Eugene Wilson builds his schedule around themed days and tells you how in this blog. His book Rhythm will help you maintain a balanced rhythm in life.
Jack Dorsey is the cofounder of Twitter and the founder and CEO of Square. At one point, he worked full-time at both companies, sixteen hours a day—eight hours at each. In a 2011 interview at Techonomy, Dorsey was asked how he managed dual responsibilities and remained productive. He explained: “The only way to do this is to be very disciplined and very practiced. The way I found that works for me is I theme my days.”
Create a Fixed Week That Consists of Themed Days
Much of my weekly schedule is built around themed days. Currently, my Mondays consist of activities that require deep thinking and do not require much interaction with people. Tuesdays are administrative oriented days—tasks that are outside of my giftings, but these tasks move things forward. Hence, although I do not enjoy administrative work, I enjoy Tuesdays. Surprisingly, Tuesdays are usually a high-energy day. Each day of the week has an overall theme and levels of energy usually help shape the day with high-level energy tasks in the morning and lower energy task in the afternoon.
The point is simple. If you don’t have a target to aim for, you will hit it every time. Click To TweetPerhaps you are thinking, “That all sounds good, but it’s not practical. My life has way too many interruptions for themed days to work.” Or, “I would love to plan my week like that, but others have control over my time.” Consider the value, not in a fierce, unyielding inflexibility, but in something to aim for. Dorsey acknowledges that interruptions and deviations occur. He states, “There are interruptions all the time, but I can quickly deal with an interruption and know that it’s Tuesday and I have product meetings, and I need to focus on product stuff.”
The point is simple. If you don’t have a target to aim for, you will hit it every time.
Ask yourself, “Is what I am doing now working? Can I improve it?”
So, ask yourself, “Is what I am doing now working? Can I improve it?” If so, consider creating a fixed week built around themed days and energy levels. It will give you a target to aim for.
(Find part 1 of this blog here.)
Eugene Wilson is a minister with over thirty years of pastoral experience, and he has a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University. He is the founder of the coaching and consulting organization Equipping Leaders and president of Texas Bible College. He and his wife, Kerri, have two children.
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