Like most months, I'm plenty insecure. Still trying to figure out the third (and hopefully final) draft of Uneven Lines, and also trying to figure out life. My fiance and I really want get out of where we live and hopefully move to New York within the next few months. It's one of those things that I really want but at the same time find terrifying. Of course, I know I'm afraid of change but it really needs to happen.
What I'm really trying to do is get more organized. There are so many things I have to do, whether it's working on the book, exercising and eating right, reading more, trying to find a job or figure out how to branch out into freelance writing. It's a lot and I think I get easily overwhelmed so that's probably why I don't get a lot done.
So my new strategy is a schedule. A very detailed and planned ahead schedule. I couldn't find any templates I liked online, so I made my own in Excel, breaking each day down by the half hour from 7 AM to 11 PM. Then I figured I absolutely needed colored pens in order to mark things in by category. Who wants to look at entire schedule in boring black ink? These categories seemed to cover pretty much everything I would need or want to do in a given week.
And here is the actual schedule for this week. It's still a work in progress.
And the second page. Yes, we watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night like an old couple. And I'm trying to make sure I brush & floss my teeth and wash my face every night before bed, since I'm really inconsistent with it.
I'm still filling in some of the blanks but all of the major stuff is there. I'm not too worried about the weekends since my fiance doesn't work and we usually just figure out what we're doing as we go, anyway. And I really only get things done when I'm by myself. One of my biggest downfalls is just watching pointless TV all day, so with this schedule I can actually work in when I'm watching all of my shows, whether it's when they air or on demand the next day. And I won't watch TV at any other time (I hope!).
I don't know if this extremely structured schedule will help me or get very tedious right away, but we'll see. I've never tried being this organized before so I think it's worth a shot.
Do you stick to a schedule? What are your tips for being productive?
LOL - I used to have a schedule like that. It wasn't structured by the hour, but rather by how much time I would devote to each thing. (I have no set pattern in my life and wouldn't be able to follow one.) I think sometimes it's wise to write it out to keep us on track.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a similar system and it worked for awhile, but then I started feeling too restricted, like I didn't have room for spontaneity and just, I don't know, daydreaming. I do hope this works well for you - good luck with it! :)
ReplyDeleteEven if you abandon the schedule as too tedious, maybe by then, you'll have trained yourself to be in a better routine. Can't hurt to try.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I'm trying to get away from so much structure. But I'm in a different stage of life. My kids are teens, and I'm tired of taking care of 'things' (pets, people...) and being so responsible for so many years. :P
Thanks for visiting my blog. :)
IWSG #142 until Alex culls the list again.
I used to write a schedule for myself, but I never followed it, so I stopped. lol I, too, watch Jeopardy and Wheel. I used to have the handheld games. XD
ReplyDeleteIf you can find a schedule that works, go for it. I tend to be too chaotic for fixed schedules. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteIf you head to New York, make sure you wait until the winter is over.
Good luck with that! I've tried scheduling my time, and it always seems like something unexpected comes up that derails all my plans. I'm really not sure what my options are.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with keeping to your schedule! Most of my life runs on a schedule, but it's external. I know my 18 mo son wakes up at 4, my alarm goes off at 5:45, I need to leave for work by 7, start work at 7:30, exercise with co-workers at 12, pick up the kids by 5, get my daughter to little ninjas by 5:30, get home around 6:20, fix dinner, bathe the kids, and then get them to bed by 8:30. The rest of the day has free reign. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm drooling all over your blog because this is my thing. It's my thing! I just love color coded organization calendar schedules stuff!!! All of it! Sorry, I got carried away. Best of luck!!!!
ReplyDeleteA schedule? I like that! I think doing a schedule would help us to stay focused on the tasks we need to do. And even to get our butts to do the things we don't do but should. Good idea!
ReplyDeleteOrganization is the name of the game. Do whatever you need to do. I have an Excel and Word doc. I constantly have the top three things to do. Once I finish one, I add another from the list.
ReplyDeleteI have a color coded family calendar in google, but it is nowhere near this detailed. Of course, my day is planned for me from 7:30-4:30 daily, so I don't make as many choices about how to spend my hours. I can see how this could really help keep you on track though, by time boxing each item and making sure you've scheduled some time for all your priorities.
ReplyDeleteWow. I give you credit for putting together a schedule like this. I think I'd get distracted somewhere in the color assignment portion. But if you find it helpful, rock on. Also: the bf and I also watch Jeopardy together which is a little scary for me because I don't want him to discover how dumb I am. Doing old married couple things is cute. Hope you make it to NY!
ReplyDeleteWow, aren't you organized. I'd be scared to see how much teal coloring was on my page, especially on a day like this.
ReplyDeleteI'm so unorganized you put me to shame!! Find something that works for you, that's all that matters!
ReplyDeleteChange can be terrifying for sure. But it can be a good thing, too. (I know you've heard that before. lol) Actually, I'm going through a kind of change right now and I'm not all that agreeable to it. Your schedules are awesome! I used to do that when my kids were young. Then, they began to grow up and once the first of my four hit his freshman year in high school all my scheduling went out the window. I do miss it. Just one note of caution: don't make it so rigid that you end up disappointing yourself when life happens and you can't stick to it. I learned that the hard way. :)
ReplyDeleteWow that looks impressive (and colourful!). I hope you manage to stick to your schedule. Moving to New York sounds exciting. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteYou are organized! It's good to have some structure and know when you can fit writing into the day. =)
ReplyDeleteLooks like my calender! Only I use GoogleCalender. If I need to rearrange my schedule it's easy to do. I've also put together a binder of all my "month at a glance" "week at a glance" and various projects in the last week because I wasn't keeping on top of all my projects. I scoured Pinterest for AGES before I found the printables that I wanted.
ReplyDeleteI like it! You know I love my organization and color-coding :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the organization strategy. I'm not big on schedules myself, and yet I find myself following routines.
ReplyDelete