Making and Keeping a Schedule Takes Work

A schedule is about more than time management; it’s also about balance.

There’s a lot on my mind today. As I sit here and ponder it, I realize there are three levels to my thinking.

The first is global. What in the actual hell is going on out there? Like, how did we get here? Why are those who have the power to fix it unwilling to? How can there be so much shortsightedness to it all?

But, of course, there isn’t jack shit I can do about that. So I need to observe, take in what I do need to know versus what I can reject, and move on.

The second is the interpersonal stuff. Interactions with friends and loved ones. Thoughts about conversations I am looking forward to having, discussions I’d prefer not to, and the topics I will avoid for the sake of my sanity. Nothing horrid is going on here, just the usual, really.

And then there’s the third, where I get to the stuff wholly in my control. Upcoming work to finish editing the audiobook for my next novel release, reaching my daily word count goal for ongoing fiction writing, exercising, consuming enough water, and more. All the things I do on any given weekday as I walk this path I’ve chosen.

To do that, I’ve had to step away from how I used to do things and put more concerted time and effort into making and keeping a schedule. And this has proven incredibly invaluable to walking my path through this life how I most desire to.

Unsurprisingly, this takes work.

Focus, energy, attention

In my 20s and 30s, I often allowed my subconscious mind to drive me. Oh, there were flashes of conscious awareness where I made choices and decisions about this, that, or the other thing. But, for the most part, I allowed confusion, indecision, and fear to keep me at a crossroads and constantly looking over fences for greener grass.

This was part of my attempt to fit a mold that wasn’t who I am. I was trying to work the right job, find the right relationship, live in the most appropriate place, and so on. This was when I had big dreams but zero idea how to make them manifest.

After a lot of therapy and learning how to apply active conscious awareness via mindfulness, I woke up. Rather than let my subconscious pull me along, I began to make more active choices and decisions. Maybe the 9-to-5 corporate world isn’t where I belonged. Perhaps I’m not wired for monogamy, but rather polyamory. It’s possible I can learn to be comfortable in my own skin.

All of this came with a bunch of work. Specifically, I needed to do better with my focus, attention, and energy. Rather than allow my subconscious to drive me, I needed to focus on who, what, where, how, and why I desired to be. Likewise, it’s on me to choose and decide what to give my energy to. Finally, my attention span and where I direct it is mine to control.

Thanks in part to my highly-organized, note-taking spouse, I learned the value of a schedule. That has been a game changer.

Making and keeping a schedule

When I had the opportunity to shift away from working standard corporate gigs, I found one interesting problem. Without a boss or an office to go to, I still needed accountability. Turns out, I needed to make and keep a schedule.

However, and this is important, what this entailed isn’t especially rigid or time-bound. But it does require that I account for myself and the things I need to do daily. Specifically, on weekdays.

Some writers literally write every single day. I, however, in the interest of my authorpreneur business approach, take weekends off. That’s all well and good, but that doesn’t give me a schedule for the other 5 days of the week.

Confession time. I’m not a fan of lists. I’ve never been one for keeping track of my accounting, monetarily or otherwise. I’ve mostly considered myself to be a free spirit and a go-with-the-flow improviser. There’s a time and a place for that. But I’ve learned sometimes you need a schedule.

Mine is not set to a specific hour or other time of day. But I have a whiteboard listing my daily jobs and goals, and I check them off and track them.

The things on my schedule are:

Edit (novels or audiobooks, at least 1-3 chapters daily)
Write 1500 words of fiction (nonfiction blogs aren’t part of this)
Meditate (I spend 14-20 minutes a day meditating)
Journal (I write down thoughts, ideas, and feelings I share with nobody)
Exercise (important for mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health)
Affirmations (keep my mindset/headspace/psyche self consciously aware)
Water consumption (8-12 twelve-ounce glasses of water daily)

Having the whiteboard requiring me to check off each item when it’s done has made me more productive, more efficient, and better balanced. But this takes work.

Making and keeping a schedule takes work

There are no magic pills in the world. I don’t care how good any of them might appear; none of them just “poof” and make things different. Work and effort are important here.

You can take that GLP-1 and lose weight, sure. But the dramatic results as advertised require more effort. Conscious dietary choices, intentional exercise, and the like. Similarly, the SSRI might help your depression, but to really tackle it also requires therapy and self-guided work like journaling, intentional exercise, and mindfulness.

Making and keeping a schedule is the same. It takes work to set it up and work to maintain it. Following it is an act of active conscious awareness. That’s because following my schedule is all about the choices and decisions I make.

I choose when to sit down and edit. Or write. If I don’t have fencing practice in the evening, I need to choose how to exercise. Maybe a bike ride, a walk, or take out my kayak? Use the treadmill or stationary bike? When do I go through my affirmations? Do I meditate before or after lunch?

Every choice I make impacts not just my productivity, but my balance. This also helps engage the subconscious need for some rote and routine in my life. Society is all about rote and routine, and unless you’re utterly asleep at the wheel, you feel the pull toward it. (For the record, those asleep at the wheel are already under its spell.)

There is one last important factor here, however.

Forgive yourself when you fail

Sometimes things happen that make my schedule go straight to hell. Of course, many are utterly outside of my control. If the power goes out, I can’t write or edit (at least from my desktop PC). There might be a contractor coming that I need to spend time with. I might have an appointment with a doctor or financial planner or other person that sucks up a bunch of my day. Shit happens.

And of course, I also sometimes get lazy. Lethargy, exhaustion, frustration, and depression can, will, and do override my schedule. But rather than get mad or self-recriminating, it’s important that I forgive myself for these.

Everyone fails. Nobody does it right or perfectly all the time. NOBODY. All the people on the planet hit snags, run into obstacles, trip and fall from time to time. And, unfortunately, many messages dominating our fear-based society deride, berate, and mock failure.

This is utter bullshit. You can, will, and do get it wrong and fail from time to time. Ergo, your schedule can, will, and does completely fall apart. Balance and time management go out the window.

It’s important that you recognize and acknowledge this. But then, afterwards, forgive yourself. Nobody’s perfect. Maybe today I missed one of my scheduled goals. Okay, now I need to be better tomorrow.

This takes work, too. But I think a more compassionate, kind, and understanding society begins with more compassion, kindness, and understanding toward the self. This includes forgiving yourself for failing, whatever that looks like. And that is also applied when you fail to keep and maintain your schedule.

Do you make and keep any kind of schedule for time management and balance, and how does it affect your life’s paths?

This is the seventh-hundred-seventy-third (773) exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – applying mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share my philosophy because I desire to make a difference in the world and help as many people as I can to find their empowerment with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to share and/or repost where it might do good for you and others.

The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.

Also, please check out my author website for the rest of my published fiction and nonfiction works.

Follow me here!