Years ago, I realized that being a planner and detailed scheduler gave me a sense of security and comfort. I discovered later that it was a reaction to having some kind of control over my life – something that I didn’t have early on in my development. Furthermore, I learned that it was a positive habit, so the reward feedback encouraged me to maintain the behavior.
Nowadays, I need it to reset my mental state and feel balanced. โ๏ธ
With two months of my previously scheduled life thrown by the wayside, I felt it was time to get myself back to “regularly scheduled programming” and reset. Despite having tried it a few weeks back, it didn’t take as my body and mind were not ready.
However, knowing that I was near getting the green light to return to a biped state ๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธ, last Thursday I felt it was time.
First, I listed out the tasks that I have either been putting off for far too long or the ones that I know I need to get done regularly. Then, I broke down those tasks into daily chunks and put them on to my Todoist app that I use to guide my daily activities. This is a great and simple method of feeling a sense of accomplishment each day for me. It is second to making the bed each day knowing that at least I achieved one “good” thing for the day. ๐
Next, I went to my Google calendar to schedule in when these activities are to be done throughout the day. Now, some of you might be thinking this is just going too far, but I am a big believer in maximizing my productivity. So, I achieve this by also setting aside the times in which my tasks can/should be done. Before any reader moans or rolls their eyes ๐ at this, note that just because they are in my calendar or on my to-do list doesn’t make it an absolute. I am quite flexible with my times and tasks since about 90% of what I do is designed for and determined by myself, so there are no severe consequences of any kind should I decide to procrastinate, reschedule or even skip something. ๐คช
Generally speaking, this scheduling and listing is used as a guideline for me each day.
The question might arise as to why I do this. My answer is that it helps me. It works for me. I achieve a fair amount by doing it. So, why not? Besides, it’s also pretty! ๐
The truth is that I do not have a 9-to-5 job. My work is freelance and on my own time. My passion/life’s purpose is to write – on my own time. In this world of constant distractions, living by chaos-led direction, and a myriad of other excuses/reasons that our creative brains are able to come up with to justify our methods, I choose to channel and redirect so that I can feel content at the end of each day and still find the time to enjoy life fully. I do not want to go to bed at night wondering, “What did I do today?”.
Instead, I have a task-list that gets ticked off as proof of having achieved. I have a calendar scheduled as a guide for those moments when I might think, “What was I doing?” or “What should I be doing right now?”
This brings me security and a sense of calm. Who doesn’t want that?
~T ๐ฅ๐โ๏ธ
