Thursday, July 28, 2016

The dream daily schedule



In Day 30 of my most recent 30 Chic Days Series, chic reader Ann left a comment that started me thinking about this post.  Ann said:

I realized yesterday how during the summer ( here ) off from school I try to cram so much my to do list in and get distracted by all there is to do... I realize this will be the case when I retire, too. So with your inspiration I am going to try to make a new "schedule" where I make more time for me, and not all the things that need to be done, or that I want to get finished. More reading, more writing in my journal, want to write down all family memories with old photos...etc.

I’ve thought about this too.  I imagine one day in the future when everything is 'perfect', I’ll have all the time in the world to do everything I’m putting off today because I am too busy.  But what makes me think I’ll have time for them in the future?  Sure, if I’m able to work from home instead of going to a workplace I’ll have more time at home, but I have days off at home right now, and it’s rare that I get time to sew or do something I imagine myself doing in that shimmery mirage perfect future.  Yes, I get to knit, but it’s snatched pieces here and there in front of a movie or television programme.

When I think I to myself ‘I’d love to get stuck into a juicy sewing project’, my mind immediately shuts me down with ‘finish what you’ve started, you want to write your next book, there’s washing to be folded, you have to start dinner soon' etc.  And all of those things are true, but if I always put things off, then I will always put things off.

Creating an ideal schedule and practicing it sounds like a fun way to address this, because it would be helpful to learn how to experience the days I dream about having in the future – I don’t think they happen by accident.

How we are now is how we will be 'one day' – when we have more time, when we retire etc.  We need to do all those things we think we'll do, and be the way we think we'll be now, otherwise we'll still be the same rushing person in the future.  How we are today is how we will be in the future because we are building our future with today.  It's such a huge realisation.  It still doesn't make change easy, but if we work towards it we will succeed.

Who’s with me?  Are you ready to practice your ideal daily schedule?  Or perhaps you’ve got everything down pat now and only need to make a few tweaks for improvement?

I think what I will do is commit to my next day off jotting down an ideal schedule and seeing how I go.  I’ve resisted many forms of scheduling in the past and sometimes I’ll have a lovely to-do list written out the night before which I then completely ignore the next day… I really wonder what’s wrong with me at times!

But an ideal schedule sounds different – much more appealing for one.  Usually with a to-do list it’s all your chores – fun projects and reading are not on that list for example.  If I created an ideal schedule it would have a few chores, but it would also have time marked out for lunch, a bit of relaxing, something fun etc.  That sounds way better!


The above is a screen shot from our local library website.  I was so thrilled to see my new book listed! If you live in the Auckland region of New Zealand and would like to borrow Thirty Chic Days, you can place your name on the library holds list.

I do all my library book ordering online then pop in to collect them; it's such a fantastic service.  If you'd like to read Thirty Chic Days and don't have a copy yet, ask your local library whether they can order it in. One of our librarians told us once that they love it when library users request books because that way they can see what people want to read and it also helps them with their book ordering.

Do you use your local library? If you haven't been in a while, you might be surprised at just how many books, cds, dvds etc you can borrow.


28 comments:

  1. I love the idea of making a schedule. I have recently retired and while I am doing a lot of things I love I am also 'wasting' a lot of time. I feel that life is passing me by sometimes. I also love libraries and have asked for books at times although I have purchased all yours!

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    1. I know what you mean about 'wasting time', Petal. I like to feel like I have unstructured time to potter and 'be', but I don't like the feeling of not having achieved anything.

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  2. I'm certainly guilty of making long to do lists with minimal time allocated for the "fun stuff". One practice I take on now and then is coming up a "Dreamy/Practical" list. This is an idea I saw on the blog Salt and Chocolate by Mary Beth. I often do it on the weekend, but perhaps I should be incorporating it into everyday life. "Dreamy" items might be finding time to read a book on the couch, go for a nature walk with the family or tinker on a craft project. It's nice to have a formal list in front of you that actually includes dreamy items that you can cross off. It's been pretty effective for me.

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    1. That's exactly what I'm talking about, Wool Fairy. Having a dreamy list would be SO much fun to peruse, as well as capturing all my ideas which often flit past.

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  3. I just reserved 8 books and I was able to pick up 4 of the on Monday. As I am trying not to acquire more books, it is a good idea to make a request to purchase at the library. A daily schedule would be a great idea for a retiree.

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    1. I sometimes get myself into trouble by reserving too many books and becoming overwhelmed when they arrive. My husband then observes 'you've done it again' as I fret about reading them all before the due date :)

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  4. As a newly retired person, I can say that this is so true. It all boils down to being intentional with your time. It's best to schedule in what you really want to do, otherwise it's too easy to just move around where the day takes you and wonder where all the time went.

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  5. I used to make Lists - indeed our house might be considered a Listed Building - which could be considered schedules of work. But as we've aged, we find that schedules go out of the window most days because we find there is usually a medical appointment of some kind - today it was for husband's ears to be micro-vacuumed (this is the modern version of syringing). Then a phone call from elder son - could we please collect some things for him from younger son? (they run a business together) and so that involved an hour long journey to and from younger son's house. We like to help, and often do with grandson, too, and so most days we're still chasing our tails even deep into retirement! Indeed, retirement isn't the Shangri-La we expected, days on end with nothing to do but please ourselves, so those of you approaching retirement, maybe you will find it quite different from what you expect. However, today we did make time between the hospital appointment and collecting the items from younger son and delivering them to elder son, for coffee in a very nice hotel on the sea front. That was our quiet, relaxing time today. And now I'm reading and writing this, so that is also a "me" thing!
    Re the Library. We have a lovely library in our town, a fairly new, modern one with coffee shop included. However, I feel guilty that I don't use it because I tend to buy all the books I need online. Some are so inexpensive, as little a 1p plus postage and packing. It would cost me more to park in our town, never mind the petrol getting there and then being tempted to have coffee! And then, if it's a paperback or hardback novel that I don't wish to keep, the charity shops benefit as I pass them on.
    Margaret P

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    1. Shangri-La, haha Margaret I love your turn of phrase :) I can see how you'd never visit your library with the points you've mentioned, and not having a due date on your books can be helpful. However with me, I find some books languish without a due date (which probably tells me I'm not really interested in reading them so they should probably be donated unread).

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  6. I'm retired and I've never been busier, I think people take advantage of you, they think you need something to do. I finally had to say no. After a while you get on schedule and make time for yourself.

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    1. Wow, Grace, I never considered that! Good for you setting boundaries.

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  7. I agree with Grace, people try to take advantage when you're home! I came home a few years ago to finish raising my son when I married Alpha Hubby (who gave me that blessed option). After my brain slowed down from all those years of working a schedule set up for going to work and taking care of home stuff (!), I found that you become just as busy being home as you are out in the work place! Things fill up a time void! BUT this idea you have is a GREAT one. You should see how many "lists" I've come across of things I'm going to do and in what order - put in a safe place then forgotten. All of them were chores. I WANT to be that person, scheduled and accomplishing much and having time to play (scheduled in, of course)!

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    1. Me, too, LBDDiaries, I want to be that person!!

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  8. Hi Fiona. I also work full time and I've started a new thing. I write down 3 things I would like to do that evening after work that I would normally save for a weekend. (which doesn't always happen). It could be water my garden & pull a few weeds, clean out my sock drawer, etc. "Saving" everything for the "perfect" time a lot of the time doesn't come. It makes me feel good to get those 3 little things done that I normally wouldn't have done.

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    1. I like it, Carla. Something I started a while back but then forgot about was a list of jobs that took 15 minutes or less (and they are exactly the types of things you've listed in your comment). I would try to do one of those jobs quite regularly. The little things got done and it wasn't that much effort. I'm going to reinstate that list, thank you!

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  9. Hmmm I am the opposite. I feel that I spent so much time DOING and now am finally learning to enjoy just BEING. Mind you, this came about after a chronic (and mysterious) illness forced me to slow down. After many years of studying, working full time and generally doing everything at high speed and to perfection I am now relishing the opportunity to smell the roses. Not every day, to be honest I occasionally miss aspects of my 'old' life, but as I sit here with my iPad, cup of tea and snoring cat on my lap I wouldn't change anything.

    Time is never wasted. Every experience has a message - if you are willing to hear it.

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    1. Hi Lara, I can totally see how your priorities would have changed. I somehow suspect you were much more productive than me before you fell ill - I am naturally quite a 'relaxed' person aka can be a total sloth! It's more the happy balance that I want than to do more. Your new life sounds wonderful and I applaud you that you are embracing it.

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  10. Fiona - You made my day ! First you quoted my post ( wow!) and then you praised libraries ! I am a Middle School Librarian ( here that means Grades 6,7,8 - ages 11-13/14) I use the Public Library all the time, and encourage my students to do so as well. The library is such a treasure trove of books, technology, clubs, classes - and many people don't realize it. We have a great service here called Zinnio - online magazines through the library. Most of the magazines I read are available and they even send you an email when a new issue of your favorite is up. I love it. It helped me clear the clutter and cost of my subscriptions. I still buy some titles I want to keep ( same with books, use the library unless you know you will love it, and want to keep going back to the book - like YOURS!), but I love the simplicity of having a bunch of magazines on my iPad to read anywhere. Perfect for travel. One of my friends who teaches technology wanted to bring her classes to my library to look at magazines and explore marketing and how certain titles have ads for certain target ages. Along with the paper titles, I showed the class how to use this new resource, but you must have a public library card. Not many of the students did - so we challenged them to get a card by the end of the month, and any student who did was treated to a doughnut breakfast in the library. The response was amazing...the treats tempted them, but the comments were amazing about how they are enjoying the library. So, THANK YOU for the "shout out" to libraries....no, they are not going to disappear because of the internet. And...working on my schedule, my ideal. Like Lara said...just being is wonderful. God made us human BEINGS, not DOINGS. Right now that ideal schedule is being taken over by a family wedding this weekend, travel coming up next week, and a to do list for school - but I am working on it. I am glad you feel the same. And...love the autumn photo on your page - yes, it is still summer here, and I am going to enjoy the rest of it ( on my list - entertaining more, and I have had friends for brunch on the screen porch several times...bliss) but seeing those leaves make me long for the fall...and cozy times. Blessings to you for sharing your wonderful thoughts with the world.

