Today we live in a hectic and fast-paced world. We all have the same 24 hours each day, but for many, that is not enough. There is not enough time in a day to do all that we have to and all that we want. This forces us to make sacrifices and adjustments to the use of our time each day. Whether you are a person who watches the clock and every second seems like an eternity or if time runs out before you know it, this blog is for you. One of the secrets to success is having control and an understanding of time in relation to your schedule. We can either use the time we are given to propel us to do better and make advancements in our life, or we can waste that time away. In this blog, I want to lay out how to create a basic structure of your daily, weekly, and monthly schedule so that you can consistently make strides in your life to reach your goals.

(The link below is to see a visual representation of a Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Calendar. Feel Free to use the template I have set up. Each Calendar type is labeled and can be navigated at the bottom of the Excel Doc.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12yRGLkn4F79V_rZW0SDJN3O-fBI8Iz21cTW4eN-K5_A/edit?usp=sharing

Daily Breakdown

Having a daily breakdown for each day is important to find where you can take back control of your life. Many of my clients come to me and say that they feel stuck or that they need someone to help them stay on track. Creating a schedule is the first step to breaking those feelings and motivating yourself to get and stay on track. I know that having a schedule alone is not enough to get you where you need to be. However, what it does is create a map for you to make better choices. The daily breakdown of your schedule will be displayed in 24-hour blocks. Each day should be filled out for transparency with all the activities you want to accomplish. You should be as detailed as you can in the daily schedule. For example, if at work, you might have to do emails, make phone calls, and attend meetings. That means in the work time slot, you should avoid doing other things that do not represent that time slot. This would include things like scrolling through social media, shopping online, or watching internet videos. If you have set a break in your schedule, then any of these activities are fine, but you should not mix work with “pleasure” because it will make your work last longer. You do not want to get to the point where you let procrastination take over and become inefficient.

The daily calendar template I linked above is in hour blocks. This is the first step I recommend to all people trying to get in control of their day. Once you reach a point where your schedule can become more detailed, should you switch to a 30 Minute increments schedule window? Eventually, you will be able to have every minute of your day scheduled. I understand that life can throw curveballs whether at work or in everyday life, but it is important to have this foundation for a better you. The goal of scheduling is to utilize your time to do more high-energy activities than any low-energy activities (I am sure I do not have to say how easy it is to get lost on Facebook, Youtube, Etc.) These distractions can be avoided if you give yourself something to do. The things on your schedule should be mandatory and require your utmost attention. That means you are willing to skip social media at the office and wait until you get home later that night to scroll through Twitter or watch videos on Youtube.

When creating your daily schedule, I want you to put in some “Free Time” first for each day. It is important to do this first because if you don’t, then you won’t make much, if any, for it during the day. This is important to promote/invigorate natural motivation for completing less desirable tasks. If your schedule is filled with all work and no excitement, then there is a high probability that you will get burned out and choose a lower-energy activity instead of challenging yourself. For example, you might choose to scroll through social media than send out your emails for the day. Another example would be if you are at work and decide to make frequent excursions to the break room to grab a coffee and chat with a colleague instead of focusing on your work for the scheduled period of time. Now I am not saying that you have to be so strict that you cannot get up and use the restroom or grab a drink. What I want you to realize is that the schedule you create should be linked to a set of rules to help you stay on track. (Some of my rules are: No Social media until noon, leaving the phone in another room when it is time to work uninterrupted, and daily learning)

At the end of the day, you should be able to look back at your daily schedule and be able to say you accomplished the majority of the scheduled activities. You know yourself best and know all the things you would rather do. That is why having your free time for the day is important. You will start to realize that 24 hours is not a lot of time in the scheme of things, but it is the same amount that everyone has each day. What it comes down to is how you plan and how closely you can follow that plan each day. Your daily schedule can be the start of your transformation into being more efficient and driven to daily self-growth.

Weekly Breakdown

Your Monday-Friday might be the same each day, but you should still create your schedule so you can see it in its entirety. Being able to see your whole week planned out is similar to looking at the directions on your GPS. Everything you need to reach your destination should be right in front of you. By the end of the week, you should be closer to where you want to be. However, many people make the mistake of working each week and never choosing to live. Some people honestly think that happiness is at retirement. They think that all the days working until 65 are mandatory and that once they reach 65 years of age, they can retire and be happy. Well, as you may know by now that happiness is not a timestamp or a contingency. Happiness is a state of mind that only you can determine for yourself.

