Now that the leisurely days of summer are few, we might want to look at how to better manage our time and our schedules. Please read the article below to get some tips. Or you might want to consider hiring me for this one-time project. The first 5 people who contact me, will get a free Moleskine Day Planner.
Organizationally Yours,
Maureen
Over the years I have had the good fortune of working with many different clients. I have also met and talked to thousands of others whom I’ve met through working in the hospitality industry. As some of you know, I have a BS in Psychology and have always been a keen observer of human behavior and how it has an impact on the quality of peoples’ lives. I have had the opportunity to witness and discuss with many people their beliefs and their choices regarding their outlook on their personal lives. I try to look for the patterns and to see the big picture.
One take-away that has really struck me is that some people believe that planning kills all spontaneity and general good times. Of course as a productivity consultant, my immediate reaction was “poppy cock” (actually that is not the word I would use; the one I use is not family friendly.) Then I had to examine my own beliefs, patterns of behavior over my lifetime.
Like many young(ish) people, I didn’t plan a lot in my life and was instead naively waiting for opportunities to come along. Yep, pretty ignorant. As time went by, I realized of course that one must plan and work toward creating opportunities. Eventually, I put all that into action and created my own business. Actually, I have started three successful businesses and I’m working on starting a new one.
Every week I “sketch” out my week in my daily planner. I have used a daily planner for decades because it allows me to write notes and to actually schedule all my action steps related to my goals. I schedule work sessions, work tasks, home tasks, workouts, social life and personal appointments. However, I live and die by my electronic calendar (iCal) which is synced across all my devices and of course with my daily planner. My iCal syncs up with my Waze GPS and I never have to spend time on how to figure out my travel time. I have used this method for years and it works beautifully.
Upon casual observation, some would think that I’m a bit of a rigid “planner” and not have enough spontaneity in my life. And here’s the myth regarding that belief: I have more free/leisure time than most people while taking care of daily tasks. I’m also able to have friends over last minute without worrying about “picking up the house” or not having some simple staples on hand. I also plan
Here are some benefits to planning and scheduling work and daily tasks:
- Planning meals and grocery shopping saves money and allows for healthier eating.
- Scheduling laundry and household chores creates routines and doesn’t allow for devoting a beautiful weekend day to just catching up with these tasks. It also allows for unexpected guests to drop by as a pleasant experience.
- Scheduling workouts (whether just walking or going to the gym) prompts one to commit to that healthy goal.
- Planning on having a few staples on hand allows one to have unexpected guests drop by without stress.
- Preparing well for a road trip just allows the whole experience to be fun and mostly stress free.
- Goals actually get accomplished when the action steps are planned and scheduled.
Planning and scheduling can bring many benefits to having a joyful life. But of course, it is all about balance. If your family member or friend pops into town last minute and texts you an hour in advance (yes, this happened to me recently) by all means, drop the regularly scheduled tasks/routines and go join them and have fun!
You might want to consider hiring me for this one-time project of time managemnt. The first 5 people who contact me, will get a free Moleskine Day Planner.
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