Freeing yourself by keeping a schedule Believe it or not, you can actually set yourself free by making and keeping a schedule. More often than not, there are so many tasks on our plate that we often forget to complete the ones that matter most. Schedules keep us on track. Scheduling out your life lets you know exactly what you can do and what you can’t.
What Not Scheduling Your Day Can Lead to People relinquish their freedom later by not taking care of what they need to do, now. A college student finds herself in the library on a Friday night instead of spending with her friends when she puts off her ten page paper for a day of fun in the sun. No student says they were glad to put it off. They only bitterly regret it. When people schedule a time to work on something, and actually do it, they can confidently make plans with their friends instead of making excuses. Tasks get done quicker when you keep a schedule. It takes longer to accomplish tasks when they are not planned. With no clear expectations on when to finish, we tend to approach our assignments in a lazy manner. Work easily takes a back seat to an episode of Psych. It can also be thwarted by countless hours of time checking your notifications and pictures on Facebook. Since you always have “later” to finish your task, you can take an extended break right now. Extended breaks come all too frequently, extending the life of your project. A task that could have taken you thirty-five minutes is now taking thirteen hours. Blocking out times at regular intervals to complete assignments will push you to focus your energies.
What a Good Schedule Will Do for You Distractions are easier to fend off when you have a goal to work for. Your goal motivates you to accomplish the task in the allotted time because you realize that once you finish, you’ll be done with it forever. Getting your tasks done earlier helps you enjoy your leisure activities more. Whether or not you are actually working on an assignment, your brain is processing it subconsciously. You always know you’re not doing what you’re supposed to and you often feel guilty about it. By the time you get around to completing the assignment, you’ve already been
working on it mentally for several more hours then you originally intended. In contrast, when you make it a priority to finish the assignment in the allotted time, you avoid spending any more mental energy on it then you should. With a free conscious, you become free to truly enjoy what you want to be doing. It’s easy to get set on a schedule, just take ten to twenty minutes every night to plan out your next day. Once your day is planned, you can go to bed, wake up, and take a glance at your schedule. Pocket calendars are cheap. There are some awesome software options as well. One of the best ways to use an online scheduling program, keeping a list of your daily activities in a universally accessible location will help you stay on track no matter where you are, even when you leave your calendar or smart phone at home.