For many solopreneurs, creatives, and small business owners who spend a lot of time working alone, creating a schedule that works for them is often a big challenge.

They feel like there’s either not enough time because they’re also trying to balance other responsibilities or it feels like their days are wide open which means they end up working too much or not working efficiently.

For some folks creating a strict set schedule and following it year-round can work but more often than not I see those sorts of schedules crumble pretty quickly, especially as soon as something shifts, like the kids go back to school or they land a big project.

After trying so many different approaches over the years, I’ve found that for people who don’t really like to “work on bookkeeping every Friday at 10am” a seasons-based flexible schedule is a great solution. It’s not set in stone, but it does have some structure based not only on what works for your life but how things change throughout the year.

Here are the things I consider when building my schedule:

Seasons

My schedule changes at least twice a year based on the seasons. I basically lump Fall and Winter together, and Spring and Summer together too. The reason I like to change my schedule seasonally is that I really love spending time outside and I want to always do it at the best time of day.

So in the summer I’ll get up early, go outside for a run or hike right away, then come back and do the bulk of my work in the heat of the day, and then be able to enjoy the cooler evening outside too.

However, in the winter, I have ZERO desire to get up when it’s dark and cold and head out into the snow. So instead I wake up early, make a cup of coffee, and get right to work. Then in the late morning, around 10 or 11 I’ll take a long break to go on a ski or take the dog for a walk. Later in the afternoon, I’ll come back and work for a few more hours as it’s getting darker and colder.

However, even if you’re not motivated by getting outside, you might find other seasonal changes that inspire you to be available at different times of the day. Maybe it’s dictated by a kid’s school schedule or a fitness class you really like going to. Perhaps you realize that you just love sleeping in during the winter but in the summer you like to spend the early morning hours reading on your deck.

For example, my winter schedule looks something like this:

• 6:30-7 AM: wake up, stretch, coffee

• 7-9 AM: work

• 9-9:30 AM: quick break (usually a dog walk)

• 9:30-11 AM: work

• 11 AM-2 PM: long break (exercise, ski, errands, lunch with a friend, nap, etc.)

• 2-5 PM: work

• 5 PM- bed: cooking, home time, get together with friends, etc.

Boundaries and Buckets

The next thing I like to consider is setting some basic boundaries about when I’ll work and the sorts of work I’ll do on which days. I can’t handle saying that I’ll do a certain thing at exactly a certain time every day on a recurring basis (I’ll just rebel!), but I do like having a general framework. For me, it means the following boundaries are almost always true:

• I don’t work weekends or after 6 pm (with some very occasional exceptions)

• I don’t take any calls or meetings on Monday

• Nothing is scheduled on my calendar after 1 pm on Friday

• I rarely schedule more than 5-6 hours of work every day. I might do more, but I don’t count on it!

As far as what I actually do on which day, I like to “bucket” or categorize the kind of work I know I have to get done so that I loosely know what I’ll be working on. For instance:

• Client work happens primarily Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

• Marketing, sales, and admin work takes place mostly on Monday and Friday

• Creative projects or longer in-person meetings take place on Friday

There’s a lot of flexibility here as far as what I choose to do and what this looks like, but these loose buckets help me define my calendar and ensure there’s time for everything.

Fuel and Friction

If there’s one mistake I’ve made way too often it’s underestimating how long things will actually take and how much energy I’ll actually have on a given day. Once I started building my schedule around what I truly needed to fuel my best efforts things got much easier. I know for instance that if I can put the yoga class, drinks with a friend, a long dog walk, and time to practice my Spanish into my calendar BEFORE I fill it with work stuff, I get a lot more done when I sit down to work. If I fill my calendar with work stuff first, inevitably it’s harder to make room for the other things in life that give me “fuel” to be my best.

On the flip side, I like to notice the friction in my schedule and work around it instead of fighting it. If there’s something I find myself continually dreading or avoiding, it’s usually a good sign that I need to examine it to see what’s really going on. When I notice that every time I have something on my calendar in the late afternoon that involves me doing something solo (i.e. not a client call or meeting), I find EVERY EXCUSE possible to put it off. There was so much friction! So, eventually, I just started putting easy, fun tasks in that time slot or making sure I was working with a client. Now I can stick to my schedule with more ease.

Weekly Time Blocks

Finally, after I’ve gotten clear on all of these other factors, the way it all comes together for me is time blocking on a weekly basis. It’s important to have set up things like the seasonal calendar first so that I know what time slots are available when I sit down to plan my week.

There are a few ways I put this into action:

Monday Planning: There is a standing reminder in my calendar to do this first thing Monday morning. I block out an hour to plan it all out. I review anything that’s already scheduled, then I plug in my “fuel” to my calendar; things like when I’ll exercise every day, date nights, etc. I make sure to schedule lunch breaks too! After that I plug in big time blocks of the things that keep my business running, like when I’ll spend time doing some marketing efforts or follow-up emails. Then I get really specific about when I’ll block out time for a whole bunch of “little things” so I can do them all at once, like quick emails or posting to social media.

• This podcast episode most closely follows how I do my Monday planning.

Moon Cycles: First I consider the lunar phase and where I’m at in my cycle. (If this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, not to worry. This was new to me not that long ago, too.) Depending on what’s going on with those cycles, I know that I’ll have more or less energy going into the week, so I plan accordingly. If I know I’ll likely have more energy, I’ll plan a bigger marketing campaign. If I know I’ll have less, I’ll pull back a little bit and spend more time planning.

• I’m not an expert here but I’m loving planning this way. Check out Jackie Dominas or Kate Northrup for more specifics.

End-of-Week Reviews: On Friday before I shut it all down for the weekend, I spend a few minutes write down any loose ends I need to address on Monday. I also do a quick review by asking these three questions:

• What am I celebrating?

• What did I learn?

• What’s next?

Those responses are what I’ll look at when I sit down again Monday to make my plan for the week.

That’s it! Granted, it’s kind of a lot but once you get into a flow with creating your schedule in a way that works for you AND serves your business, it’s such a game changer.

Questions? Ideas? Let me know. I’m all ears!

Or if you’re feeling extra stuck, book a free Brainstorming Session with me and we can talk it out: