How To Build A Daily Schedule for Optimum Performance

A simple guide to getting things done

Scheduling is important to keep track of your goals. I have been working on many methods to schedule my day and week. Some people say weekly scheduling is better than daily scheduling and vice versa.

I was reading the book 7 habits of highly effective people when I stumbled upon the idea of weekly scheduling and how you can plan your whole week (usually on Sunday afternoon). I tried this for a couple of months but did not work out.

At the start of 2021, I was reading the book deep work. In this book, the author describes how daily scheduling can help in getting things done. I kind of liked this idea and adopted it in my life.

I have been using the combination of weekly and daily scheduling for 2 months and I am seeing some positive results.

Here is a step by step procedure of how I design my schedule:

1. Make a list of weekly goals

I usually do this on Sunday afternoon or evening. I write the goals or tasks I want to accomplish in the next 5 -7 days. The goals can be anything — you can write that you will exercise 5 times a week, you will write 3 articles this week, you will read a book, etc.

Make sure you don’t underestimate the things. Don’t list too many things that you won’t be able to accomplish. Here is a page from my diary:

2. Make daily schedule

After listing down your goals, you need to divide the goals throughout the week. I usually do my daily scheduling before going back to sleep.

Here is how you should do it:

1. List the 3 most important tasks that you will complete the following day. It is also important to write the time as well. For example, you can write that you will prepare a presentation for a client from 9 am to 11 am.
2. In the remaining time, fill the shallow work like replying to emails and doing admins tasks.
3. This is a very important part. You should also write how you would spend your evening. You can write that you will spend time with loved ones, you will read the book or you will write an article.

This is how my daily scheduling looks like:

In Conclusion

I believe scheduling is important to achieve your goals. I have shown one way of doing it. It might or might not work for you. Keep trying and figure out what works for you.