You Need To Plan Intentional Downtime In Your Day

Planning your day should ease overwhelm, not increase it

I’ve been pretty busy lately.

I am going in a lot of different directions. Consulting, writing. Shuttling two kids around. Social activities, regular exercise. And family members visiting this week.

I love to be productive and get a lot done.

But last night, I looked at my daily schedule for today.

I had myself going from one thing to another from 6am until 8:30pm. With one, 30 minute break all day. From 5–5:30pm.

Gulp.

Instead of feeling relaxed and confident about my day. I felt a sense of dread. A tightness in my chest.

That’s not how I usually feel about scheduling.

Planning my day in advance usually fills me with a sense of calm. Because I know exactly what to do, when to do it, and how much I will get done in my day.

As I looked at my schedule, I realized. I can’t go 14 hours with one 30 minute break.

I need to plan for some downtime in my day.

How?

First, I need to make a little room in my day.

I looked at all the tasks on my schedule. I found one or two that I could delegate.

I need to go to the grocery store today. Our cupboard is bare. And, my dad is in town. If I made him a list, he would happily spend 2 hours puttering around in the store. It might not be the most efficient trip to the store. He might miss a few things. I bet I’ll get a few questions during the process. But who cares? We’ll have groceries. And I won’t have to do it. So, I delegated that task.

Great, I made an hour of room in my day.

I want to distribute it throughout the day. And to write it into my schedule.

I looked at my plan for the day. There are three times where I could use a little downtime. 1) after I finish a work project, 2) right before I pick up my kids from school, and 3) before I go to the social event I have to attend tonight (2nd grade parents potluck).

For me, downtime after I finish a project is a way of providing a reward. A mental check mark. A way to reinforce the habits of following my schedule and staying on task.

I will likely go for a walk with my dog, Rosie, during this time.

I will build another chunk of time in from 2–2:30pm.

This block of time is to help me transition from one part of my day to the next. So I don’t bring work stress to my time with my kids. But also, to make sure my own cup is filled before I start pouring for others.

During this time, I’ll indulge in a guilty pleasure. Although not so guilty when it’s on the schedule. Either Instagram or 30 minutes of a mindless TV show.

This one I had already planned. My dad is watching my kids while my husband and I go to the 2nd grade parents’ potluck tonight. The event starts at 6pm. I had already planned one break, from 5–5:30pm.

I am an introvert. It takes a lot of energy for me to attend these things. So, I need some alone time before I go. Time to charge up.

Who knows what I’ll do during this break? Maybe read a book. Maybe stare out the window. Maybe water the plants in my house. It doesn’t matter. I have 30 minutes to do whatever I want from 5–5:30pm. Whatever makes me feel good. No guilt. No thinking about other tasks during this time. Its in the schedule.

I redid my daily schedule. I felt much better. I know that I have a few blocks of time. Time where I don’t have to be productive. And I don’t have to spend that time worrying if I will get everything done today. Because I have a plan.

The point of planning a day is to feel productive and accomplished about the day. To stop worrying about what needs to get done and execute. But if the schedule is too crowded, it has the opposite effect. And then we feel that same sense of dread and worry but for a different reason. Or we end up giving up on the schedule altogether.

Give yourself some downtime. Plan it right into your day. Because my new favorite motto is: the perfect plan is the one where you keep going.

With the right framework plus the right mindset, anything is possible.

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