The Case for Scheduling
There are two months of the year for making great resolutions about scheduling. One is September (or August, if that’s when your school term starts). And the other is January.
The first of January is a magnificent day for planning a schedule. On the first of January the case for scheduling goes without saying. By the first of February, (which today just happens to be,) we feel deeper doubts. Who was it that convinced us to try a schedule in the first place? Did we actually think it was a good idea? Or were we only swept off our feet by the optimism of others?
If you started the year with great hopes for your schedule, but are starting to feel a bit of end-of-January letdown, then today’s post is for you! The following are my top three reasons to stick to a schedule—even on the first day of February.
1) A Schedule Bring Order Out of Chaos
Someone once said that “Order is Heaven’s first law.”
Excuse me for a moment while I find out who . . .
. . . It appears that it was Alexander Pope. In his Essay on Man. The Fourth Epistle.
I’m not sure if I totally agree. (With the quote, not the attributed source, I mean!) However, whether or not it’s Heaven’s first law, it is unquestionably one of the basic principles on which our world is built. All around us, we see that nature works—and it works because of the underlying order in all creation.
We all require some type of structure and order to our days. A schedule is not necessarily the old way of providing this, but it is certainly a tried and successful way. Out of this foundation of order come two more significant building blocks in the case for scheduling:
2) A Schedule Gives You Greater Productivity
There is a straightforward link between knowing what you are supposed to be doing, and getting it done.
A schedule eliminates time otherwise wasted deciding what to do next. It allows you to prioritize the things you actually want to prioritize, without being afraid that other necessary tasks will drop by the wayside.
A schedule can also eliminate time you didn’t know you weren’t using. It can cut down on unnecessary or illogical transitions. It can highlight tasks that aren’t receiving enough attention—or ones that are receiving too much. And, for visual learners, it can do all this in a concrete, chart format that makes it easy to take in, analyse, and adjust all this data.
3) A Schedule Offers Stability when Life Gets Crazy
I remember as a sewing-crazy preteen, coming home from a tiring fieldtrip, and crashing in front of my sewing machine with a doll’s pattern. Not everyone’s way of relaxing, but at that stage in my life, it was for me! I remember thinking to myself, “I’m glad it’s got instructions, because I’m too tired to think.”
Structure is one of the most stabilizing elements in our world. The wilder life gets, the more we want to cling to something that states calm, dependable, unemotional, and—stable.
A workable schedule is a way of creating some of that stability. When you follow the same routine day by day, week by week, that routine can become a framework, bringing structure and security to your work and life.
Runner-Up Argument: A Schedule is a Motivational Tool
There may be statistical evidence for this. I didn’t look it up. My runner-up argument today is purely subjective, but in my own experience I’ve found that a schedule—particularly a new schedule—is a great motivational tool.
I am way more motivated to get up and get going—and stay going—when I’ve got the interest of a new schedule to plot me along. The core tasks of my day may be essentially the same, but going all the way back to my school days, I have always found it easier to jump into work when I’ve got the novelty of a news schedule to keep me motivated.
My Verdict on the Case for Scheduling
Yes, I am in favour of scheduling! Does that mean I always stick to my schedule? Definitely not! In fact, I happen to be writing this post during a block of time when my schedule says I should be working on income tax.
(I’ve got buffer on those taxes—I promise!)
But at the end of the day, even when you choose to digress from your structure, the combined order, productivity, and stability that it provides make a strong case for scheduling, whether in your homeschool, your work, or any other aspect of your life.
Do you feel like the cut-and-dried scheduling approach just isn’t for you? See our previous post:
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