Scheduling Ideas for Non-Schedulers (Guest Post)

White electronic weekly planner, hand holding stylus
Image by Jess Bailey from Pixabay

Scheduling Ideas for Non-Schedulers

by Steph Beth Nickel

One of the biggest plusses of freelancing is the opportunity to set a flexible schedule.

And one of the biggest challenges of freelancing is the opportunity to set a flexible schedule.

Even when I worked outside the home, I especially enjoyed jobs without a rigid schedule.

If you regularly set specific days and times to accomplish each tasks—and stick with your schedule—some of the following tips may seem self-explanatory and others ill-advised.

But for those of us who prefer to see each day as a brand new, somewhat unpredictable adventure, here are some thoughts:

  1. Make a list of all the tasks you want to accomplish during the day or the week. (Make note of any deadlines, especially those that are externally imposed. It can also be good to set a reasonable deadline for other tasks, especially those you tend to put off. This one I’m learning from experience.)
  2. Make note of those things on your list that have specified times (i.e., doctor’s appointments, coffee dates, birthday parties, etc.)
  3. Divide the remainder of the items into three categories, something like Yes!, Important, and Would Be Nice.
  4. Determine how best to accomplish everything on the first two lists and maybe one or two things from the third.
  5. Instead of setting a specific time to accomplish a task, determine if you will do so in the morning, the afternoon, or evening. (Be sure to be honest with yourself. I often leave things until the evening and then flame out on the couch.)
  6. Learn to be content with the fact that there will be days that you have to move things to another day—even things that were on your Yes! and Important lists.
  7. Remember that taking care of your health will help you accomplish things more quickly and efficiently. (When we understand this, we realize we actually don’t have time to neglect physical activity and healthy eating.)
  8. Finding the rhythm that works best for you will likely take trial and error. You may want to experiment using a timed planner. You may be surprised at how well it works for you, even if you do identify as a Non-Scheduler.
  9. Don’t try to work on every area at once. (I’m speaking to myself here.) Better to implement changes little by little whenever possible. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits suggests breaking down goals into habits that take two minutes—TWO MINUTES—to accomplish. The more you implement and then add to those two-minute goals, the more you’ll see progress as you move toward creating an achievable Action Plan (aka your To-Do List).

I’d love to hear your suggestions for scheduling and achieving tasks.


Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.

If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at stephbethnickelediting@gmail.com.

You’re invited to visit her website: http://stephbethnickeleditor.com/.

You can join her Editing Tips Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351.

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