The Super Tweak You Need To Put In Your Schedule

Improve your work and reduce stress all at once.

I belong to a Sunday night Slack group with a mix of freelancers and traditional employees who work from home. We’re started as part of a larger group of folks who all used to play the same online game. I don’t think many of us still play that game, but the group itself outlasted the game, and we were a big enough group that it spawned small subgroups. One of those subgroups ended up a Slack support group channel for people who work from home.

Isn’t the Internet a wonderful place? Anyway…

Last week a conversation came up in which we shared and compared how we each organize our schedules to best be productive. It was kind of interesting to see eighteen different people use nearly eighteen different methods. I was only one of four who uses a physical planner. Everyone else used various apps or online systems.

It was an interesting discussion for the most part. We all made cases for our respective systems, answered questions, and had the kind of useful conversation one can have on Slack when the group’s mission is sharing resources.

Then Red spoke up. She’s one of the more experienced freelancers in our little Slack group. She took in the conversation and looked at all the screenshots we sent in of what many of our schedules looked like, then asked, “When do y’all find time to think?”

When do we find time to think?

I don’t think she was really talking to me. I keep my schedule more open and flexible than others because I have a bunch of family-related duties to take care of throughout the week and simply can’t have a calendar as regimented as some others.

But it was a good question.

Nearly everyone’s schedule was packed. Meeting times bumped up directly against work sessions, other meetings, and family maintenance (making lunch, getting groceries, etc.). The rows and columns were filled with colors and arrows and tasks.

There was no white space. There was no room to breathe.

When did everyone become so busy?

I suppose that’s a conversation for another time, although I could easily argue that it’s a long-overdue conversation.

But back to the way that my Slack friends were managing their schedule…

Add some blank spaces

Red asked how difficult would it be to insert 15 minutes or half an hour between scheduled meetings and tasks. The reason, she said, is that the constant stream of activity was not giving anyone a chance to mentally refresh or even reset between tasks. Sure, maybe they had a couple of minutes while one meeting wound down and the next item spun up but was that really enough.

Red pointed out that leaving yourself time between tasks in your schedule — significant time — to not be doing anything at all would end up giving you a chance to mentally rest and recharge.

It would also give one time to think about your next task rather than just diving headlong into it. That extra time to reflect upon your work would actually make the next job easier to take on, and you’d likely end up with a better-than-expected return on your productivity.

Most importantly, blank spaces in your schedule would reduce burnout.

Red’s advice is good advice. It makes perfect sense, and as someone who manages to have a few holes in his schedule, I can attest that a decent break between tasks does appear to improve productivity.

But is it that easy?

The freelancers live in a state of near-constant hustle. The work-from-home warriors have to deal with distrustful management and their time tracking software.

Sadly, the “add white space” solution may not work for everyone equally — particularly those whose day is mapped out by micromanaging supervisors.

The good news is that as work-from-home becomes more established as a thing, management will eventually loosen its grip so long as productivity remains at the levels they expect. They’ll care less about how long or when a task is. They’ll care more about it getting done and getting it done right. To do otherwise is going to mean losing quality employees.

And freelancers just need to ease up a little and realize that the clients won’t be going anywhere so long as their work is quality. And they can’t do quality work if they’re rushed or exhausted.

The challenge

Try this out.

Look at your schedule for next week, and if yours is back-to-back meetings and tasks, see if you can’t squeeze in fifteen or thirty minutes between some items in your schedule. Try to get a total hour of blank space in your workday.

Don’t see it as losing an hour’s work. See it as being better prepared mentally to take on the next task and producing better work.

You’ll also feel less stressed by the end of the day, and you’ll be less inclined to burn out.

The frantic nature of freelance hustling and working from home can be detrimental after a while. Combat that by being kinder to yourself. Recognize that your mind and body need occasional rest and refreshing.

You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you for reading. I’d love to share more with you via my Bi-Weekly Word Roundup newsletter sent to subscribers every other Sunday. It will feature news, productivity tips, life hacks, and links to top stories making the rounds on the Internet. You can unsubscribe at any time.