How do you plan your schedule?

[Agent 008]

..and what are the results?

Normally, I just add the events that it is important that I attend and/or have a fixed date and time (e.g. classes, lectures, some parties etc.)

The work that I am supposed to do in my own time, I just do "whenever".

Now, this works, but it also leads to a lot of time spent procrastinating, and then pulling a few allnighters to meet the deadlines.
I have also noticed, that this way I can't really plan gym work properly - as I get sporadic eating and sleeping patterns, and generally unpredictable timetable (due to various deadlines and my way of meeting them).

So today, I've been thinking of beginning to really schedule almost everything, having an half-hour based timetable for every day (including "rest time", and even "food").

How do you schedule your days? How does it work for you? If you get hardly anything done, post here anyway - would like to learn from your experiences and/or mistakes.

[[MiND-NiNJa]]

I try to stay as organized as possible but I tend to forget stuff a lot. Whenever I am presented with a task, there are three options I choose either long-term goal, short-term goals, and urgent goals. By sorting everything I have to do into these three categories, it lets me finish everything that needs to be done while leaving time for other things. Time management helps a lot in making my schedule, as I said I usually forget a lot of things I need to do so having a cell or writing a to do list helps significantly.

[Dr.Moo]

No actual schedule
Work with other people
Exercise with other people
Composition books <3
Only one fun thing on weekends
On weekdays no hanging out after fun event has ended.
Study for math and science by watching videos/lectures online if being lazy.
For writing Write or Die.

I really don't like to use an actual schedule. I hate it and gives me a bad sense of anxiousness like I'm not working fast enough.

I try to study and do homework with other people in my classes. Never really a set time but together we get everything that we have to do done.

Also I go running with other people. Involving others there's more pressure not to procrastinate.

I used composition books, a lot of them. There is at least one for every class I've ever taken since I started using them. I have some spare ones always lying around for new projects and others are solely dedicated to one math problem each that I work on periodically.

I tend to lose sheets of paper even from a three ring binder, so the composition books are definitely a must for me. I'm not very organized and tend to lose things. Losing an entire composition book however is very hard.

I can recall many instances where I didn't study because I lost my notes/paper where I wrote down the homework.

It's very handy to have everything for one topic in a composition book. A lot of my procrastination used to be caused by the hassle of having to rummage through a whole bunch of pages to find what I needed.

Also I decide to do only 1 thing on weekends, something fun. I let myself do it before studying, if it's more convenient that way, but I will never engage in more than one activity. It's either go to the movies or a theme-park never both. On school/work nights if I go out I only go do the thing that I went out to do and then go home. No hanging out after wards. After wards coincidentally also tends to be the time frame when shit goes down. People get into fights and arrested for being drunk or high. It's pretty nice getting to avoid all that.

As for sleeping patterns I exercise a lot. I usually jog, weight train, or do cardio 6 days a week and take a day off. I exercise to keep my bipolar disorder under control which adds a great amount of stability to my life.

Right now it's night time. I know I should be studying but the room is dark and only illuminated by my laptop. I'm going to study by watching some physics videos or lectures online. Getting my book out and paper and pencil along with calculator. Such a hassle.

For writing assignments I used Write or Die. http://lab.drwicked.com/
It's just a web page that encourages you to just put your thoughts on paper. If you set to do it it'll pressure you to write faster with punishments like playing the rickroll song or actually deleting the work that you've done if you procrastinate for too long. It really come in handy for just getting first drafts out.

[Agent 008]

^ Heh, interesting. By organising your activities with other people, you essentially do the kind of extensive planning that I intend to do.

[SilkySmooth]

I don't plan too rigidly because life is always throwing out new things to squeeze in to my time so there needs to be some room for flexibility. I keep a few things constant (e.g. weekly shop on Mondays, gym on Wed, Fri & Sun...) but arrange my work about a week in advance.

One rule I do stick to is that the evenings, past 5 or 6 o' clock, are kept free from work. That's my time to chill, have a spliff, go out with friends, etc. For planning my days though, a diary really helps, as does a big calendar on the wall. That way I don't forget important meetings, deadlines or other events. I jot down a week in advance in my diary what I'll have to do, but make sure I go to the gym at the same times each week so I don't run out of time for it.

I get a lot of shit done this way. I'd definitely recommend getting a diary for better organisation.

[-Fuck-]

I get up at the crack of dawn, open my door, clear my lungs with oxygen, drink some water, stretch, hit the weights, eat, shower, brush teeth, pack lunch, Im off to work.

If I dont do it in the morning, I DONT do it at night. I always try this and things get fucked up. So its truly for me "do or do not" no middle line. Night time is pig out, watch tv, guitar, videogames, friends, beer, etc.

If Im not disciplined enough to get up on time, well then I will suffer the consequences.