Do you crave stability in your life? Wish you had a little more structure in your schedule? When you stick to a similar schedule and routine each week, you can actually make time for the things that matter to you. Structure helps you stay focused and get things done.
During weeks when my workload feels hectic, having daily and weekly routines means I don’t have to play catch-up or wing everything. There’s nothing wrong with winging it, but I feel more at peace when I’m prepared with a plan.
Lack of structure can make us feel unmotivated and distracted and often leads to you doing everything at the last minute. Of course, flexibility is important, but structure is necessary for creating a sense of stability and balance in your life.
Today, I’m sharing 5 ways you can build structure into your weekly and daily schedule so you can feel less stressed and more prepared!
Habits are sacred because they give deliberate structure to our lives. Structure gives us a sense of security. And that sense of security is the ground of meaning. – Robert Fulghum
5 Ways to Create More Structure In Life
If you’re looking to add more structure into your schedule too, here are a few ideas to make it happen:
1. Create batch/theme days
Batching is the process of grouping similar tasks together to streamline your workload. When you work on similar tasks together, it’s easier to get in the zone and stay focused. For example, I use Tuesdays to write my blog content because I know I can write uninterrupted for most of the day. If you take a closer look at your weekly schedule, you’ll notice that you do similar tasks each week. See if there’s a way you can theme or batch your days so you always have a game plan for the week.
Related Post: Why You Need To Figure Out Your Top Priorities In Life
2. Plan your week on a Sunday
If you find yourself totally unprepared for Mondays, try planning your week ahead of time. I use Sundays to prepare for the week so my life feels a little more organized. This is the perfect time to see what’s on your calendar and make sure you have your ducks in a row.
I check my calendar and emails to see what blog posts I need to write, which projects are due, and any scheduled appointments. Here’s a list of 20 productive things you can do on a Sunday to prepare for the week ahead.
I don’t think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity. – Twyla Tharp
3. Plan your day the night before
Even if you’ve already planned out your week, it’s important to plan out some of the details of your day as well. This will help you stay on track and figure out exactly what you need to accomplish by the end of the day. I recommend choosing your top three priorities for the day and scheduling them in time blocks. Here’s a tutorial explaining how I do this.
Related Post: How To Build A Strong Inner Foundation For Your Life
4. Stick to an intentional morning routine
Routines create consistency in our schedules, help with time management, and encourage us to build healthy habits. My morning routine keeps me sane, especially when I’m overwhelmed with my to-do list. Even if the rest of my day is terrible, I can feel good knowing I did a few things in the morning to take care of myself. If you want to start your own morning routine, there’s a simple framework you can follow in this post.
Related Post: How To Create Intentional Routines In Your Life
5. Make time for self-care
Of course, I have to remind you of the importance of scheduling self-care into your schedule. Once you’ve planned out your week with appointments and to-dos, it’s vital that you plan some downtime to recoup. Take a look at your schedule and pencil in your favorite self-care activities or time to do absolutely nothing.
Related Post: How To Let Yourself Relax & Unwind Properly
How do you create structure in your life?
Structuring your weekly and daily schedule is a great way to feel more at ease with your to-do list. Batching your days, planning ahead, and creating routines are all simple ways to make this happen.
I’m curious to know if structure is important to you and how you structure your schedule. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
21 Responses
This is so helpful! I definitely need to focus on creating better morning routines. I’m the worst morning person and I think it throws my productivity out of wack
I love the idea of creating a batch/theme days, it’s going to help me to be more organized as I am currently all over the place with my schedules.
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Actually, I love having a night routine too, it allows me to be a lot more productive the next day. I prep everything for the morning,plan my breakfast, pack lunch, pick my outfit and meditate just before to unwind.
Thank you for this post! It{s super useful
I’m pleased to report that I am following most of these guidelines. I will consider the batch/theme days, though. I think I informally do this, but planning that way may help me create more structure. I just found your website and love it! I’ll definitely be back.
Love to read your ideas. I like the way you confirm some of the things I know and add some new knowledge too. Thank you
Yes! I only work 3 days a week, the other four I’m a stay at home mum. If I didn’t have a rough schedule for my days when I’m at home I am certain I would waste my time away in front of the TV or something. I usually break my days up into time for chores, play time, outtings, meal times, rest times & I study from home on these days as well. Totally flexible of coarse, but I really don’t know how I lived life before I created this kind of structure for myself!
Great tips! Batching is a lifesaver! It saves me so much time. I also like to plan my day the night before. I write down in my journal my 5 priorities for the day and focus on them only,
I mean, it’s basically like you’re in my brain telling me everything I need to hear right when I need it. Now that I’m self-employed I have been craving routine – thank you so much for this!
I do all of these, but I struggle the most with #1. I try to stick to a theme and batch my tasks on certain days, but sometimes I end up tackling other tasks and getting totally off track. Thanks for these tips!
Super helpful tips, especially for a dissipated person like me. I’ve recently switched to a healthier lifestyle and now I’m training with SportMe running app for my first race and also trying to save some money to get back on my feet with finances.
I needed to read this post this morning! I always struggle to plan everything out in the most efficient way.
And especially blogging needs some structure to get all the things done that you want to have finished by the end of the day or week. So, yes structure is important to me, but I struggle to find the most efficient plan to implement it. That‘s why this post was so helpful to me! So far, I have improved my schedule with building to-do lists where I feel very satisfied when I can cross off another thing done, but I really like your ideas! I will definitely try some of them to get a more clear and defined plan of what needs to be done.
Thank you for sharing this! ?
I love that, Anne! Implementing is definitely the hardest part. Planning is amazing, but not if you don’t actually do the things you plan ;)
Thank you so much! You calm me. I very much need to implement these things in my life! I need a life coach. I am also forgetful, don’t always pay attention and even “scatter-brained” at times!
Journaling has helped me a lot with my own scatter brained-ness. It doesn’t need to be fancy mines just a plain notebook I keep at my computer desk.
Hi,
Thanks for writing this. I am trying to structure my life a little and sometimes I fear I am too late, since I am already 26 and I feel that the world and peeps my age are so much more ahead then I am. I feel your tips and site help me to organize my thoughts and goals a little.
I love this article, these tips have really helped me as a starting point of organizing myself. My biggest challenge right now is the batch days, which unfortunately I think would be the most helpful to me if I could just get it right. My work schedule is very fluid and certain days that would be perfect for one batch of tasks one week, may not be so great the next week. Do you have any advice for batching days with a crazy schedule like this?
I’ll admit that batching is something I’ve struggled with too. Sometimes I think one or two batch days a month can really help, rather than trying to make it happen every single week. Maybe you could try scheduling in a batch day on a monthly basis and just knock out as much as you can in that time?
I love your emails, I can’t wait to receive them each week. It’s like you’re in my mind telling me everything I should be doing at the moment when I need it the most or when I’ve fallen off the wagon. It’s A wake-up call to plan and do the things I should and make time for. I work from home and I seriously need a routine to make time for myself. Thank you so much. :)
Thank you so much, Michelle! I’m glad you’re loving the emails!
What an amazing checklist, most checklists seem repetitive or give me info that perhaps feels like a leap in an activity for a beginner, but these tips feel easy enough to incorporate and I know they will make a massive difference. Thank you for taking the time and I will be searching throughout your blog for more information.
That makes me so glad to hear, Jaxson!