Scheduling is best done on a regular basis, for example at the start of every week or month. Go through the following steps in preparing your schedule:
Creating a schedule
- Start by identifying the time you want to make available for your work. This will depend on the design of your job and on your personal goals in life.
- Block in the actions you absolutely must take to do a good job. These will often be the things you are assessed against.
- Review your To Do List, and schedule in the high-priority urgent activities, as well as the essential maintenance tasks that cannot be delegated and cannot be avoided.
- Block in appropriate contingency time. You will learn how much of this you need by experience. Normally, the more unpredictable your job, the more contingency time you need.
- What you now have left is your “discretionary time”: the time available to deliver your priorities and achieve your goals. Review your Prioritized To Do List and personal goals, evaluate the time needed to achieve these actions, and schedule these in.
Source: Effective Scheduling: Planning to Make the Best Use of Your Time @ Mind Tools
