How to plan a schedule.

Disorganisation, time-wasting and not getting enough done in the day, can be easily countered with an effective and clear schedule.

Many people don't use schedules, thinking that they're fine without one, and that may be the case, but there's always room for improvement. Schedules quicken the time you take to think about what you have to do, you find that fitting more activities into the day will become easier as your productivity levels rise. (Due to the schedule)

1. List all activities and tasks to carry out. 

Firstly make a list of all the jobs you have to do for the day (more complex schedules can run over weeks, sometimes months). Prioritize them, starting with the most important and ending with the least important.

These jobs can include: shopping; telephone calls you need to make; e-mails you need to send etc... If you have room and if your schedule can allow it, make little details about the tasks in question. For example: directions; shopping list; specific phone calls and e-mails.

2. Estimate time-limits. 

With each task laid out in front of you, make an educated guess to how long those tasks are going take. When first starting, you might need to over-estimate a bit, just so you don't fall behind schedule or become disheartened. Once you're familiar with the length of time (roughly) the jobs are going to take, your schedule will be an affective tool in daily time-management.

If you find that certain tasks are too long for your taste, you could try splitting them up over two or more days. If you're unable to split them up and they have to be done all at once - no worries. You will have a good perspective on how much you can realistically get done that day.

3. Schedule the tasks. 

Now you know the priority of your tasks and the estimate of time they're going to take, you can now organise them into an effective order.

Place each job at a time when it would be best to do, normally bulking jobs together is the best thing to do. For example: bulking all phone calls, e-mails and letters you may have into one time section. 

You could estimate the total time for all these jobs put together and then knock them off in one go. This will free up space on your schedule and improve your overall time.

4. Find the type that works for you. 

Once you have a schedule that works for you - stick to it! There's nothing worse than when a schedule hinders your progress instead of aiding it. So don't waste time looking for other ones when you already have an efficient plan that benefits you.(Unless you can improve upon the one you have).

5. Have pen and paper handy. 

Always keep a pen and some paper on you at all times. This is for jotting things down that you want to remember and for ideas. The amount of times I've regretted not having these handy and then forgetting what I would've liked to remember......is frustrating.

6. Breaks 

Don't forget to schedule breaks, even five minute ones. These are crucial for maintaining concentration throughout the day. Your body needs quick periods of time to refresh and re-cooperate, letting your mind regather its bearings.

Having a glass of water in these mini-breaks is one way to make sure that you drink enough.

7. Clear objectives. 

When you look back over your schedule, make sure that you're clear about the objectives you want to achieve. Having an uncertainty in your plan can damage the strength of it and can lead to slow (or no)  improvement.

8. Resources and materials. 

Before starting any job of your choice, make sure you have planned before-hand. If there are any materials or resources you may need, make sure you get them before. It's horrible having to stop a job unfinished due to a lack of planning. Proverbs quote: "A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow".

Conclusion

Once into the habit of writing and planning schedules, your time-keeping; productivity; and organization will see an improvement. Many companies use them for smooth and productive efficiency, however, many people don't apply them to their lives.

If you're still having trouble planning your schedule (or if you would like some template guidance), these template designs may be of use to you: Right here.