Scheduling Your Day to Optimize Your Life

Written by Estela Rivarolo

I discovered that many people who failed in their efforts to accomplish their goals have a common problem: “the absence of a schedule.” They don’t have a written schedule to use as a road map for each day; therefore they lose perspective of what they are trying to accomplish. A flexible schedule can be revised and adjusted every evening before the next day begins.

When you are making a schedule, be sure to prioritize the tasks for each day. The hours you spend at work or as a student go on the schedule. It is important to also include time for physical activity, relaxation and socializing; grocery shopping, meals preparation and family time, not all on the same day of course. Balance and time management are some of the benefits of keeping a schedule.

For some people scheduling first the one thing they like the least, which is always postponed, may be a must to do first as an exercise of disciple. For others, the importance of the tasks must align with the desired outcome for the day. Successful scheduling is reasonable. It is good to be ambitious; however, an overloaded schedule would set one up for failure and discouragement. Connecting to the God of your understanding in the morning, may give you clarity to take the right actions to experience a sense of well-being every day.

Physical activity, proper rest, a few minutes to breathe deeply and meditate are essential in scheduling a harmonious day. You may include self- examination through writing to give you an awareness of any possible internal conflict. I am saying a few minutes, because overloading the schedule with unreasonable or extra-demanding tasks will cause you to get weary very soon and want to give up. In writing your schedule, remember to know your limitations; competing with your past is ineffective, just know that you were able to succeed then, and now, one day at a time, as long as you keep a realistic schedule you will succeed again.

Completing all the tasks for the day, takes away the overwhelming pressure of seeing what needs to be done in a week. Having a rewarding and fulfilling day means that in scheduling that day you include activities and tasks that satisfies your entire being, body soul and spirit.

It may sound like a cliché but never leave home without it. Successful people keep their schedule on their phones or notebooks in order to stay focused and productive. They stick solemnly to a task until it is totally completed without moving on to the next. Of course, in life there is the unpredictable, the beauty is that the next day you can get back into the right track. The most important fact is that carrying a schedule with you becomes a habit. At the end of the day you feel rewarded because you stuck to your schedule; you accomplished lots of things and lived that day to its fullness without being overwhelmed. Scheduling is an asset to your success!

Estela Rivarolo
P.E. Professor in Argentina; Massage Therapist and Nurses Assistant in California; Compulsive Eating Disorder Sponsor for 20 years; Physical Activity and Nutrition Mentor to High School Students with the SOS Shape Up Organization; certified Wellness Coach, Life Coach with the Spencer Institute.