How to Stay Organized With a Routine
Create a spreadsheet with eight columns., Block out fixed hours., Schedule in recreation., Prioritize events and deal with unexpected changes., Try your schedule out for one week., Make necessary revisions.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Create a spreadsheet with eight columns.
The document will represent your schedule for the week.
The left column should start with the time that you wake up and end with the time that you go to bed.
The other columns should be labeled each day of the week.
For example, if you wake up at 7am and go to bed at 11pm then the first row in the left column should read 7am.
Then continue down the column in one hour increments until you reach 11pm.
Try creating individual spreadsheets for everyone in the family so that everyone can stay more organized. -
Step 2: Block out fixed hours.
Go through the document and indicate times that are already occupied with an activityFor example, if your lunch hour is 12pm-1pm then be sure to indicate that on your schedule.
Other activities that you should block out include:
Meetings Classes and study time Sleeping times Church Appointments Children’s activities Spouse’s activities that you plan to attend Commute time Exercise , Recreation is just as important to your quality of life as work and studying.
In fact, recreation has been associated with benefits to health related to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.It has also been known to reduce stress level.
Therefore, be intentional about scheduling in recreation around the other fixed hours.
Some great recreational activities include:
Recreational Sports Activities at the YMCA Church activities Programs at local parks and community centers Consider scheduling in some recreational time with the entire family.
There are a lot of family programs that will meet the recreational needs of the entire family. , You may have your schedule set only to have a last-minute request or obligation pop up, or the timing might change for an event that conflicts with something else on your schedule.
This is nothing to panic over — remember, life is unpredictable! You'll need to learn how to prioritize and rank each task to decide what is most important.
Think about whether or not you can reschedule a task or event for another time, if you feel the task is important or necessary, what you can delegate to another person, etc. , Be sure to monitor if you’ve allotted yourself enough time for certain activities.
For example, did you give yourself enough time to commute to and from work or do you find that you’re often late or racing to get there on time? , Create a revised schedule based upon the problems that you note in your original schedule.This way your schedule will be more reflective of your actual reality.
For example, if you find that you are consistently arriving to work 15 minutes late, then your revised schedule should add an additional 20 minutes of commute time. -
Step 3: Schedule in recreation.
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Step 4: Prioritize events and deal with unexpected changes.
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Step 5: Try your schedule out for one week.
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Step 6: Make necessary revisions.
Detailed Guide
The document will represent your schedule for the week.
The left column should start with the time that you wake up and end with the time that you go to bed.
The other columns should be labeled each day of the week.
For example, if you wake up at 7am and go to bed at 11pm then the first row in the left column should read 7am.
Then continue down the column in one hour increments until you reach 11pm.
Try creating individual spreadsheets for everyone in the family so that everyone can stay more organized.
Go through the document and indicate times that are already occupied with an activityFor example, if your lunch hour is 12pm-1pm then be sure to indicate that on your schedule.
Other activities that you should block out include:
Meetings Classes and study time Sleeping times Church Appointments Children’s activities Spouse’s activities that you plan to attend Commute time Exercise , Recreation is just as important to your quality of life as work and studying.
In fact, recreation has been associated with benefits to health related to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.It has also been known to reduce stress level.
Therefore, be intentional about scheduling in recreation around the other fixed hours.
Some great recreational activities include:
Recreational Sports Activities at the YMCA Church activities Programs at local parks and community centers Consider scheduling in some recreational time with the entire family.
There are a lot of family programs that will meet the recreational needs of the entire family. , You may have your schedule set only to have a last-minute request or obligation pop up, or the timing might change for an event that conflicts with something else on your schedule.
This is nothing to panic over — remember, life is unpredictable! You'll need to learn how to prioritize and rank each task to decide what is most important.
Think about whether or not you can reschedule a task or event for another time, if you feel the task is important or necessary, what you can delegate to another person, etc. , Be sure to monitor if you’ve allotted yourself enough time for certain activities.
For example, did you give yourself enough time to commute to and from work or do you find that you’re often late or racing to get there on time? , Create a revised schedule based upon the problems that you note in your original schedule.This way your schedule will be more reflective of your actual reality.
For example, if you find that you are consistently arriving to work 15 minutes late, then your revised schedule should add an additional 20 minutes of commute time.
About the Author
Katherine Hernandez
Committed to making organization accessible and understandable for everyone.
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