Just last week I was talking with someone about how important a schedule is.  I think a schedule is like a map.  We all use maps to get to where we need to go.  Maps guide us so that we know where we are and where we are going.  If you don’t map out your day, you are likely to get nowhere.  You can easily get lost with all the distractions and demands of “stuff”.  Too many people are wandering about their day without a real plan.  How we go about our day is SO important…

Remember, life is nothing more than the sum total of many successful years: a successful year is nothing more than the sum total of many successful months: a successful month is nothing more than the sum total of many successful weeks: a successful week is nothing more than the sum total of many successful days. That’s why practicing successful habits day in and day out is the most certain way to win over the long term.
~ Robert Ringer

What we do today determines our tomorrow.  If you have no real map for your day, you have no real direction.  And when you have no real direction you are likely to never get where you could have gone.  Financial guru Robert Kiyosaki said, “The difference between rich people and poor people is their use of time.” I think in order to have a “rich” day that is full of life and accomplishment you have to map it out.  And not only your day, but your week as well.  And not only your week, but your month too.  I have been working on mapping out the next 5 months for my life over the last week or so.  I am determined to live life to the fullest, so therefore I HAVE to make sure I have a map of where I am going.

Here are some tips to map out your life…

1. Start With The Month

Starting with the big picture is like getting the frame work for your time.  You basically take a birds eye view of your month.  This is where you can mark down any known holidays, birthday’s, special events, etc… First start by mapping out all the known terrain you already have scheduled.  Now that you have the known markers, start to fill in your desired plans for the month.  Example: a fishing day, camping with your family, reading day, movie night, clean out garage, fix the house day.  When I sit down and map my month I set aside time to record music, write my book, meet with people, and set time for painting for my artwork.  Starting with the month map lets you see if you have too much going on or if you need to add some things to your life.

2. Layout your week

After you have your month map set, now it is time to prioritize your week.  Usually every Sunday night or early Monday morning I lay out my entire week.  This is where I set out my goals and a detailed plan for each day.  I work in blocks of time when I layout my week plan, meaning I block out 3 categories of time each week.  First category is SELF.  This is where I schedule time for things that I do (writing, painting, study, exercise, etc…).  The next block is WORK.  This is everything I do that is my job.  The next is FAMILY.  This is blocks of time at home or with my family.  When I schedule out my blocks I am not detailing what I will be doing just blocking out the time I know I have for the week with each one.  This gives me a more organized plan for what to expect for the week.  It also gives me a snapshot of making sure my time is spread out and I am not doing too little or too much of one block.

3. Schedule Your Day

Now it is time to schedule your detailed day of what you are going to be doing.  This is the time that you get to focus on what exactly you will be doing during your day.  I lay out my time in half hour increments as to know where my time is going.  I allow for flexibility here (being in ministry you have to as things change day to day).  Remember a map gives you direction it doesn’t give you ever single little detail.  So with that in mind as long as you know where you are going there is room to move things around.  Scheduling your day allows you to make sure you are accomplishing what you started out to do with your monthly overview.  By having a map of your day it enables you to make sure your day was successful and productive not just busy.

So how do you map out your life?