5 Reasons to Schedule Your Whole Day
This post is part of the MyShingle Solos summer series which was scheduled to run between June 17 and July 3, 2014 and was extended one more day to include some additional guest posts.
This post is written by MyShingle Guest Blogger Women Lawyers News
The flexibility of entrepreneurship and solo practice presents a challenge to working efficiently. Yet, working efficiently is key to maximizing available time for family, friends, or additional business opportunities. Try starting your morning by reviewing your to-do list, weeding down, and writing a roadmap for your whole day.
Here are five reasons to give this a try:
1. Increased focus. Our days are full of temptation to jump from one project to another, tackling what pops up in front of us. If you are scheduled to check your email from 9-9:20 a.m., dismissing a 9:07 a.m. distraction is easier. Focusing is also easier when you are only required to attend to one thing for a limited period of time.
2. Better time allocation. Scheduling provides the opportunity to allocate time to the most important tasks. Otherwise, tasks that are more noticeable but less important may attract unjustified attention. When an unscheduled task inevitably pops up, “screen” the task to see if it is important enough to warrant changing your roadmap.
3. Feeling accomplished. Each day, you can pick just a few things that you really want to tackle and schedule those, increasing the chances they will get done and that you will feel accomplished.
4. Controlling time-stealing tasks. Many tasks, like proverbial goldfish, tend to grow to the size of their containers. A ten-minute task can take an hour if you give yourself an hour to get it done. Schedule an appropriate amount of time with a reasonable buffer.
5. Balance and health. We are more likely to make time to relax, exercise, cook healthy foods, and so on, if these items are scheduled.
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I often fall “victim” to #4. I find returning calls in blocks of time is helpful, and do my best to adhere to this. I also turn off my cell phone when drafting … alerts, while useful, can also be distracting.
Agreed! Also saw this article (http://www.womenlawyersnews.com/2014/06/24/news-day-tuesday-june-24-2014-coverage/ – first item) on resetting how often your email loads, very tempting. We should set office phone off for chunks of time too, thanks for the inspiration.