On Scheduling Every Minute of The Day
After breakfast, I sit down and schedule out my day. I literally schedule every single minute.
It’s an activity that takes me about 5 minutes at the start of my day.
When I’ve got that plan for how I’m going to spend my time, and what I’m going to do when, I get more done during the day, and my day is significantly less stressful.
I used to think a schedule meant I’d never get to have fun.
Because if you’re scheduling your time then you should only put Super Duper Important things on your schedule.
Well, I do only schedule Super Duper Important things. I just have a smarter definition of Super Duper Important.
Did you know I schedule time to watch Netflix? I schedule time for a mid-day nap if I want. Time to read for an hour and a half in the middle of the afternoon. Time to take my wife out for dinner once a week. Time to go running at the gym. Time to play trains with my kids. Time to have lunch with a friend. Time to help my wife with dinner. Time to write for as long as I can handle in the morning.
By scheduling every minute of my day, it helps me to make sure I do all the things I want to do — for work and for play.
How do I schedule every minute?
- List my WIGs for the day, and the time they’re going to take
- Map them out onto a schedule
- Schedule in break time and buffers
- Keep tabs on if I did what I set out to do
Why do I schedule every minute?
- Keeps me on pace to accomplish my day’s tasks.
- Let’s me know when I’m procrastinating.
- Keeps me from dual focus: I know what I should be doing at any given time.
- Gives me insight into my day-to-day capacity.
- Relieves stress because I don’t have to think about what’s next; I just follow the day’s plan that I set out earlier.
The Value of Time Ownership
One of the challenges I have faced off and on over the years is always the struggle to do more great work on a daily basis while also trying to grow my business.
In short, it looks like this:
- I need to focus on business growth and development
- I need to build “pillar products” that are significant
- I need to have a consistency of putting out regular content as well to keep things active.
And that’s not even addressing the other little administrative tasks and responsibilities I have.
I’m sure that many of you can relate. It’s a challenge to balance all those spinning plates. To feel that you’re able to move things forward while also not dropping the ball on anything today.
Ultimately, the solution to this comes down my ability to manage my time and manage my focus.
Therefore, having insight into my daily schedule helps immensely. Instead of feeling like I’m not productive enough, I can focus on increasing my capacity for deep work and creative output and making sure I’m setting aside time on a regular basis for all the areas that are important.
Learn More about Time Ownership
If you want to learn more about Time Ownership, you can dive right into the deep end with our in-depth class on Time Management.
Or, if you’re not ready for that level of commitment, we just recently put together a free 5-day course that’s delivered over email. You can sign up at the top of the page here.
