Stoicism - PART 7 Time Management

In my previous entry I talked a bit about the actions I am taking to establish a set schedule and improving on it as I identify how I can reorder my activities and responsibilities more efficiently, there's no question that the best way of doing so is by trial and error. I pointed out that once we have a set plan for our daily routine it is important that we stick to it, even if we identify a possible improvement throughout the course of the day, this is not only for us to avoid distracting ourselves from the task in hand, but to develop our discipline and doing what we say we are going to do. I can sit and plan out a routine attempting to perfect it for hours but if I don't end up following it there is no guarantee that the time I spent working on it will be of any use. 

I also did my best to express how important it is to use our time wisely, because it is definitely our most valuable non-renewable resource that we've been given. It's important that our actions are executed in a manner that we do them as if we had little to no time left. Years can feel like a blink of an eye when we don't have our priorities established appropriately and if this is the case for you then I can assure you that you are in desperate need of analyzing your short-term and long-term goals in order to start improving your time management. This is exactly what I will be doing in this entry and hopefully it will help you on your own journey of self-improvement.

Our goal here will be to set a routine that will guarantee that we end each and every day with a sense of satisfaction, in fact we will need to be able to prove to ourselves that what we accomplished during the day is something that ultimately added at least one bit to our personal development and/or goals. This means that every single day you will need to ask yourself what it was that you did today that helped you get a step closer to where you want to be. It sounds challenging, and I'm almost positive that it won't be easy to accomplish consistently. We know that there are factors in play that will be against us and hopefully by now you've read my entries on combatting anxiety and finding motivation, being prepared for those challenges will be key to being able to progress in this part of the process.

There isn't much I can dive into regarding the specifics of our daily tasks, we all have different goals and responsibilities that we will need to integrate into our action plan, and I will try to generalize the thought process of my situation as much as possible so you can apply it according to your circumstances. So, there are two main activities that I will prioritize in my plan, these being my work hours and exercise. I will be creating my schedule around these two main activities that in my current situation are the most important to reach my goals. (You don't need to follow the same priorities)

The reasons behind these priorities are due to my goal of career growth and paying off my credit debt by the end of the year. Secondly, I have a long-term goal of keeping myself physically fit as this has proven to be key in my overall energy, motivation and mood. Below is a simplified example of what your schedule can end up looking like, for the sake of simplicity I've left out additional activities such as reading, playing soccer and family time:

Time	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
7-8 AM	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
8-9 AM		Portuguese	Portuguese		Portuguese	Portuguese
9-12:30 PM		Work	Work		Work	Work	Work
12:30-7:00 PM	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
1:30-7 PM		Work shift	Work shift		Work shift	Work shift	Work shift
7-7:30 PM	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
7:30-9 PM	Gym/Jog	Gym/Jog	Gym/Jog	Gym/Jog	Gym/Jog	Gym/Jog	Gym/Jog
9-9:30 PM	Hygiene	Hygiene	Hygiene	Hygiene	Hygiene	Hygiene	Hygiene

I've pointed out several times how important it is that we follow the schedule we planned, but there are bound to be exceptions like social gatherings and special occasions. We don't want to keep ourselves from enjoying life as it ultimately beats the purpose of what we are trying to accomplish here, which is a state of wellbeing and continuous improvement. We must find a balance that allows us to maintain a level of discipline in order to make the most out of every day, this is where we will need to be proactive and quickly identify what changes can be made to further improve our productivity and overall wellbeing. Mistakes will surely be made, potentially even requiring us to completely reorder our routine, but we mustn't feel discouraged, every step of the way is a lesson learned and will help us get to where we want to be. 

Think of your daily tasks as a ball that you need to push up a mountain. When you fail to do a specific task, the ball rolls a bit back and it will require a bit more work to get it back to where it was, but as you get the ball up that mountain every single day it will become easier and easier, until eventually that mountain is no longer big enough for you. That's what will happen when you reach one of your set goals, and once you do you should immediately look for a bigger mountain, or you will quickly lose strength that you gained from all of that pushing! The more consistent we become the easier it will be to overcome even the highest of mountains, be patient and believe in yourself. 

See ya!