Interactive Infographic: 6 Steps for Effective Scheduling

Effective Scheduling

6 Steps for

Estimate time needed for tasks.

Schedule your top priorities.

Schedule your lower priorities.

Leave time for flexibility.

Choose a tool and frequency.

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List steps by priority.

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HOVER OVER EACH STEP TO LEARN MORE

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CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: - Are you going to create a physical schedule by using a pencil, planner, or paper calendar? - Or will you use an online calendar or another online scheduling tool? - And will you create a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule?

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STEPS: - Make a list of everything you want to achieve in your chosen time span. - Review all the tasks you've listed and rank or reorder them by priority. - Consider which tasks are urgent, have an impending deadline, or contribute the most to your organization's goals or success.

CONSIDER YOUR PRODUCTIVITY RATE: Estimate how much time you'll need to complete each task on your list. Perhaps you estimate that you will need two hours to develop a financial report, or perhaps you expect to take one hour to write a press release.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STEPS: - Add your high priority tasks to your calendar or scheduling tool. - Block out the time that you estimated in the previous step. - Schedule high priority tasks earlier - rather than later - in the day.

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: Avoid over-scheduling in this step. Ask yourself, "Is it essential that I complete this task in this timeframe, or could it wait until later?" Consider delegating a task or two. *If you don't have time for everything, then don't try to make it all fit.

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: - Time estimates aren't absolute, and schedules rarely go according to plan. - Expect that there will be delays, distractions, and tasks that take longer than expected. - Plan for the unexpected by scheduling extra time between meetings or spare time at the end of the day for last minute requests.