Why I’m Considering Scheduling Myself
When 2021 was freshly turned from a chaotic 2020, I learned about the importance of setting up a schedule for yourself. The idea behind writing down a block of time for how long you’d spend on activities x and y per day or week is that it helps increase personal productivity. I tried it, and have to admit, when I stuck with following the weekly schedules I set for myself, my personal productivity improved. However, old habits are very, very difficult to change.
Where I went wrong.
When I learned about scheduling, I was working on completing the steps needed for induction into a national leadership society tied to the online university I was attending for a certificate. Part of the induction process was learning not just what makes a leader, but goal setting.
I was also reading a self-help book at the same time. Once again, one of the themes that came up was goal-setting. I don’t recall exactly if it was during one of the lessons for the leadership group, or in the book, but the idea of scheduling yourself was mentioned.
I applied it for a few weeks after wanting to put that method of personal productivity in practice. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, it seemed to work. Then I was inducted into the leadership society, and after a long stint of unemployment, I began to receive offers to interview. In addition to those situations, like everyone else I was trying to navigate a COVID world, and felt lost.
Reasons to try again.
I hold a down a full-time job these days, and don’t have nearly the same amount of time I had back when I was inducted into the leadership society and searching for jobs to apply to.
In addition to my plethora of hobbies, I’m trying to dedicate more time to writing. I joined Medium recently, and feel motivation to be consistent with my content. I’ve also been journal writing for over twenty-five years now, and while I try to write daily, sometimes I get sidetracked listening to music, or wasting time browsing forums related to my interests. That easy loss of focus has been a weakness of mine, which needs to be worked on.
I also believe in continuously learning, and like to keep up on certain topics I’m interested in. Unfortunately, it feels sometimes I never have enough time, and my attempts to learn sometimes fall into neglect.
The end goal.
The end goal for scheduling myself is to find what ultimately needs greater focus, and not to feel so mentally all over place. It’s difficult to be a productive writer when I decide to stop and grab my guitar, or open up YouTube and start watching a barrage of music videos.
Like most of us, my life is ever evolving. Yes, I may be wading in middle age these days, but it’s never too late to develop new and positive habits. It just may take some more work compared to if I tried this a couple decades ago.
