Advantages of Schedules and To-Do Lists
Discover the Benefits of Planning Your Day
Time management is not just getting the most out of your time. It is about making time for important stuff, dealing with “things that just come up”, and having some time to just relax and take a break. Making schedules and to-do lists is practical, easy and effective, enabling you to do much more with your time.
Whether you are a stay-at-home parent or a working one, whether you’re single or married, here is how you can use to-do lists and schedules to structure your day without being too rigid and obsessive about it.
Daily To - do Lists
Begin with planning your day using a Daily To-Do List . Spend 10-15 minutes the night before, writing down everything that needs to be done the next day. While you don’t really need a fancy planner or scheduler, keeping aside a separate diary or notepad, in an easy-to-see place would be helpful.
Prioritize Your ListBy packing in too many things, you would be setting yourself up for disappointment and undue stress. So, go over your list and cross out or reschedule the non-essentials or things that can wait for another day or so. This is, actually, where your weekly scheduler will come in handy. For effective time management, simply identify two or three main priorities and organize accordingly.
Be Realistic
Keep a realistic view of things. One of the key aspects of time management is not pushing yourself over the edge trying to accomplish everything you’ve put down. There would be days when you may be able to cross off all the items and then, there may also, be days when you can’t accomplish anything. The whole idea is to be structured without being rigid.
Weekly Scheduler
To plan your weekly schedule, on a single sheet of paper, draw up columns labeled – Home, Personal, School, Work, Errands, Things To Buy, People To Call or Meet, and so on. Under each column, then just jot down what needs to be done for that week. So, if you have to bake a batch of brownies for a School bake-sale, put it under School and if you want to get a manicure done, put it under Personal and so on.
The weekly scheduler will help you to plan your daily to-do list and so, if something doesn’t get done on a particular day, you are able to juggle and shift it around using your weekly schedule. Put this up in a place where everyone can see it and know how the week’s going. Also, if any thing sudden crops up, it can just be noted down there and everyone would know about it.
There are some great online time management tools that you could use for planning your day and making schedules and to-do lists, if you prefer typing over writing. Here are a few-
Tada Lists - Allow you to make to-do lists online.
Remember the Milk - A fun site that allows you to manage tasks, make lists and receive reminders along with a lot else.
The whole purpose of making a schedule and to-do list is to free up time and enjoy what comes with it. Though, initially, you may feel that it’s more work, with practice, it will become a habit and be great fun to do. Plus, being able to reap the benefits of never missing deadlines, paying bills on time, and most importantly, having the time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life will fill you with a sense of peace and fulfillment.
Time Management is Easy
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