How do successful people approach their schedules?
Written by
David Nelson
Reviewed by
Prof. Benjamin Murphy, Ph.D.People who succeed greatly with their goals engage in intentional strategy regarding scheduling instead of reacting. They see time as their most important resource. I have seen consistent insights from executives and entrepreneurs as they continually seek to align their tasks with their natural energy patterns. This baseline adjustment engenders sustainable high performance without burnout.
Energy Optimization
- Schedule demanding cognitive work during biological peaks
- Match task difficulty to natural energy fluctuations
- Reserve low-energy periods for administrative tasks
Focus Protection
- Create uninterrupted blocks for deep work daily
- Communicate boundaries clearly to prevent interruptions
- Use physical signals (closed door, headphones) to maintain focus
Strategic Delegation
- Identify low-impact activities for elimination or delegation
- Develop clear criteria for task importance assessment
- Build reliable systems for consistent task handoff
Energy alignment distinguishes strong performers from average ones. They are careful to monitor patterns of personal productivity closely. A client, who is a CEO, determined that his best focus occurred between 6 and 9 AM. He restructured meetings to "guard" that timeframe. This small change generated two times the strategic output in 30 days.
Weekly reflections offer critical points for adaptation. Every Sunday, successful people reflect on what has worked and what hasn't. They adjust their schedules based on actual results, not theoretical plans. I recommend making a simple log of where you were focused successfully and where you were distracted.
Delegation proficiency saves time for more valuable uses. Successful people establish criteria for determining which tasks deserve their attention. Every task they value furthers their primary goals. A business owner automated 60% of her administrative tasks. This afforded her 15 hours a week to spend on business development.
Start tomorrow with a single strategy. Preserve a single 90-minute focus block. Or offload a single recurring low-impact task. Explore how compounding works. Just a little bit of consistent improvement can create exceptional productivity, as we've identified above.
Read the full article: 10 Essential Tips on How Manage Time
