PART 1: DISCOVERING AND INVESTING OUR TALENTS
PART 2: FINDING FREEDOM WITH INTENTIONAL TIME MANAGEMENT
PART 3: FINDING FREEDOM IN OUR TREASURES
HOW PROACTIVELY SCHEDULING OUR DAYS AND WEEKS CAN CREATE MORE TIME
Natalie: Nursing school was a tough time for me. On day one, I vaguely remember a teacher showing us how to manage our time in nursing school. She encouraged us to use a calendar method called “time blocking.” She wanted us to schedule every hour of everyday of the semester from classes to study time, to meal times, to sleep, and even “fun” (*cringe*).
I thought my teacher was crazy. She argued that I would have time for sleep AND fun in addition to studying ~4 hours every night and physically in class for 4 to 8 hours per day if I scheduled out everything for my week. And let me tell you, if I’m scheduling “fun” on my calendar, it’s not going to be very fun.
I was so overwhelmed the first day that I never planned out my schedule and thus the spiral of late night studying–>falling asleep in class–>attempting to reteach myself what I missed during class after school–>not eating or working out because I was so busy and stressed and anxious–>watching my mental and physical state deteriorate began.
Had I taken my teacher’s advice, I could have balanced nursing school in a much healthier manner and made time for my mental, physical, and spiritual health (IE: church, exercising, a social life, nutrition, and sleep). It wasn’t until much later that I realized the importance of intentional time management. I was spending all my time in quadrants I, III, and IV from the table below (reactive fire fighting).
When we were dating, Trevor encouraged me to try time blocking my schedule. I distinctly remember my *sassy eye roll* when he talked about his to-do list and calendar apps. “I’ve already tried that,” I would repeat but Trevor patiently encouraged to continue trying.
When we started our Freedom Board in 2019, I realized the importance of time blocking. (I can feel you cringing as you read this, thinking “I don’t need to do that. I manage my time well,” but stop your sassy eye roll and keep reading.) As someone who has tried BOTH reactive and proactive time management, I can tell you that my prioritization is SO. MUCH. BETTER. than in nursing school. I actually accomplish tasks and stick to my goals, and spending more time in quadrant 2 (important/not urgent).
For years, I have made excuses like, “I’m too busy to do quiet time/go to the gym/read/cook dinner.” With proactive time management, we find time for THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS in life. Every moment is a gift from God, and we are called to steward our time in a way that glorifies God.
Trevor showed me the two videos below to introduce WHY and HOW scheduling our days and weeks brings peace to our lives. (Note: Please don’t disregard the content of these videos just because they are from the “Art of Manliness” — their concepts are valuable and applicable to anyone.)
Now that we understand WHY effective prioritizing leads to time freedom, let’s talk about HOW to translate our mission/themes/focus areas from in PART 1: TALENTS and into our calendar!
A critical concept to explain here is “Time Based” (Think calendar time blocking) and. “Task Based” (Think think to-do list) planning. As illustrated in the video above, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or apps create “Time Based” calendar blocks. Calendar apps usually also have “to-do” list functions that we keep track of our “Task Based” items. Both types of planning are necessary to our organization and planning. If we use “Time” and “Task” Based Planning in tandem, they will reinforce one another.
Choose your “TIME-BASED” Planning platform:
We use Google Calendar for our personal calendars and can view each others’ calendars. There are other apps like OurHome, Picniic, Cozi, and Apple Calendar that perform time based planning functions. Digital calendars save us the pain of nagging about next day’s plans, and we can invite each other to calendar events. This has been incredibly valuable, especially when we’re in different time zones due to travels and military travel.
Note: This looks overwhelming at first glance, but it’s not so complicated when you follow the processes outlined in the videos above. Notice in Trevor’s calendar how 1) Color codes correspond to categories of time blocks 2) To-do tasks populates the top of Google Calendar with task reminders. Pretty neat, right?
Google Calendar when Natalie’s calendar is activated. This feature allows us to identify conflicts early, with minimal words!
Choose your “task-BASED” Planning platform:
We constantly have tasks stacking up and we can feel like we’re drowning in our “to-do” items. Apps such as Notes, Reminders, Microsoft To Do or GoTasks are great for managing “to-do” lists. Digital task trackers is they allow us to assign tasks to categories, assign due dates to a tasks, share tasks with others, and easily manipulate/move/edit notes within each task. Through our phones, we always have access to our “task based” tracking list. The most important thing is to keep all to-do list items in one app/list/note, not scattered between multiple notebooks/apps.
Trevor’s To-Do List App. Notice how tasks are categorized and prioritized by due date within each category. Once complete, tasks are checked off and will disappear. Break the overarching task into bite sized sub-steps that take 1 hour or less with an assigned due date. This strategy will help limit procrastination.
maximizing effectiveness of your “task-based” tracking platform:
- Save brain bytes by dumping to-do items into your “task-based” tracking platform.
- Create task categories based on your “focus areas” from your Freedom Board. Within each category, prioritize tasks from highest priority to lowest priority.
- Assign due dates to tasks so the app will remind you at a later time/date. This feature saves us even more brain bytes, particularly since we’re forgetful and scatterbrained sometimes!
WEEKLY TIME PLANNING SESSION
At this point, we should: 1) Have a Freedom Board completed, 2) Have a “time based” planning platform, and 3) Have a “task based” planning platform.
Now we will launch into our first weekly time planning session, starting with the upcoming week. Set aside time each week (Sunday evening works well for us) to plan out the coming week.
Next, sit down with the Freedom Board and tracking platforms and translate your SMART goals from your focus areas we created in Part 1: Talents into repeating calendar events. Suggestion: Start with non-negotiable commitments such as work hours, then schedule sleep time-blocks. From there create time blocks from “big rocks” down to smaller rocks (reference Big Rocks video above). Then add in the “sand and water.” Next, break out the “task based” tracking platform and transpose to-do tasks into time blocks on the calendar. After a while, time blocking becomes like playing Tetris.
For events that occur at a regular interval, set up calendar events that repeat accordingly. Examples: sleep, morning routine, and fitness. Google Calendar can create repeating “goals” for tasks such as reading everyday, quiet time every day, etc.
Daily Time Planning
Each morning, take a few minutes to review the calendar and task list for the coming day. Ensure they both align with our priorities and make appropriate adjustments. By this point, we should have a clear picture and game-plan for today and this week. Now go execute with confidence!
At the end of each day, look back over the schedule to see how the plan changed and to see how we can plan better tomorrow. I’ve found that I tend to underestimate how long tasks will take, and not give myself enough time between blocks, but it’s about progress, not perfection!
“Failing to plan is planning to fail” -Benjamin Franklin
MAXIMIZING FLEXIBILITY
Throughout the day, when unforeseen circumstances inevitably arise, adjust time blocks by dragging and dropping on the calendar or adjusting due dates on your to-do list. We may have to push something off until another day with more free time.
At times, we are tempted to over-schedule ourselves. The point is not to have all of our time, but rather to simply prioritize our “Big Rocks.” On Sundays and on vacation, consider taking the entire vacation off of time blocking.
Ultimately, our hope is to prioritize our time with the important things that will ultimately result in furthering God’s Kingdom (ie: Church, quiet time, Bible study, serving others) instead of our own (ie: Netflix, scrolling through social media apps, online shopping). Our time on earth is short, so let’s use it for things that matter.
Thanks for reading! Connect with us. We will catch you next week for Part 3: FINDING FREEDOM WITH OUR TREASURES.
