{"id":2653,"date":"2010-07-24T17:11:41","date_gmt":"2010-07-25T01:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=2653"},"modified":"2013-08-23T08:56:03","modified_gmt":"2013-08-23T16:56:03","slug":"how-to-make-a-schedule-you-can-stick-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-schedule-you-can-stick-to\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Schedule You Can Stick To"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Have you ever been surprised at how much you can fit in when you\u2019re at a conference? When we have a schedule provided for us, we manage to get from one event to the next at the right time; the imposition of external timings means that even if we\u2019d like to stick with one task a little longer, we move on quickly. We deal with emails in brief breaks, sending shorter replies than usual, ditching any junk without even opening it.<\/p>\n

In day to day working life, though, we tend to find ourselves struggling to stick to self-imposed schedules. One or two things overrun; emails and phone calls come in; our boss dumps an urgent task on us.<\/p>\n

However beautiful your schedule looks, just writing it out isn\u2019t going to help you.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Over-Plan<\/h2>\n

The biggest mistake which most of us make when it comes to scheduling is to over-plan<\/em>. We\u2019re optimistic, even unrealistic, about how much work we can really fit into a day.<\/strong> We look at a blank seven or eight hours and think we can cram them full \u2013 when the reality is that we never can.<\/p>\n

Whatever your job, you\u2019re almost certainly going to have to face all sorts of little interruptions and hold-ups. You\u2019ll probably also find that some tasks invariably take more time than you realize. Try timing how long it takes you to clear your inbox each day \u2013 perhaps you\u2019re budgeting half an hour when it\u2019s actually more like a whole hour.<\/p>\n

Build in Margins<\/h2>\n

Often, when we write out a schedule it looks like this:<\/p>\n