Time blocking. Color coding. AI schedulers. Building in time for distractions. An hourly planner. A monthly planner. A guided planner. YOU NAME IT, if it's a framework for how to create schedules and daily structure, I'VE TRIED IT. And none of it has worked long-term, lots of it falling off within the first couple hours of the day.
I've got a business. I'm working on my faith and rewiring my brain. I've got kids who want breakfast at different times and who sometimes want to hang out for hours and sometimes don't want anything to do with me. I've got a dog and laundry (ugh) and meals and dishes and errands and admin...and it's summertime to boot. Those endless days of non-structure that sound like a great way to relax when you're looking forward to them, but can become a wandering mess of madness when you're in them.
Desperation was creeping in. Throwing it all to the wind and putting trust in the hands of who-knows-what to simply "create the time I needed" to do the things I wanted each day left me feeling like NOTHING got done, having checked off MAYBE one thing on my list and feeling like I hadn't been present for ANYTHING.
And then time-blocking - "Ok, I'll work on marketing from 10-12 and then lunch from 12-1 and then family time from 1-2," even that felt too rigid to my ADHD / Sagittarius / enneagram 7 brain and I'd cast it all aside 30 minutes in in a giant act of rebellion.
So, where was the middle ground? There HAD to be something that works for me, works the way my brain wants to see things and function. Something that has some structure but also feels spacious and flexible. So, I created a master list of things I want to touch on each day and each week, and I sat down with ChatGPT (AI) and I wrote this:
I need help creating a flexible schedule that has some semblance of structure, but also takes into account the fact that it's still summertime and I have my 11 and 14 year old daughters at home and not much of a set schedule. I have a variety of categories that I've laid out of things that I'd like to make time for daily, weekly and monthly. Can you help me create this? What do you need from me so we can collaborate on this? Basically, if I find myself with a random pocket of time (say 1-2 hours), I want to feel like I know exactly what to do to keep all the areas of my life moving.
The result is what I'm calling my Flexi-Schedule System. It's spacious. It's flexible. It has room for all the things. I hope you find some inspiration to customize your own FSS and that it allows you to take so many deep breaths and enjoy being present for everything, knowing you have time. (Also, maybe we need a half-day workshop on this so people can create their own Flexi-Schedule Systems?! Let me know!) -----------------------------------
DM me on Instagram and let me know what you think about the Flexi-Schedule System!
Visit my website to learn more about me and perhaps work together!
And don't forget - I'd love a review! It doesn't take long and it's just the best surprise for me!
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