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    1. Well thank you too, Ann for the inspiration :) What a coincidence that I mentioned libraries in the same post (even though there are no coincidences ;) What a fantastic plan to lure/bribe students into the library, knowing they will love it. Bravo! Enjoy your summer :)

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    2. Forgot to mention, we do have access to Zinio at our library too. It's a fantastic service but I still prefer print magazines to relax with.

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  11. Love Ann's comment and agree with everything she says, although I would suggest that people should still buy print magazines if at all possible. There is really nothing as lovely as a new print glossy magazine to look at with morning coffee or afternoon tea. But I would say that, wouldn't I, as I write for magazines and without sales of them I'd not get any commissions!
    I do like our town library, but sadly, money for libraries does mean that it spends on the latest fiction, not always the books that I want - for example I have been researching the aftermath of the Great Fire of London of 1666 and the rebuilding of the city, and I needed to get books quickly and so went to Abe and Amazon and already I have a great book published in 1940 (yes, at the height of the London Blitz and someone was writing about the rebuilding after the Great Fire!) which most certainly wouldn't have been in our library and would've taken a very long time to get from the library stacks somewhere in the country. I was also able to find a copy of Peter Tinniswood's wonderful book on the Great Fire for under 50p plus p&p. I know libraries are a valuable source, but sometimes I have to access research material quickly. And although our library in our town is a lovely, fairly new one, with a cafe and all kinds of ancillary support services there, a lot of the books are really either out of date or new ones are there by popular demand and you can well imagine the kinds of popular fiction that consists of. I'm not being snobbish, there is a need for popular fiction but it's not quite what I want and so I rely on Amazon and then, if I don't wish to keep the books, they go to charity shops.
    Margaret P

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    1. I'll always be a print magazine reader, Margaret, even if I have whittled down to only a few that I read (in order not to over-complicate my life).

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  12. I have enjoyed your blog for quite some time now - thank you for writing about things I think of. I am a teacher with two years to go until retirement, and so have been consciously 'practicing' my retirement skills. This summer I have followed my inclinations and find myself reading voraciously, spending time in my garden, sewing, cooking just a little bit, and generally living according to my own needs. I have forgotten what the date is and even what day of the week it is, and I have surprised myself with how much I've accomplished, even though I don't think I've been working hard at all. I just do what I feel like doing, which as it turns out, is what needs done. The only lists I have made are ones for the grocery store and I only go there when there is just nothing in the fridge at all. Amazingly, I have dropped a few pounds, my skin, hair, and nails are healthier than ever, and I am just deep down content. I'm looking forward to September and school beginning again, as well as my husband returning from his summer away, but aside from missing my husband, this has been a remarkably restorative and very, very good summer. My advice to others: if you can, give yourself this kind of time and see where it takes you!

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    1. Isn't it funny to think that we'd need to practice doing nothing (or rather, having to structure our own day instead of an external job structuring it for us), but we do, or at least I do anyway.

      I am so inspired at how your summer has gone - maybe I need to stop trying so hard and just be; how revolutionary :)

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  13. Hi Fiona, thanks for another great post and thanks to Ann for her inspiration.
    I'm in that place, retirement, yet I still say I will do certain things "when I retire" because we are always busy with projects and drowning in To Do lists, so it doesn't yet seem like we are enjoying those lazy days of retirement. But I guess we are still achievers in our heads so can't drop the satisfaction we get from fulfilling tasks. E.g I'm on a high tonight because this week we've cleared out our sheds and the back garden, and we are sitting here smugly raising our glasses to Team Us!
    Occasionally I became aware that I do little for me, and then I add me to the ever expanding lists!
    However, I will try your scheduling and see how that works! Hope you keep us posted on your scheduling progress.
    PP.

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    1. I'm like you PP, and feel great after a project has been completed. Well done!

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  14. I have been retired for 5 years and wonder every day, where did the time go. But I must say that I cherish every valuable moment. One year after retiring, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a result of that experience, I have decided that every activity is a blessed one and the world is full of so many things to see and do. Since the diagnosis, I have traveled to Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I have been taking guitar lessons (which I didn't get to do as a child.) I spend as much time as I can with my grandchildren, children and husband. Every moment is precious, not one is a waste. If you feel overscheduled, give a prayer of thanksgiving that you have the energy and health to be active. If you have down time and are bored, ask the universe to fill your time with meaningful activity. And above all, enjoy!

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Merci for your comment. Wishing you a chic day!

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