Is your approach to time management submissive, or responsive?  Proactive, or reactive?  Your approach makes all the difference.  This is true both in the planning stage, and in terms of execution.  My responsive scheduling techniques can make your time management system more productive and impactful.  Today, I’m sharing 5 of the benefits of responsive scheduling.

The benefits of responsive scheduling:  Introduction

You might be wondering, “What is responsive scheduling?”  In short, responsive scheduling is a term I use for a set of tools and techniques that allow you to anticipate unexpected issues throughout your day and week, and adjust your schedule accordingly, while honoring the integrity of your original plans.

That’s a long way of saying:  Tools that help you get stuff done, despite interruptions and unexpected issues.

Now that you know what responsive scheduling means, let’s talk about five of its (many) benefits.

Allows you to plan for the unexpected

I know:  Planning for the unexpected sounds like an oxymoron.  It might even sound impossible.  After all, most of us aren’t walking around with a crystal ball, divining what the future holds.

What you CAN do, however, is acknowledge that unexpected issues will occur, and plan your time accordingly.  That’s the idea at the heart of responsive scheduling.  Unexpected issues shouldn’t routinely wreck your intentions around how you want to spend your time.

Guards time allocated toward your goals

The second benefit of responsive scheduling is that it helps you protect the time you’ve planned to spend on important items, like goals.

How many times have you planned to make progress toward a goal, only to find yourself frustrated and disappointed because something else came up?  That used to happen to me a lot, until I started using responsive scheduling techniques.

Responsive scheduling helps ensure that important items on your calendar remain important, regardless of other issues that may arise.  You may not make as much progress as you had originally planned on important items.  However, responsive scheduling helps ensure that you can maximize your time spent on them in the midst of whatever else comes up.

Relieves the stress and pressure of thinking that “everything has to go as planned”

Another beautiful benefit of responsive scheduling is that it relieves the stress and pressure of thinking that everything has to go as planned for the day or week to be a success.

Here’s what happens when you’re always worried or stressed about your schedule not going the way you want.  It cuts off your creativity, problem-solving skills, and resilience.  That means that excessive stress and worrying actually make you less equipped to deal with the unexpected.  Sometimes, they can even lead to a meltdown or giving up for the day.

When you accept that unexpected things are going to happen, rather than worry that they might, you stop spending time and energy stressing about “what-ifs.”  Instead, you experience peace and self-confidence, because you know that you (and your schedule) are equipped to handle whatever comes up.

Provides built-in solutions for random issues

Another great thing about responsive scheduling is that it can provide built-in, time-based solutions to random issues that arise.

How does this happen?  It’s simple.  Responsive scheduling asks you to consider the categories of unanticipated issues you commonly encounter, and plan accordingly.

For example, maybe your time is frequently commandeered by:

• Unplanned meetings or discussions
• As-needed questions or collaboration with employees or contractors
• Responding to phone calls and emails as soon as they come in
• Unexpected but urgent issues that require your immediate attention
• Unplanned action items that arise from a discussion or meeting
• Tasks that take longer than expected, or are interrupted

Responsive scheduling holds solutions for every one of those items.  You can’t predict exactly what unforeseen issues will arise or when.  However, a little bit of proactive planning goes a long way toward mitigating their impact on the rest of your schedule.

Creates structure around the unknown

At the beginning of the day or week, you probably already know what you want or need to get done.  What you don’t know is how that list will change as time passes and issues arise.

Obviously, you can’t plan for every eventuality, and issues will sometimes come up that do require you to scrap you plans for the day or week.  However, it is possible to create a structure to deal effectively with the smaller unknowns that arise throughout the normal course of time.

How different do these two perspectives feel?

“I planned my schedule, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Vs.

“I planned my schedule and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know I’ll be able to handle it.”

The human brain loves certainty, which is why some people overthink and worry about what “could happen” in terms of unexpected issues.  However, since we can’t predict the future, that desired certainty never comes.  Instead, the cycle of worrying and overthinking often continues.

The structure behind responsive scheduling doesn’t magically reveal unknowns in advance.  Rather, it equips you to address them effectively when they arise.  Instead of panicking or stressing out because something unexpected came up, you have a structure in place to manage it.  While you don’t know what the future holds, the structure of responsive scheduling provides a bit of certainty around how you can respond.

The benefits of responsive scheduling:  Conclusion

A time management system is only as good as your ability to execute it.  Responsive scheduling removes barriers to getting things done by creating time-based plans to deal with the unexpected.  Today, I shared five of the benefits.  Here’s a quick recap:

• Allows you to plan for the unexpected
• Guards time allocated toward your goals
• Relieves the stress and pressure of thinking that “everything has to go as planned”
• Provides built-in solutions for random issues
• Creates structure around the unknown

If you’d like to learn more about responsive scheduling, you should sign up to get your free copy of my comprehensive time management system.  It includes all of my best tips around responsive scheduling, prioritizing tasks, planning your time, and adapting as you go.  Trust me – it’s a game-changer!