working hours, you will feel renewed at work.

Start small

Your schedule won’t magically create itself. You will need time to plan your schedule. And guess what, you will need to put that scheduling time on your calendar. Start by giving yourself 10 minutes a day for planning the rest of the day and week. Don’t be too ambitious with your scheduling at first. Build the habit slowly so it sticks. 

Scheduling is a tool that allows you to optimize your workday and life. At first it may seem like an annoyance and waste of time to stop and enter commitments into your calendar, but it’s the path to focused productivity and calmly getting more out of life. If there is no way to fit everything into your schedule, then now is time to take a hard look and decide what you can pare down.