The 5 psychological benefits of following a schedule
Virtually everything we are has to do with the habits we follow (and have followed) on a day-to-day basis; they shape our identity, our way of perceiving things, and even the way we manage our emotions.
Besides, habits can be modified by ourselves to get closer to our goals, and schedules are a very good way to achieve it. In this article we will focus on them and their psychological benefits.
- Related article: "10 daily habits that improve your emotional balance"
The main psychological benefits of following a schedule
These are the different aspects in which the fact of committing to our schedules gives us advantages from the point of view of psychology.
1. It serves as a reference to follow our progress
Schedules make it easier for us to keep track of our progress, stagnation or setbacks in the projects that we have decided to undertake. For example, they allow us to be aware of whether we have a lot or little accumulated work, the hours we have to do it, etc.
2. helps us reconcile
On the other hand, the hours are
good support to balance our distribution of tasks taking into account what others do, and reserve moments and places to be in the company of our family, our friends, etc.3. It helps us to rest well
Time disruption is capable of quickly wearing down our health if it affects our sleeping habits; in the medium and long term, it translates into a lack of hours of quality rest. Therefore, following schedules acts as a protective element that prevents these problems.
4. It makes it possible for us to have free time
According to parkinson's law, work expands to occupy all the time we can devote to it. For this reason, in order not to waste work time, letting it simply take up a whole day when in fact we could have done the same in a period much shorter, we are interested in compressing the hours we dedicate to each of our responsibilities, to optimize the use we make of those minutes. And schedules are the way to achieve it, allowing us to enjoy free time.
5. It is a motivator
- Dividing our day into the mini-objectives set by the schedule provides us with several small sources of motivation, short-term incentives that allows us to feel good about what we have achieved in a matter of minutes or hours.
What do you do to commit to your schedule?
Follow these tips so you don't let your schedule remain only intentions.
1. Create a detailed schedule
It is important to specify your schedule as much as possible; otherwise, if everything remains in abstract ideas, you will neither commit to it nor remember it everything you should, and it will be difficult for you to apply it to your day to day.
2. Introduce “reward hours” in your schedules
Award hours are a representation of what you will earn for committing to your schedule; It consists of including in your weekly schedule table one or two moments that will be the sum of all the weekly minutes that you will earn for your free time if you organize your activities in this way. In this way, every time you look at that table, you will expose yourself to that incentive, and at the same time you will have a clear reference to know if you are complying with the time management plan that you had proposed.
3. Put your schedule on paper
This way, you will have one or more reminders (in the form of a schematic image) of how you should manage your time during the week. Put a couple of those schedules in visible places in your house: on the fridge fixed with magnets, in your study, in your bedroom, etc.
4. Use action triggers
Action triggers are spatiotemporal references that you will use to give yourself that necessary motivating push when moving from one task to the next.
To use them, you have to memorize associations between moments and situations that lead us to start an activity: for example: "When I'm done washing the dishes in the kitchen, I'll go straight to my desk chair and sit in it to work." They are ways to avoid distractions and stay focused on our goals, something necessary to meet schedules.
5. Prevents sleep problems
Failing to maintain sleep habits, either by not being able to fall asleep or by waking up several times during the hours that you should spend sleeping, can mess up your schedule in a matter of a couple of days, especially if you are starting to try to adhere your habits to it.
To avoid this, anticipate the possible problems you may have. For example, if lately you have trouble falling asleep, do moderate exercise in the morning or at noon (not in the last hours of the day), have a light dinner, dedicate the last hours of the day to do relaxing activities without exposing yourself to much light, do a short relaxation exercise and go to bed when it's time without giving in to distractions that can keep you in candle.
6. go to psychotherapy
If you notice that nothing works for you, it is best that you go to a psychologist; psychotherapy professionals can help you a lot when it comes to shaping your habits to allow you to adopt a healthier lifestyle, even if you do not have any disorders psychological.
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Bibliographic references:
- Gollwitzer, Peter & Brandstätter, Veronika. (1997). Implementation Intentions and Effective Goal Pursuit. First publ. in: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73 (1997), 1, pp. 186-199. 73. 10.1037/0022-3514.73.1.186
- O'Neill, Jr., H.F.; Drillings, M. (1994). Motivation: Theory and Research. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
- Richard, W. (2008). Time Management: Proven Techniques for Making Every Minute Count. Adams Media. pp. 232 - 238.
- Stella, C. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook. London: Palgrave Macmillan.