Saving Time By Having A Schedule

Welcome to the first part of the “Saving Time” series. Today, we’re starting with the most basic, but most important part of getting organized, making a plan and having a schedule. Without a plan, how do we get anything organized?

Some people are great at being spontaneous and “winging” it, but not me. I’m a definite planner-person, always have been, and always will be. If I ever tell anyone I don’t need a plan, you better take me to the nearest hospital, cause something must be wrong.

To start out with an organized schedule, we first need to simplify all the different factors of an organized schedule. To keep this simple and not overwhelming, I’m going to try to give you the basic, but absolutely essential steps of an organized schedule. If you love lots of details, check out some of my previous, in-depth posts on this:

How To Organize Your Weekly Schedule

How To Organize Your Daily Schedule

How To Plan Efficient Morning And Evening Routines

ORGANIZE YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE

1. Go over to the Printables page and print out a copy of the Lifetime  Weekly Schedule.
2. Fill in all weekly events and appointments that occur every week, such as work, school, and church.
3. Make a list of all tasks you do every week. Try to batch similar tasks together such as all errands, all cleaning, and things like that.
4. Pick a certain day of the week to do each of your weekly tasks. In other words, have a bill paying day, an errands and grocery day, a cleaning day, a home project day, and a family day. Those are just examples, but the point is to have a set day every week for everything that’s on your weekly to do list.
5. Work around your pre-scheduled things, such as school, work, appointments, and things that happen on a regular weekly basis. 
6. Use Time blocking to pick the best slot in your week for each thing that needs to get done. Click here for more information on time blocking.
7. Write everything on your Lifetime Weekly Schedule printout and you now have a template for your ideal weekly schedule.

ORGANIZE YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE

1. Plan your daily schedule every evening after dinner or before bedtime. It helps you sleep better when all those details are on paper and out of your head.
2. First, you’ve got to start with anything that’s scheduled for the day, such as work, school, doctor appointments, meetings, and things that must happen at a certain time.
3. You also have to block out time for basics such as mealtimes and sleep.
4. Next, think of your top priority projects for that day. This is usually what you planned for that day in your Ideal Schedule. Schedule these into your day around your appointments and basics, such as mealtimes and sleep.
5. If possible, schedule your priority projects for the morning so you can make sure you get them done before your day gets full of unplanned interruptions.

ORGANIZE YOUR MORNING AND EVENING ROUTINES

1. When planning your daily schedule, try to have a regular “start time” for your to-do list. Do what works for you. For example, you might want to start at 9, or maybe 10. Then work backward to figure out what time to get up in the morning to get dressed and be ready to start your day.
2. Have an “early morning routine” of things you like to do before getting started on your day. This would be things like exercising, breakfast, and getting dressed. I also like to have time for drinking coffee and having devotions. I also include about 30 minutes for doing basic household chores like doing dishes, starting laundry, picking up clutter, and things like that.
3. Now that you know when you need to get up in the morning, count backwards to figure out what time to go to bed. Sounds obvious, right? It is, but so many people say they stayed up too late and couldn’t get out of bed the next day. It’s just a matter of discipline.
4. Before bed, have a wind down routine. It’s relaxing and lets your body know it’s almost time for sleep. I like to start about an hour before bedtime, take about 20 minutes for brushing teeth, washing my face, and other pre-bedtime stuff. Then I make some herbal tea and relax, watching tv or reading till bedtime.

TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR SCHEDULE WORK

• Remember that your ideal weekly schedule is your schedule if everything went according to the plan every week. Realistically, life doesn’t usually go according to a set plan. We get invitations, plans, new events, and that’s what makes your life fun and meaningful. So, use the ideal weekly schedule as a guideline and move things around as needed. It doesn’t matter so much when you do your to do’s as long as you do them.
• Don’t try to schedule every second of every day. Have a little breathing room in your day. Ideally, you should have about a 30 minute cushion of time after every task on your list. That goes for time before and after appointments, too. If that doctor appointment takes 3 hours instead of 2, it won’t totally wreck your plans.
• Make time for family. Don’t be so strict about your schedule that you don’t spend time with family and friends. Move things around to fit your priorities. Your family is a top priority, right?

I hope this helps you simplify and organize your weekly and daily schedule.  Remember, keep it simple and aim for progress, not perfection.

Do you know what else sets you up for an organized day? Being able to put yourself together quickly so you feel good about yourself and ready to tackle everything in your schedule throughout the day. To me, that means an organized wardrobe and simple beauty routine. I hope you’ll be back for that next time.

Till then, have a wonderful day!