Scheduling

The following resource is absolutely superb, in both its simplicity and its effectiveness. It’s a template for a technique called “scheduling” which was recommended to me some years ago by a friend as a means to keep on top of all the day-to-day tasks, appointments and commitments that can often be overwhelming in early recovery – particularly for those with a history of high problem severity who may have little or no experience in life management.

Scheduling is essentially a to-do list with a difference. Setting aside a little time at the end of each day you award yourself two scores for each task you had scheduled for that day: one score for “mastery” (how well you did the task) and another score for “pleasure” (how much pleasure was gained by completing the task). You then schedule your tasks for the following day.

The results are direct and immediate. Three key benefits of scheduling (included in the accompanying guide):

1: Creates a powerful sense of control over your life – you get things done.
2: Increase in self-esteem as you acknowledge your successes and the pleasure that comes from achieving them.
3: Become more effective by identifying previously hidden areas of your life that
you could improve.

The template and accompanying guide can be viewed below. PDF files are available here for the template and here for the guide. Alternatively, click on the images below to access the PDF files. In addition, I’ve produced an example template which is available here.

All are in black and white to minimise printing costs.

I do hope you and your clients find this useful.

- Stephen