Having an everyday schedule for yourself is a great tool to keep you focused on your journey to recovery from addiction. Having a daily schedule will give structure to your day, so you will have less room to second guess yourself or make impulsive decisions. When you create a schedule you can more clearly map out your daily goals, making it easier for you to get through your day and achieve your long-term goals.
A Schedule Will Give You Structure
Having structure in your day gives you the ability to be thoughtful about how you will spend your day. When you make a schedule, you can plan your day so that you will be able to be productive and still have time for self-care. Make sure that your daily workload is reasonable: not too much that you are overwhelmed or overworked, and not so little that you become bored. You might want to keep a looser or stricter schedule depending on what’s going on in your life and what works for you during your recovery. However, sticking to a daily schedule will give you the structure to help you stay focused and on task.
A Schedule Will Help You Accomplish Your Goals
A schedule will also help you juggle work, therapy, and self-care. It can be hard to accomplish everything on your to-do list, but scheduling makes it a lot easier by prioritizing and assigning times for certain activities. Make sure to include steps towards completing your long and short-term goals in your schedule. Scheduling will help you think about your goals in a realistic and achievable way by breaking them down into steps. It will also force you to take time out of your day to think about your long and short-term goals, which will help you brainstorm different ways to accomplish them.
How to Make a Schedule
If you are overwhelmed by the idea of making a schedule, break it down into simple steps and take it one at a time. Start by scheduling your basic needs, like when you will eat and sleep. Next, schedule all of your meetings, appointments, or therapy sessions for the week. Then,
write down everything you need and want to get done this week. You can include things such as exercise, laundry, and chores. Then you’ll want to break down your list by prioritizing the most important items on your schedule. Assign the items on your list to each day of the week. Feel free to move items to different days of the week to see what schedule is best for you. You should end up with a list of activities for each day, which will become your daily schedule. Make sure you do your best to stick to your schedule–this helps keep you from becoming overwhelmed or distracted and keeps you moving forward in your recovery.
Scheduling can help you during your recovery by bringing structure to your day and helping you map out your long and short-term goals. If scheduling your day seems overwhelming, start small by writing down what you want to accomplish for the week. The more you practice making and keeping a schedule, the easier it will become. Remember to make time in your schedule for self-care and therapy sessions. Alta Loma can help you create a schedule that will be beneficial during your recovery. For more information on how Alta Loma can help you or a loved one overcome addiction, call (866) 457-3843 today.
