Once I broke down where I spend my 24 hours a day, I realized the opportunity cost for anything I do or don't do. Sooo, I decided to befriend my Schedule. He is becoming that friend that watches out for me and tells me when I'm spending too much time working or being lazy. He also hurries me at times and tells me to relax at other times. Pretty good guy :-p
I have to personify it, so I can respect it!
I love using analogies and explaining myself in this type of way so I hope you don't get too weirded out and more importantly I hope it makes sense.
(Note: The inspiration behind this concept is Jordan Peterson who referred to the schedule as it being a friend and not a tyrant.)
Alright, so I've done a few things to get this relationship going...
I decided to use the Calendar on the Iphone to have a house for my friend (Schedule). The calendar is cloud based and can be pulled up on any device (Apple). This allows me to have no excuse for why I'm not following the schedule for the day/week/month. I started small and removed the thought that I was going to schedule everything and my mind would just follow and it would all work out. That's not how our minds work (at least not mine). I can tell you it resisted the first days! It didn't like it! I can tell you that thinking everything will be followed perfectly the first time was something pretty unrealistic.
Ok, so the main thing I realized about this was that I am working on establishing a HABIT. The HABIT being that of relying on my schedule by checking it all the time. How am I working on making this a habit? I'm respecting it by giving it time first of all. I sit down with him and try to schedule the majority of the week on Sunday and I adjust daily to add events that may come up during the week. I adjust it hourly if needed to give it the right data so it can help me. Back to Sunday, this is the day I schedule the main aspects of my life for that week which include: Prayer Time, Family, Work, and Sleep. Then I schedule time for the Gym (3 days) to give me the energy I need. After that I fill it up with every little detail from Drive Time, Reading Time, Work Meetings, Lunch Meetings, etc.
Everytime something doesn't go according to schedule I reschedule it and think of why I didn't get to do it. It holds me accountable and the openness to adjust the schedule is something positive. I don't beat myself up about it. I don't get mad at my "FRIEND" because I know he is just keeping me in check. So I negotiate with him, I reschedule the missed items and I walk away feeling good knowing that I can get to it as soon as my schedule permits again.
It's been working out pretty good so far. My productivity has increased quite a bit both at work and at home. I am also making time for my creativity and because of this I have come up with a few ideas and have made progress on making them a reality. One of those ideas being this blog you are reading. This was scheduled to be written this morning but I actually had to reschedule it for tonight. It happens but it still got done. The most important result has been that I have kept GOD at the center of my life by scheduling time with him daily.
Thanks for taking time from your day to read this and I hope it helps you or someone you know. I have provided a link to a lecture video by Jordan Peterson explaining this concept...
Happy Oscar
