How to Create a Mindful Schedule
Bringing mindfulness to your schedule means pausing to create a schedule that is in line with your energy, practicing discipline, developing tolerance for needing to change your schedule if that becomes required, supporting your body with mindful breaks, and reflecting on BIGGEST goals, BIGGER goals, and BABY goals..
The step by step explanation:
I suggest giving yourself 20 minutes and sitting down on the second to last, or the last, day of each month. Reflect on:
What is your BIGGEST GOAL? This is the big focus of the month. What do you want to have completed by the end of the month? For me, this month, it is completing content creation for a program I am launching January 2021.
What is a BIGGER GOAL? This is a weekly goal. What do you want to accomplish by the end of each week? (Another way to look at it is, what is your focus THAT week? If your big goal is to complete a project, maybe you break it into 4 parts - one for each week)
What are your BABY GOALS? I like to think of my baby goals as my daily goal. For example, every Monday I schedule all my content. Tuesdays I create videos. Wednesdays and Thursdays I see clients. Fridays I do my newsletters. I know I was successful that day if I completed those things. And every Sunday, I sit down and plan out the babiest goals for the upcoming week, “extra” tasks and such that I hope to complete AFTER the BABY GOAL is completed (I have a separate task list I use for babiest tasks).
Create a schedule that is in line with your energy.
When are you most productive? Some people are morning people, some are evening people, and some are a weird / amazing combination of both (hi, that’s me). Plan to do the most important things during your most productive times. And if this isn’t possible due to scheduling conflicts, ask yourself...
...what replenishes your energy? You’re going to need an extra dose of this if you have to work during less-than-ideal times. And even if you’re working during your most productive times, I promise you, you will have better quality work if you take mini breaks periodically to rest your eyes and take some deep breaths.
Practicing discipline.
Sticking to a schedule requires discipline, and you can practice this outside of your work life. For example, I practice discipline through my fitness routine. This “bleeds” into other areas of my life making it more likely that I will be able to work for an hour without looking at my phone, for example.
Discipline isn’t about force and self-criticism (in fact, this WILL backfire). It’s about knowing yourself and tolerating discomfort.
Developing tolerance.
Similarly to discipline, this is a skill that takes time to build. In ancient times, yogis measured the success of their yoga practice based on how much they could witness without needing to do anything about it (e.g uncomfortable emotions, impulsive thoughts, etc).
Bringing mindfulness to your schedule means building your ability to BE WITH the discomfort that may come from needing to change your thought-out schedule, to BE WITH the discomfort of setting boundaries with your kids so you can finish a few things, to BE WITH the lack of desire to do a project you need to work on.
Mindful breaks.
In a society that values “go go go” more than satisfying rest (satisfying rest is NOT scrolling on social media while you’re on the toilet, btw), taking breaks where you don’t do much is a radical act. These kinds of breaks include: laying down for 10 minutes with your eyes open or closed not doing anything, standing stretches for 5 minutes, closing your eyes and taking 10 deep breaths, etc. Our brains NEED goal-less time in order to function properly.