How I Schedule My Day and Stay Dilligent

It is currently 9 p.m., and today I’ve done about 6-and-a-half hours of school, gone on a run, cleaned parts of my house, and helped with my brother’s birthday party. And now, it’s time to blog because tomorrow is Saturday:) I’m a busy girl, and though my schedule clears up at times, I usually have a number of assignments and projects to work on at any given time. And I’m sure all of you can relate in some way.

It’s really easy to get stressed out when you have a million things going on at once, so today I want to share with you how I currently schedule my tasks and get everything done. I won’t get abstract about this- I’m sure you already realize the importance of staying dilligent. Today, I want to give you some very practical tips to help you stay dilligent and make time for what you love. Stay tuned to the end of the post for an in-depth tutorial on how I make my daily schedule!

Prioritize

This point might seem obvious to you, but it’s really key to “finding a balance” in a busy schedule. You need to know what you have to do and what tasks are most important. For me, my basic task priorities go: school, sports, and then blogging. Of course, blogging is super important to me, but right now, it’s not my #1 priority. And that means that if I need sleep, have a track meet, or have to write an essay, I don’t blog for that week.

Take a look at your schedule, figure out your priorities, and then do the most important things first. Then, if you run out of time, your most important tasks will be done. For example, don’t be afraid to skip a week of blogging or a day of working out if you need to do school instead.

Do the Hard Tasks First

Along with doing the most important tasks first, I find it helpful to do the hardest things first as well. If I’m dreading an assignment or feel like procrastinating on something, I get it done early in the day. Especially since my productivity level goes down drastically in the afternoon, it’s really helpful to have that thousand-word essay done in the morning. 😉

Think of whatever assignment or workout you’re dreading the most and do it first. Your energy level and motivation usually dwindles as the week/day goes on, so it’s better to have it out of the way as soon as possible!

Stay Away from Screens

*guilty look* ummm… this is a big one for me. YouTube is distracting. 😜 But in all seriousness, keeping screens far out of reach really helps me stay on track.

Just put away the screen! You can even give your phone to your mom if you need to, or just make it your goal not to use social media until you’ve completed your tasks. Trust me, it helps a lot!

Take Breaks

If I know I get a lunch break at exactly noon, I can stay much more diligent in the morning. Sometimes I just take a 5 minute break to stretch or put on a song and dance.

You can’t just sit down and work forever, so take time to intentionally rest. It really helps to recharge. Even 5 minutes helps! Here are some ideas for your break:

• Put on a song and jam
• Stretch or foam roll
• Eat a snack
• Take a power nap (I know it’s weird, but I can actually fall asleep really fast and take 10-minute naps. It only works for some people, but if it works, it works! It really helps me feel refreshed.)
• Make your bed or shower
• Do a quick core routine

Set Aside Time to Intentionally Rest Every Week

God gave us the Sabbath for a reason, ladies! It’s really helpful to set aside time every week to recoup and reset.

Even if it’s only a leisure few hours or just one morning to sleep in, set aside time during the week to rest. Maybe you’ll take a nap, read, or just talk with your family for a bit. It’s really helpful and helps me stay on task during the week. In my experience, if you know you have a certain time to rest, you’ll work hard to finish everything to make it happen.

Make a Schedule

Schedules are a bit intimidating to some of you, but I would encourage you to give it a try. It’s definitely not for everyone, but here’s how I do it if you would like to give it a go.

I really like writing my schedule the night before so I can think through the entire next day and be in a productive mindset when I wake up. It also helps me get as much sleep as possible because I then know how much I need to get done the next day. I have to go to track practice at a set time, so if I have less school, I can wake up later.

Basically, I make my schedule based on time rather than assignments. To-do lists actually stress me out. I know for other people, though, it’s exactly the opposite. My advice? Just do whatever helps you the most!

But for those interested, here’s my scheduling process…

First, I add up all the times of my tasks and breaks. For example, today I had 6.5 hours of school, and my morning routine usually is a bit short of 45 minutes. I also have a lunch break for half-an-hour or so. Once I add all that up (making sure to round up for time so I have a buffer and don’t have to stress over the minutes), I subtract that from the time I need/want to be finished. On most days, I have to be done close to three. Whatever the difference is, that’s the time I wake up.

Next, I make my schedule. I start with my morning routine (I write “Get ready for the day, breakfast, and devo”) and then write down my tasks. I pay attention to three main things in doing this:

1. Generally, I write assignments hardest to easiest and important to less-important.
2. I give myself some buffer time in my schedule: an extra 15 minutes never hurts!
3. I try to switch up the types of assignments to give my mind a break. For example, I don’t generally do 2 English-related assignments in a row. Try to use different parts of your mind and switch up the types of assignments you do.

Here’s an example to show you how my schedule generally works:

7:00- Get Ready for the Day, Breakfast, Devo
7:45- Comp/Lit - write outline and quick reading
9:30- Violin
10:00- History reading (8 pages)
11:00- Math
(Etc.)

Let’s Talk!

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post! Do you think I’m crazy for doing all this scheduling or do you do something similar? Comment below how you stay diligent in your daily tasks! I would love to hear from you:)

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