Do you want more stability in your life? Wish you had more structure with your schedule? Sticking to a similar routine each week means you can actually make time for the things that matter. Structure helps you stay focus and get things done.
If your workload feels hectic right now, having daily and weekly routines saves you from winging it. While there’s nothing wrong with this, you’ll definitely feel more at peace when you have a plan.
Lack of structure leaves you feeling less motivated, distracted and often means you end up doing everything at the last minute. Now don’t get me wrong, flexibility is important, but a structure is necessary for creating a sense of stability and balance in your life.
Here are five ways you can build more structure in your life:
A daily and weekly schedule will help you feel less stressed and more prepared.
1. Create batch/theme days.
Batching will change your life. This is the process of grouping similar tasks together to streamline your workflow. When you work on similar tasks together, it helps you get into the zone more quickly and stay focused. For instance, maybe you use Tuesday to write your blog content because you know that’s a day when you’re completely uninterrupted.
If you take a closer look at your weekly schedule, you’ll notice that you do similar tasks every week. See if there’s a way you can theme or batch your days so you’re always prepared for the week ahead.
For example, you might batch your laundry, dishes, or cleaning schedule. You might batch planning your outfits for the week or meal prepping. There are so many ways batching can make your life simple!
2. Plan your week on a Sunday.
If you find yourself waking up on a Monday morning and you feel totally unprepared, try planning your week ahead of time.
You might think it’s productive to plan your week on a Monday morning but you’re actually procrastinating from getting into the real work. Set some time aside on a Sunday to prepare for the week so your life is more organized. This is the perfect time to see what’s on your calendar and make sure you’ve got everything sorted for the week.
Check in with your calendar and emails to see what meetings you have, what appointments are due and any other schedules and appointments you have. This lets you know what your non-negotiables are and what other time you have available.
For more tips, have a read of this post on Sunday ideas to prepare you for the week ahead.
3. Plan your day the night before.
You might’ve planned out your week, but it’s also important to plan out some of the details of your day too.
This will help you stay on track, see where you’re spending your time and help you figure out exactly what you need to accomplish by the end of the day.
A great thing to do is to choose your top three priories for the day and schedule them into time blocks. So instead of having a to-do list, you dedicate tasks to blocks of time.
4. Stick to an intentional morning routine.
Routines create consistency in our lives. They help with time management, keep us motivated and encourage us to build healthy habits.
Your morning routine will also really help with your mental health, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed with your work. Even if you end up having a bad day, at least you can feel good knowing you did a few things in the morning to take care of yourself.
5. Make time for self-care.
I couldn’t write this post without reminding you of the importance of scheduling self-care into your routine. Once you’ve planned out your week with everything you’ve got going on, it’s vital that you plan some downtime to rest.
Take a look at your schedule and pencil in some of your favorite self-care activities or time to do absolutely nothing.
Structuring your daily and weekly schedules is a great way to help you feel more at ease with your work. Batching your days, planning ahead and creating routines are all simple ways to put that into action.
Is structuring your schedule important to you? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
About the Author
Holly graduated from Lancaster University with a BA (Hons) in Linguistics and from the University of Central Lancashire with an MA in Magazine Journalism. She enjoys keeping fit, running her blog, and spending time with her family. She hopes to grow her digital marketing business A Branch of Holly and continue to serve bloggers and small business owners!
Website: abranchofholly.com/blog