How To Manage A Schedule When It's Always Changing

My schedule is always changing, especially over the last 18 months. With the Hubby working from home again, the boys having to be home-schooled for half the academic year, and the usual trials of parenting, I often feel like it's not possible to have a routine. From one day to the next I'm not sure what will pop up or if I'll have any time for things on my to-do list. As a result, I'm frustrated at not making progress so I try to stick to a few rules that help me manage my schedule when it's always changing. Today I'm sharing those rules with you.

Create A Routine

Okay, so I know what it's like when your schedule is crazy. You feel like nothing is working the way it should and life is spinning out of control. If you can't have a work routine, create one in other areas of your life, like having a good morning routine. Maybe you work out for 30 minutes before showering and getting dressed, or you could take 10 minutes for mindfulness. Whatever it is have a routine that works for you. That way you'll feel less stressed when your schedule takes a sudden turn.

Planning

A planner, either paper or digital, works for me. Map out what restrictions you have during your week, highlight the gaps you have to work, create a to-do list in priority order, and keep all this information in a place you can access anywhere. When your schedule changes (again) you just check through your planner to see where you could make adjustments. I have found a planner helpful in keeping me on track from day to day - I love the Passion Planner.

Be Adaptable

You already know your schedule is changeable, so be adaptable. Learn to roll with the punches. Work when you can, keep track of your routine and to-do list. Life happens, and getting stressed about something over which you have no control doesn't help anyone. Move on.

Batch and Time Block

Focus can be a difficult thing to do when your schedule is always changing. You end up feeling rushed, needing to get everything done in a limited time so you dip in and out of all the tasks and end your day with none of them completed. I have done this so many times, and I never feel good. Learning to focus on one task when I get a block of time and not moving on to another task until I finish the first one helps me feel more productive. 'Batching' is when you do either a single task, or several tasks that are all the same, all at once. The process has helped me get more tasks completed and therefore I feel better about my schedule. 

I have spent years dealing with changing schedules and working out how to make that work. What I've learned is to use lists, use what time I have available as efficiently as possible, and keep going. 

Sometimes the changing schedule is frustrating and I long for a routine, but I work with what I can and hope I manage some sort of progress within my restrictions. 

Do you have a regular schedule or is it constantly changing?