A Different Way to Frame Your Day

There are checklists, apps, post-it notes, time-blocking methods, and everything in between. But I’ve still found myself at times getting lost in the sauce of the day and letting important things slip.

The important things aren’t always classified as work, but rather as resting, uninterrupted thinking, and self-care. So instead of defaulting to the normal “busy” and “available” calendar settings, I’ve decided to start breaking my day into categories that actually make sense for my life as a creative. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.

Using a time-blocking method, use these four primary categories:

Thinking

Have you ever thought to yourself, I need time to think about what I need to think about. This is exactly what the Thinking designation is for. It’s not necessarily outcome-driven (i.e. creating a business plan, brainstorming an idea list for a client project, etc.). It’s really about having time to be still and create space to recognize and sort your thoughts, productively.

This could be taking time to think about what you want your year (or day) to look like, asking yourself why you feel a certain way about…