Taking Charge of Your Own Schedule

One of the things I find that many people have difficulty with, particularly after having been doing something for a very long time, is taking charge of their own schedule. For example, someone may work at a particular job for many years. In some cases it may even be going to the same building, the same commute, and the same routine. As much as anything, their routine actually guides the scheduling of their activities. They’ll know that usually the five work days of the week, (or some subset of that), they will be going to and from and performing their job duties. Weekend times are often for errands or family events. The few hours they get in the evening may be for some down time for themselves, or attending to activities or organizations with which they are involved.

Then all of a sudden the major driver of the schedule, (work and its commute, a school semester, a major project that has taken up over 50% of their time), is gone. And then what? Many actually relish the idea of not having to work anymore or not going to school. And, for a while, they may be happy with the “inactivity,” or not being a slave “to the clock.” However, often after that, boredom creeps in. Behind the boredom comes the question “What am I going to do next with my life?” That is often when the struggles develop, and sometimes they even wind up working with someone like me a “Search Strategy Coach,” for guidance on their next move.

When one has their own entrepreneurial business, particularly if it is a “service” business, as opposed to a “brick and mortar” location type of business, the same issue of “taking charge of one’s own schedule,” is also something new entrepreneurs face. One of the routines I learned early on in forming my own coaching business, which still serves me well today, is having a calendar to schedule my activities. And, while many of you say, Tony, I do the same thing, in that I keep my appointments on a calendar, (be it on one’s phone, or electronically on the internet as I do, or perhaps even still in a paper planner), one of the tips I want to offer is taking that activity a couple of steps further.

For example, it is easy to schedule things that come directly to you, (appointments with clients, scheduled classes or meetings, etc.). However, it is your “scheduling” of the open gaps in your schedule, which really puts you in charge of your schedule. For example, a portion of my work may be in preparing resumes’, or acclimation reports for clients. I am free to do those items at any time I want. However, if I don’t schedule them, or get myself in the discipline of doing them during the open gaps in my schedule, I can wind up saying, I won’t do that now, I’ll do that later. Sometimes that is OK. However, too many of those putting things off type of events, can then lead to a sudden “rush of items,” all having deadlines around the same time.

One of the tips I provide to those in “search” that works for me is to do the following. At the end of each week (or the beginning of a new week), sit down and map out your calendar for the upcoming week. Do not only include appointments that you know you have on the calendar, but add in items you say you need to do. That can be setting up meetings with other individuals, preparing your written communication for your job search, or it can even be scheduling time for yourself to do an activity that actually recharges you from the search you are on. The point is, get it on a calendar in front of yourself. Then do your best to stick to that calendar for the coming week.

At the end of the week, review the past week’s calendar, ask yourself, what items on the calendar did I get done? What value did they have for me? Which ones took far more time than I thought or far less? The reason for the review and the questions, is as you are now there looking to set the next week’s calendar, look to do a more focused and accurate job on setting the next week’s schedule. What items proved to be of value in the past week? Look to do more of those items? Which ones had little value? Would they have more value if done differently? Or are they ones that take a lot of time, but produce little value? (For job searchers that is often sitting in front of a computer screen and applying for a lot of online job postings and waiting to hear back. Often response rate is low, and so a good deal of time went into an activity that proved little value).

Take the opportunity to determine the activities in your life that are completely in your control to get initiated, acted upon and completed. Are you having difficulty completing them on time or at all? Do you feel you are in the same continuous rut? The more you realize “I am responsible for taking charge of my own schedule,” the more likely you are going to achieve the positive results you are seeking.