Scheduling This, That, & All the Other Things In Between

To schedule, or not to schedule? That is the question…that everyone is trying to answer. Should I have a written list or a digital list? Should I pin a calendar on the wall, or should I use a calendar app? If I do use a calendar app do I link my work calendar with my personal calendar? These are all valid questions, and the answer varies based upon the individual. We are human and that means that everyone will be at different stages, different needs, and different experiences. This is why different strategies work for different people. While there are some universal techniques, the effectiveness will vary per person. That is why this week, I am sharing my techniques that I use to manage work, grad school, volunteering, and my personal life.

1: Task Management – TickTick App

At the beginning of 2020, I often found myself forgetting tasks and follow up conversations, purely due to burnout and a busy schedule. I had tried writing things down, but if I could not carry that list of task with me it was bound to get lost. I had tried apps before and I loved Wunderlist, but the app no longer exists. So I went digging, and looking for apps that I thought would meet my needs. That’s how I discovered TickTick. Now I use the app for anything that I want to do from new habits to meetings.

While this may seem simple, the best feature to me is how the notifications pop up on Android devices. Instead of just going to the notification window which can get cluttered with noise, TickTick presents a popup on my lock screen that I have to interact with it or I can’t get into my phone. This guarantees that I see the notification, and I can’t use the excuse I was not notified until I looked at my phone. From this popup, I can mark the task as complete, or snooze the task in specific intervals with a tap. The app also links with my calendar, so I can start my morning looking at TickTick to get an idea of what my day looks like. For me, being able to have my task, habits, calendar invitations, and other information all in one source is of extremely helpful. There are other features for TickTick, which why I shared the video above. In watching that video, I realized TickTick integrates with digital assistants (which I have just setup). Overall, TickTick is an lets me completely manage my day which is why I am sharing it.

2: Time Batching

A few months ago, I was scrolling through Instagram, and an influencer mentioned batching content. It peaked my interest so I went to read more about what that meant. Time batching, as mentioned by Forbes.com, is when we “group together mentally and intellectually similar tasks and then block out a period of time (even if it’s only 20 minutes) to focus only on those items.” My experience when I have successfully time batched (Being transparent, I am still improving on this), is that I feel a lot lower stress. I feel less stressed because I know I have a specific window of time to get a specific task done. This prevents me from worrying about completing the task until that specified time, which makes me feel at ease. Originally, I started time batching with social media, creating content for @blkgradstudent on Saturdays rather than the day prior. With this slight change, I feel my content is more meaningful and simpler to manage during the week. That is why I now feel comfortable bring time batching into work. This week I am piloting responding to non-priority emails Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. On Tuesday, no one noticed and I did not get any complaints. It was an easy solution to introduce to my day with no repercussions.

Now you might be thinking I can never do that. The reason why I felt comfortable time batching, is the last 2 books I listened to, The 4-Hour Work Week and Eat That Frog both mentioned it as a technique to better manage schedules. Meaning this technique is already being used in the workforce, it is just a matter of are you doing it too. In Eat That Frog, Bryan Tracy writes about how he quickly moved up the corporate ladder. He attributes his success to talking to successful peers who were in the same space as he was, and then incorporating their feedback into his routines. Why is that relevant? Because that means successful people are already using time batching to better manage their time, it’s time for all of us to use their techniques as well.

Note: The 80/20 rule was also mentioned in both books. I would recommend examining 20% of the work that you are doing that is achieving 80% of the results. Once you find that, then focus your time and attention on those areas. Let’s call this a bonus recommendation.

3: Take a Rest Day

As you read this blog, you might be thinking how I have the time to manage a blog, work full-time, volunteer, and be a grad student all at the same time? The secret lies in taking a rest day, or a day in which I do nothing work related. This seems counterintuitive to schedule management though, right? Not necessarily. When reading the 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss recalls a story where he had to finish a research paper in an unrealistic amount of time since the source was no longer letting him use their data. He was able to complete the task on time, and this was due to the power of a deadline. Deadlines are powerful and an article from theguardian.com, explains the power comes from the Yerkes-Dodson law. This law states: “a person’s performance increases as their arousal increases, but only up to a point, after which performance starts to suffer as the person becomes overwhelmed or distracted.” Replace arousal with stress, and the Yerkes-Dodson law explains why as we get closer to a deadline our performance increases. While there is a limitation to this, a day of rest forces me to operate on tighter deadlines.

The day of rest itself actually provides benefits as well. This comes from having a chance to rest your mind, body, and spirit. For me this is a weekend routine, so I often come into the week relaxed and well rested. Officially, I started taking a rest day about 2 months ago, but I have always interjected a rest day into my week. I used to say, “I have one day a week where I do not work on NSBE.” Prior to last year, NSBE leadership was the space that grad school now fills. The statement above was my way of saying I am going to make sure I rest. This was not something I did in undergrad, and I was often stressed, angry, or frustrated. Unfortunately, those feelings matriculated outward towards those around me. For this reason, once I graduated, I made a conscious decision to not let anything prevent me from a resting when I needed to. The book 24/6 by Matthew Sleeth cemented the need for me to have a rest day and that is why I officially put it into practice about 2 months ago. So far it has been 100% worth it, and that’s why I would recommend you inject one into your schedule.

For transparency the book 24/6 does have ties to the Christian faith, but the explanation of a rest day and its benefits are covered extremely well in the book.

Summary

As mentioned above, schedule management looks differently for everyone, what I have shared works for me. I share these in the hopes that they help you or motivate you to find what works for you. Whether it is an app, a planner, or something else, start looking for the best path forward for you to be able to better manage your schedule.