IDEAL BALANCE

Are you trying to fit it all in but wondering if there’s really enough room to squeeze it in? Or are you going day-by-day, guessing what the day will look like and unsure when the most important things, or the goals you’ve set will get any time or attention?

Budget your time like you would your money: it’s a limited resource and you want to be sure you’re investing it in what matters most.

Enter the Ideal Time template! This template allows you to blueprint your week and give every important thing in your life a placeholder in your schedule ahead of time instead of as an afterthought or reaction.

How does it work?

While your day to day may not look the same, often your weeks have similar patterns. With that in mind, Ideal Time leans on the concept of time blocking in that you can schedule time for specific types of work or chores or fun or goal-oriented tasks. Ideal Time allows you to see all five (or seven) set of 24 hours at once so you can see a realistic picture. You’ll plan for priorities rather than hope they get done.

Think in blocks

Before we being, let’s think about how your days tend to fall into some specific time blocks. You’ll want to build each day of the week separately because there are probably major differences from Monday to Thursday. If you’re a stay at home mom, for example, you might think in terms of:

• Quiet time
• Kids morning routine
• AM Block
• PM Block
• After school / afternoon routine
• Evening routine
• Personal time

Within those blocks, you’ll probably have certain repeatable tasks and events that you stack inside. This makes it easier to wrap your brain around things and also allows you to get what is most important accomplished. We’ll look more into that in a moment.

If you have a typical job-like schedule, your blocks might look like this:

• Morning ritual
• Workday start up
• Work block 1
• Work block 2
• Workday shut down
• Family time
• Relaxing time

So, to get the brain warmed up, think about the natural blocks that your life falls into.

Let’s take a look at an example to get started:

Start with the things that are most permanent.

• 6am Morning Ritual
• 7am Kids Wake Up
• 8am Kids School Drop Off
• 9am
• 10am
• 11am
• 12pm
• 1pm
• 2pm
• 3pm Kids School Pick Up
• 4pm
• 5pm Extracurricular Activities
• 6pm
• 7pm
• 8pm Kids Bedtime
• 9pm Bedtime

Next, add in your other priorities, including work, self-care time and whatever else is unique for you!

• 6am Morning Ritual
• 7am Kids Wake Up
• 8am Kids School Drop Off & Workout
• 9am -11am Morning Work Block
• 12pm Lunch Break / Bible Study
• 1pm – 245pm Afternoon Work Block
• 3pm Kids School Pick Up
• 4pm Chores / Homework
• 5pm Sports / Activities
• 6pm Dinner
• 7pm Family Time
• 8pm Kids Bedtime / Evening Ritual
• 9pm Bedtime

Build the blocks

Once you’ve got the things you must do and some general blocks in there (like morning ritual & family time) it’s time to build them out specifically. What exactly is your “checklist” for the bedtime routine? What does your morning ritual look like? Do you have enough time for everything that you have on the list? Err on the side of caution here! Start with what is the MOST important. Then, if you do great with that, feel free to add on.

Be sure to add in buffer / margin. This is white space in your schedule and life that you need.

Also, don’t underestimate the time it will take you to do things. Add in buffers on purpose. You can see how your day can fill up quickly and it’ll become clear that you can actually fit in if you also want to sleep. =D Your day can be as detailed or generic as you wish, knowing that you might edit and adjust as you go. Each day of the week might look different, and that’s okay. Plan all of them out and see where you end up.

Claim your calendar before someone else does.

Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy

The goal with your Ideal Time is not to aim for perfection. The Ideal Time acts as the plan for you to get in everything that is important to you. It gives your priorities the container and space they deserve in order to actually have a chance at happening! You can aim to hit your Ideal Time @ about 75 percent each week, understanding that things will come up to require your flexibility. Having your Ideal Time gives you an aim, a best case scenario. It also lets your brain rest knowing that you’ve thought it all through and you don’t have to reinvent or scramble each day.

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?

Henry David Thoreau

If you need help with this, you’re in luck. We have an awesome worksheet to help you visualize your Ideal Time.

Ideal Balance is The Life Coaching Facility in Navarre, Florida that focuses on Fitness, Family & Finance. We help our clients create the discipline & habits they need to strip off what’s holding them back from living the life God created them to live. We work with clients in 1-on-1 sessions in person and virtually as well as in Small Groups in Personal Training sessions, workshops and other events. We’re on a mission to inject hope and empower our community one client at a time. Contact us if you’d like to find out more.