How to (actually) Follow a Schedule

I suck at following schedules. If you don’t depend on a regular routine from outside forces like school or a full time job, I've found it's difficult to follow through with one.  I get all motivated and pumped to be productive initially. I like the idea of being organized and sticking to a routine.  Then reality sets in and I get lazy.  I lose sight of my priorities and find myself back where I started: binge watching T.V. shows and wallowing in self-pity.  So, I’ve come up with a few steps on how to encourage yourself to stick to your plans.

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1. You’ve made a commitment.  You bought a planner; you wrote down tasks, you scheduled time in your busy everyday world to do what you actually enjoy.  You are depending on yourself following through in order to get it all done.  Don’t back down from that.  Letting yourself fallback into bad habits will only bring you back where you started.  You can browse Twitter later, and yes, Grey’s Anatomy will still be there when you have time to relax.
2. (If you didn’t already)Buy a planner!!! It can be small, it can be large, it can be weekly, it can be monthly, it can have elephants on the cover or basic stripes.  You choose.  You decide.  Plus it’ll have all your idea, time frames, and priorities in one place.
3. Make time! One way to guarantee you’ll fall off the routine wagon is by making excuses: “Oh, I have to work so I won’t have time to do anything tomorrow.” Uhm, hello?! Wake up early and pencil in an hour or two. Bring a notebook to work and jot down ideas on your break.  There is no such thing as no time.  What you really mean is you’re wasting time.  Whether it be sleeping late or distracting yourself with the vortex of YouTube, you’re not using your time wisely.  Working early? Wake up earlier, even if it means going to bed at 7pm and waking up at 4am.  If you’re dedicated to your craft you’ll do whatever it takes.
4. Give yourself a break, but know your limit.  We all need time to ourselves.  We need to unwind and let ourselves rest.  Too much work will overwhelm us, stress us out and cause us to relapse into laziness.  This is why when taking a break, whether it be 20 mins or a day we don’t lose sight of what we’re doing.  Taig a moment or some time to ourselves is necessary so we recharge ad continue our streak of awesomeness.  But limit yourself.  Do not go past 15 or 20 mins.  If you take a day off get rack back on that horse the next day otherwise you’ll fall into a pattern and before you know it your schedule is thrown off.  Soon enough you’ll have to start all over.  Find a healthy balance between work and play.
5. Take care of yourself.  In the midst of everything going on in our daily lives, from work to school to attempting to have a social life while trying to stay on top of things it’s easy to forget about ourselves.  We spend so much time trying to balance out everything else, making sure all deadlines are met and that we have time to socialize that “me time” is overlooked.  Well here is my official request from you: schedule in some “me time.” Just as we have to set aside time to get work done, we have to do the same when it’s time to relax.  Take a night off and watch a movie until you fall asleep.  Draw yourself a bath and soak in the bubbles as you listen to that new album you just bought while surrounded by the aroma of your favorite candle scent.  Whatever it is that helps you unwind and care for your well-being and sanity, make time for it.