Creating a Time Management Life Schedule

The number one excuse I hear regarding implementation of change is lack of time. In my prior blog, Authentic Information, I stated that time should not be viewed as a personal limiting factor for change. Why? Because you will always find time for things that are important and necessary to you in your life. You make time to sleep right? You may wish you had more hours to sleep, but none-the-less you make time for it every evening. You make time to eat. You may not always choose the most healthiest foods but you ensure there is time set aside for meals. You may make time for school or work or children.

Now you are probably saying, "Well of course I make time. I have to for those things. They are a priority." And yes - you are correct. But why are you not viewing the change you want as much of a priority as other aspects in your life? The percieved roadblock is finding exisiting time. Time does exist for you to implement change. You just have to know how to balance it. This is where a Life Schedule can help. Below is an example of a Life Schedule for a week. Here are the steps to get you started and find the time you are looking for:

Step 1: EXCEL is the easiest format to use in my opinion, but you can do this in a note book just as well. Write out your week starting with Monday and ending on Sunday. On the left, start with the time you normally wake-up and end with the time you normally go to bed. (If you do not have a regular bedtime schedule, a Life Schedule is a great place to start with that routine.)

Step 2: Begin by filling in all of your must do items. In the above example, work, dinner and homework was written in first. Make sure that you allocate the appropriate amount of time for each event. Cutting yourself short will set you up for failure.

Step 3: Are you missing anything you consider a priority? Some of you may want to schedule EVERY item you do. Others may group just the biggies. For example, you do not see grocery shopping or laundry on this Life Schedule. Listing everything can be overwhelming, but it does ensure that nothing is over looked.

Step 4: Where does the change you are looking for fit within your Life Schedule? By creating a visual picture, you are able to see spaces that you did not see before. The person in this example was trying to figure out how to incorporate weekday exercise into his schedule. See the extra column on Tuesday and Thursday? We found that he had the availability to exercise while his son played lacrosse. He had not considered this option until he was visually able to see space.

Step 5: Color code your schedule. Grey for the must do items. Blue for children activities. Pink for appointments. And your favorite color for your newly implemented change time.

Step 6: Share this with your support system. Print it and post it where you and others can review it. If people understand that Dad is exercising during lacrosse practice, the expectation is they will support giving Dad that opportunity.

Tip: Only create a life schedule one week at a time. Life does "get in the way" at times. Scheduling too far in advance does not provide the flexibility you need to create continued change. You need flexibility so that you can adjust, thus allowing you to stay focused on this new priority. Without adaptation, the likelihood of failure to carry change through increases. You may find after a week that you tweak the schedule to better fit your needs. You can find time in your day to create the change that you want. You just have to be creative on where to find it.