Schedules are great; they're fantastic and so so useful. I hate them, though.
Don't get me wrong; they're very valuable, so so useful... They keep you on the straight and narrow and help to get all your tasks done. But they're such a drag. My God, they're a drag!
By the way, this piece has nothing to do with the title. I just really wanted to use that pun. Maybe I'll find a way to sneak it in somewhere along the line; we'll see.
So... Schedules... The worst are the ones you create for yourself. It's one thing when it's someone else trying to get you to do stuff, to follow a set path... It's another when you're the one setting the path. Then there is no 'The Man' to shake your fist at, just you, and if you don't follow the schedule, you're wasting your own efforts, and now you're a failure. You can shut out the voices of others and even leave the range of their voice, but the ones in your head... Well, you can shut them off, too, but it's a lot messier and more permanent.
They are a drag and a pain in the sitting cushions, schedules are. I might want to sleep, but the schedule says work. I might want to sleep, but the schedule says to make phone calls. I might want to sleep, but the schedule says to spend time with family. I might want to – you guessed it – watch a movie, but the schedule says to do this project. In fact, I might want to work on this project, but the schedule says sleep because if I don't, I'll be useless later and sleeping when I should be doing something else. The schedule keeps order, keeps things from going haphazardly, and you are more productive that way. But by God, does it test one's patience?
They're useful, though. So so useful (as I've said multiple times with a tight smile on my face.) They maintain order. They help get things done. Without a schedule, Noah's Ark would never have been built. Without a schedule, the Pyramids wouldn't exist. In fact, without a schedule, some of us wouldn't be born. And studies show (don't fact check) that those born out-of-schedule have their lives less put together than those born in-schedule. True story. (Don't fact-check.)
Seriously though, by merely drawing up a plan for the day, you find you are more likely to get things done (when you adhere to said plan.) It is a roadmap for getting things done. It's like building a house without a blueprint versus building with one – you can get it done, but it wouldn't be the same. You're just adding bathrooms and cabinets as the thought occurs. You'll end up with the guest bathroom beside the pantry, the master bedroom the size of a closet, and a missing bedroom. Let's not even talk about outlets and light fixtures.
Schedules help get your affairs in order and keep you out of mischief, like when you're tempted to hoe hoe hoe (said I'd sneak it in. Hah!). Remembering what you SHOULD be doing can help keep you on the straight and narrow.
A schedule helped get this done; otherwise, it would still be a draft somewhere. It is bitter medicine, but now it's done, I'm going to sleep.
