This week I’m trying to be more thoughtful and organized about how I approach my day. As I get older and take more on, my chaotic, shoot-from-the-hip style of time managment isn’t cutting the mustard. Not only am I becoming more involved in projects at the library, I’m also managing the social media and web presence of the family restuaruant, and being a dad, and a husband, and an artists, and…
You get the idea.
Every morning I commit 15-20 minutes to write down 3 critical tasks that need to get done, and an hour by hour timeline of the day, penciling in the critical tasks and any other tasks on my plate in the timeline. I decided early on in the week that WHEN I started the timeline didn’t matter, so long as it happened before lunch. I usually don’t get to my planner page until 2-3 hours into my morning, and I log what I did in the previous hours at this time. This morning I’d already done some ad-copy work for the restaurant and completed my workout, so two of my critical tasks for the day were already complete.
This experience has taught me a few things about myself. Writing down my list helps me not lose track of what needs to get done. Not because I have a list to refer to, but because I wrote it down and that cements it in my brain for the day. It’s also extremely cathartic to begin the timeline after I’ve started my day. My life feels like a blur sometimes and by the end of the day I couldn’t tell you everything I did. Starting the timeline a few hours into my day illustrates to me how productive I’ve already been, which builds momentum for the rest of the day.
It surprised me how easily I have been able to maintain the system, and alter it to suit the day’s purposes. Today, on a whim I jotted down a couple of sentences reflecting on a couple hours of my timeline. I also tracked my water consumption because it’s a workout day and I want to make sure I rehydrated properly. It’s coalescing into something like a bullet journal, but less anal-retentive in how it’s organized.
Overall, I really enjoy how this process has made me feel present and in control of my day. So far I’ve only used it for work, but I hope by incorporating my personal life I can figure out a consistent schedule for creative projects.
