Magnatag InSight
The whiteboard and how it helps us brainstorm, innovate, motivate and create
How To Manage Your Time—Even If You Hate Definitive Schedules
Tue Aug 22 2017By: Mike P
If you’re someone that isn’t a fan of minute-to-minute time blocking, finding a schedule that works best for you can be difficult. Luckily for you, our team at Magnatag has spent years studying and perfecting the art of schedule crafting. Along the way, we’ve made note of some of our favorite scheduling tips and strategies, in hopes to share them with others who fear the concept of a strict schedule.
Start With Small Commitments
The best way for scheduling-starters to incorporate time management into their daily rituals is by utilizing a small time blocking strategy. Scheduling skeptics can start by dedicating a small block of space to an activity that is done regularly. For instance, if you check your inbox every day, regularly commit to a small 30-minute window that is solely dedicated to responding and deleting messages. It may not seem like much—and that’s okay—the purpose of this activity is to get yourself acclimated to a routine. Email is a great place for scheduling beginners to start, as you can attack it at your digression while still being able to pivot your attention if absolutely necessary.
Maintain a To-Do List
To-Do lists are a great alternative to rigorous scheduling practices that often go overlooked in the scheduling space. Rather than setting up rigid minute-to-minute outlines that may conflict with last minute plans, to-do lists serve as an excellent way to keep your work prioritized while still maintaining flexibility in your life. Since we don’t need to explain how a to-do list works, we thought it’d be better to let an Oklahoma-based Grounds and Facilities Supervisor explain how he uses a to-do list to keep track of projects during the Summer season.
“When it comes to summer vacation, there are a lot of projects that will need to be completed before the new school year. A lot of times you’ll see these types of projects take the entirety of the summer to complete, and as you can imagine, the length of these project milestones don’t always progress as projected. Sometimes we’ll get something done a week ahead of schedule, but then you’ll encounter a setback a week later. That’s why we track projects on a step-by-step basis, creating a sort of to-do list that we can maintain throughout the season. This sort of scheduling tactic allows my team to keep a tally of everything that we do and reminds us of what we still have left to accomplish.”
Schedule Some FREE TIME
It’s a bit oxymoronic to offer this next piece of advice to someone that hates scheduling, but trust us on this one. Try scheduling an hour of your day dedicated something you actually want to do. Maybe you want to go fishing or go to the gym—who knows, maybe you just want to take a nap on your couch—whatever it is you want to do, take time out of your day to do something you love. Even without a structured schedule dictating your every move, it can be easy to push aside your own well being in favor of other commitments. When you continuously put off the things that make you happy, you’re likely to feel both physically and emotionally drained. Your well-being should be the most important assignment of your day, and blocking off specific periods of the day for yourself is nothing to be afraid of. Once you’ve scheduled time for yourself, you can let the remainder of your responsibilities fall into place.
In the case that our advice inspires you to change your perspective on scheduling, be sure to keep us in mind and check out our entire collection of whiteboard scheduling kits!
Start With Small Commitments
The best way for scheduling-starters to incorporate time management into their daily rituals is by utilizing a small time blocking strategy. Scheduling skeptics can start by dedicating a small block of space to an activity that is done regularly. For instance, if you check your inbox every day, regularly commit to a small 30-minute window that is solely dedicated to responding and deleting messages. It may not seem like much—and that’s okay—the purpose of this activity is to get yourself acclimated to a routine. Email is a great place for scheduling beginners to start, as you can attack it at your digression while still being able to pivot your attention if absolutely necessary.
Maintain a To-Do List
To-Do lists are a great alternative to rigorous scheduling practices that often go overlooked in the scheduling space. Rather than setting up rigid minute-to-minute outlines that may conflict with last minute plans, to-do lists serve as an excellent way to keep your work prioritized while still maintaining flexibility in your life. Since we don’t need to explain how a to-do list works, we thought it’d be better to let an Oklahoma-based Grounds and Facilities Supervisor explain how he uses a to-do list to keep track of projects during the Summer season.
“When it comes to summer vacation, there are a lot of projects that will need to be completed before the new school year. A lot of times you’ll see these types of projects take the entirety of the summer to complete, and as you can imagine, the length of these project milestones don’t always progress as projected. Sometimes we’ll get something done a week ahead of schedule, but then you’ll encounter a setback a week later. That’s why we track projects on a step-by-step basis, creating a sort of to-do list that we can maintain throughout the season. This sort of scheduling tactic allows my team to keep a tally of everything that we do and reminds us of what we still have left to accomplish.”
Schedule Some FREE TIME
It’s a bit oxymoronic to offer this next piece of advice to someone that hates scheduling, but trust us on this one. Try scheduling an hour of your day dedicated something you actually want to do. Maybe you want to go fishing or go to the gym—who knows, maybe you just want to take a nap on your couch—whatever it is you want to do, take time out of your day to do something you love. Even without a structured schedule dictating your every move, it can be easy to push aside your own well being in favor of other commitments. When you continuously put off the things that make you happy, you’re likely to feel both physically and emotionally drained. Your well-being should be the most important assignment of your day, and blocking off specific periods of the day for yourself is nothing to be afraid of. Once you’ve scheduled time for yourself, you can let the remainder of your responsibilities fall into place.
In the case that our advice inspires you to change your perspective on scheduling, be sure to keep us in mind and check out our entire collection of whiteboard scheduling kits!
Categories:Productivity
