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Scheduling home work

M

Morozov

0
I implemented advice of a GTD coach about scheduling working (10-11) and processing (16-17) time. It worked fine! Now I have time to do and my lists are under control. I want to implement the same at home and need your advice. My energy after work is at low so I'm not sure it would work. And I'm not sure what time block would suit best:

19:00 - Sports
19:30 - Dinner
20:00 - Family time
21:00 - Free time slot
22:00 - Free time slot
 
In her book "Organizing from the Inside-Out" Julie Morgenstern recommends creating a "time map" of your week to get an idea of how much time you have and where you could schedule certain types of activities. The map looks like a page from a weekly appointment calendar. Times are blocked off for when you're *regularly* at work, when you're *regularly* asleep, exercising, at church, etc. The map contains things that are almost guaranteed to be in your hard landscape week-to-week.

It's a useful exercise to see where you might fit things into your time or how many hours of discretionary time you may have available. As you create your time map keep in mind your typical energy levels at given points of a day. If your mental creative energy is highest first in the morning, "schedule" blocks to take advantage of it.

The thing to note is that it's only a guide and you won't necessarily follow it to the letter. For example, if you have time blocked off to take care of laundry on a beautiful Wednesday evening but you can do it Thursday when it's raining, follow your instincts and go enjoy the weather--work or play. You have the freedom to "move the blocks".

Another thing; don't try to fill in every ounce of your time. Leave some discretionary time open to be spontaneous and follow your gut. This exercise really helps you to make sure the "big rocks" are built into your life.

Good luck.
 
What's realistic to do when tired

I've found I can't expect to do much work on weekday evenings: too tired. Earlier in
my use of GTD I used to do processing then, which can feel relaxing if it means
sitting in one place with pencil and notebook. Now I usually just do my scheduled
activities (e.g. some evenings I have an exercise class or choir practice), spend
time with family and don't plan to do any processing or work then. I prefer to
do processing on the weekend when I have more energy and can run around
doing quick actions as part of the process.

Occasionally I make
a list of things I want to get done that evening: usually things that are fairly high
priority and don't take much time, such as putting something in my backpack so
I'll remember to bring it to work the next day. I think if I know ahead of time
what I'm planning to get done that evening it's easier to find the energy to do it.

You might want to maintain a list of actions you can do on weekday evenings
when you're tired, and experiment to see what types of actions you can
realistically get done then. You could label it "weekday evening" or
"easy". I avoided using the label "low energy" as I thought it would
be subconsciously discouraging.
 
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