In this post, we look at how to plan the tasks into your life. As we discussed before, your life is complex with lots of competing elements. But to get your To Do List completed, you need to plan them in. Get your diary out. Again, if you don’t have one, use what you find the best, a Wall diary, a beautiful day planner, your online calendar. Pick something you will use daily. Put in anything you know about already, block out work time, celebrations, appointments already made. Get rid of those bits of paper you were using, and put any letters in a pile for later - this is a task I am sure you have - filing paperwork or important letters. You may be able to do this diary planning when watching the TV or whilst the kids are doing their homework. Doesn’t that feel good?
Now, what space do you have left. If you have some urgent tasks, try to book those in first. Appointments you need to make? Slot them into a lunch-time and set a reminder with the details you need e.g. telephone numbers, references, information. This way you can complete it as fast as possible. Once booked, put it into the diary as soon as you can.
Don’t overload your time, add in time for Mindfullness or exercise if you want. If you have a task that will take a morning or evening and you have kids, put this in when they have an activity e.g. a club, visit with friends or perhaps they can help you? Make it fun for them too, then book in something nice after it. Going out for a coffee or a swim, visiting a cinema or a long soak in the bath.
At first book in 2-3 tasks per week, especially if you are working full-time. Pick those that are most urgent and that you don’t have to get tools or information for. Make sure you have written a task to get this information or tool so you can do those tasks later. Plan in some simple but not so pressing tasks as well. The more you tick off the better you feel.
Do this for a few weeks, then see how you go. Do you put too much in and fail? Have you under or over-estimated the time needed? Don’t worry, the next post will help you review how you are doing. If you think that you will never have any spare time to do any of your tasks, below is a blog with some suggestions for making more time in your daily life.