The importance of your weekly calendar will be to reflect on what was planned and what was accomplished. You can compare past weeks if you want to, but I find that comparing months offers a better contrast between where you were and where you are now. What I love about my weekly calendar is that I can see the game plan at the start of the week. The main benefit of this is that I avoid having to make mundane choices. If you are familiar with decision fatigue, then you know that you have a set number of choices each day. The more choices you have to make, the less you will want to do a high-energy-level activity. That is why the morning time is important to conquer. If you can conquer your mornings, then you can conquer your days.

Having a weekly schedule allows you to find the areas of your life that do not benefit you. Perhaps you come home each day and spend more than two hours watching television. It could be that you have run out of energy and need something light to help you recover. That might be the case for you, but I noticed in college how much time I was wasting in front of the television set each day. That led me to create a rule that I keep to this day which is, No T.V Monday-Thursday. It sounds a bit harsh, but I can attest to you that it has changed my life. I have started to read books instead of turning on the television, which has given me the knowledge and entertainment I never knew was at my fingertips. Learning for me is a daily activity, but I measure how much I learn each week.

Along with preserving energy, making choices, and finding new passions, a weekly schedule can simplify life. I cannot tell you that last time I was bored. I do not do things or go to places that will not benefit me or provide me with some type of pleasure. Whether it be the joy of learning, giving, or sharing, I have to find how I can grow from the experience. Perhaps I will learn that I do not want to do this again. On the other hand, I might stumble across something amazing and life-changing. That is why for any new experience, you should walk into it with an open mind. Be a sponge and try to fill your week with as much learning and new experiences as you can. Life is not stale or boring if you add the right amount of spice to it.

Monthly Breakdown

The last area in your scheduling is your Monthly breakdown. For me, this is the easiest to follow and keep track of because there are many days to fit in what needs to be done. Time doesn’t feel so much against you when you have more of it. In all honesty, you don’t feel time unless you don’t have much of it. Whether it be a school project you waited until the last minute to complete or the presentation at work that the boss wants on his desk in one hour. Those are the times when the time feels heavy. The good news is that the feeling of time pressing on you can be avoided by proper monthly planning. You should set up your months to focus on any type of growth (i.e., relationships, work, self, etc.)

Along with looking at your growth each month, you should also focus on creating static dates. In the monthly tab of the link posted, I give some examples of things you can add on a monthly basis. For me, I try to keep it simple with the activities because my days are filled and can become hectic, which doesn’t give me as much freedom at certain times of the month. However, I do make sure to do my best with the dates I set on a monthly schedule. For example, My Tune-Up Series blogs come out every third Friday of the month. That is something that I hold on my monthly calendar, along with date nights, budget meetings, and bulk shopping trips.

The goal of creating your monthly schedule is to simplify your life as much as you can. How can you make your family/work life better? What areas do you need to work on or step away from? Your monthly calendar should be filled with good things in your life. You should not have to wait for happiness to be a part of your life. I love what I do, and that makes doing it every day so much easier. That is why on my monthly schedule, I put in any workshop/seminar, client session, or volunteer engagement. These are the nuggets of joy I get to experience on a frequent basis. When you find your purpose in life, things seem to move the way they should. There is not much downtime when you are working towards your best life. That is what the monthly calendar should represent.

There are many tools and programs that can help you create or stay on schedule. Now, whether you are old school and have a planner that you write in everything you must do or if you have everything on your digital calendar makes little difference. What matters is that you are willing to follow whichever platform you choose for your scheduling needs. I used to write my schedule out, but I was unable to keep up with doing that, so I evolved and opted for an application that goes on my cell phone/computer. I use an app called “TimeTune.” This app is only for android, but if you are an Apple user, I can recommend that you try “TimeBloc – Daily Planner.” Again, it doesn’t matter which app or planner style you use because if, at the end of the day, you are able to follow and maintain your schedule, then that is enough.

Now that we have a breakdown of all the types of schedules needed to get back in control of your days, can you now focus on what really matters? You have to look at your completed schedule and see if this schedule format is going to help you reach your most desired life. Will this schedule help you to be a better person tomorrow, or is it just another day, month, or year that has passed you by? Growing old happens every moment of your day without your consent. Though you might want to remain young and restless forever, it is important to look into the future at who you want to be. What type of person would you be proud of? Strive to create a routine that will help promote and cultivate that type of growth.

Until then,

Michael Rearden

Founder of Reven Concepts