What’s your definition of “freedom”? When you think of the idea of “being free,” what does that mean to you? Have you thought about it?
A common definition many of us share is that freedom is the ability to do what you want when you want. Schedules might initially seem at odds with this definition. But before we make that leap, let’s take a closer look.
Say you were given total freedom right now. Right now you have the freedom and ability to do what you want, when you want. What would you do? Do you have the discipline and awareness to align your time with what matters most to you? Would you spend your time wholeheartedly pursuing your passions and dreams, or would you spend your time chasing fleeting pleasures? Do you even know what you really want?
In the crazy busy world that is modern life, we are constantly bombarded with stimuli. Stimuli that tell us what we should want and how we should want it. It’s hard enough to find the time and space to get quiet and figure out what we truly want. It’s even harder making choices that align with what we want given the distractions of everyday life: TV, the internet, social media, and opinions up the wazoo.
Love it, hate it, or disagree with it, schedules are tools that can help set you free.
I really like how David Brooks puts it in his book, The Second Mountain, “You have to chain yourself to a certain set of virtuous habits so you don’t become slave to your destructive desires — the desire for alcohol, the desire for approval, the desire to lie in bed all day.”
To me, freedom is the ability to spend my time on the things that matter most to me. Freedom happens for me when what I spend my time on is a direct reflection of what I value most. Schedules help me do that.
The Big Picture: Dreams, Goals, Plans, Schedules, and Flexibility
Let’s break these terms down. How does a dream turn into a schedule? How does a schedule turn into a dream?
The difference between a goal and a dream is a timeline.
Dr. Phil
Dreams are what you want for the future. Goals are the measurable steps you take to get there. Plans are how you intend to carry out achieving those goals. Schedules are the day-to-day implementation of the plan.
A schedule is nothing more than a tool we can use to hold us accountable to our dreams. Schedules take our dreams from dream space and put them deliberately and methodically into our reality.
My husband’s voice is ringing in my ears. A huge advocate for freedom and spontaneity, he ensures that I allow for flexibility in my life. He also keeps me honest with leaving open free time on my calendar. Despite the at times unhealthy high I get from seeing an expertly scheduled calendar, I believe that flexibility and leaving open free time on your calendar are essential elements to setting yourself free.
To me, flexibility means remaining open to what the moment has to offer. We don’t want to be so rigid that our plans and schedules sabotage the synchronistic opportunities that may be in front of us. We also want to make sure we’re available to meet the needs of the moment. Allowing yourself the flexibility to adjust your schedule to meet these needs will free you to be available for the moment at hand.
Big however. What we don’t want to do with this free time and flexibility is use it to fall back on fleeting pleasures. These fleeting pleasures aren’t inherently bad – we all enjoy a slice (or two or ten) of pizza every now and then. But the choice should be deliberate. Make the choice in full awareness and acceptance of current and future consequences; otherwise, the beating yourself up and negative self-talk that will ensue will only cause suffering.
So let’s do it! Let’s see how a flexible schedule can provide the structure and freedom to ensure that you’re spending your time on what matters most to you.
To frame what this looks like, let’s consider two bounding cases – The Zen Master and The Hot Mess.
The Zen Master
What are some characteristics of a zen master? The Zen master is completely present and they have a deep, personal understanding of self. They’re totally connected with who they are; they know who they are and they know what they want. In every moment, their thoughts and actions are in alignment with this deeper truth.
Let’s put this in the context of the four-step formula. The Zen Master:
- Knows themself
- Has a clear mind, clean of limiting beliefs
- Acts only on inspired thoughts
- Allows the Universe to flow
The Zen master doesn’t need a schedule because they’re always aligned with their deeper truth. They always know what to do when to do it because they’re always “tapped in” to the flow of life. The life of a zen master is marked by clarity and flow.
The zen master doesn’t need a schedule to help set them free; they’re already free.
The Hot Mess
On the flip side, there’s the hot mess. We’ve all been there. The hot mess has a cluttered mind; their thoughts fire at will with no real conscious interjection. There’s no separation between self and thoughts.
The hot mess is all over the place; their actions are mostly reactions. There’s no well-established goal, no plan, and most certainly no schedule. Ask them about their schedule, and they’ll probably freak out on you. They tend to resist reality and their story is often marked by injustice and victimization. Things are always happening to them.
In the context of the four-step formula, the Hot Mess:
- Has no idea who they are; they probably think they are their thoughts
- Has a cluttered mind
- Acts on urges and impulses
- Resists the flow of the Universe
The life of the hot mess is marked by resistance.
The hot mess desperately needs a schedule because they’re enslaved to the thoughts of their conditioned mind.
Then there’s everyone in-between – like us!
Where do we fit into the four-step formula? If you’re like me, it probably looks something like this:
- I know myself pretty well, but need regular reminders
- I do daily maintenance to stay on top of my thoughts; some days my mind is clear, other days it’s cluttered
- I act on both inspired and impulsive thoughts
- I both allow and fight the flow of life and need conscious reminders to stay the course
Sounds like we could benefit from a schedule…
What does a schedule do for awake students like us?
For the newly awakened student of life, someone who knows enough to be dangerous but who is for the most part still figuring it out, a schedule does so many wonderful things. A schedule helps keep you on track. It allows you to make conscious decisions that line up with the real you; so that when you get busy and overwhelmed and your mind starts to get away from you, you have something to fall back on.
Schedules look different for everyone; take some time to think through what’s best for you and your life. Figure out what works for you – try some things out! The key is to schedule your time to align with what matters most to you. If family time is important to you, schedule that first. If you’re starting a new venture and that’s important to you, allocate your time in a way that reflects that.
Schedules free us from destructive tendencies by ensuring we spend our time in ways that line up with what matters most to us.
Schedules can be used to keep us on track. They can free us from the temptations of conditioned impulses and urges. Flexible schedules allow for spontaneity and ensure we are present and available to meet the needs of the moment. Open space on your calendar ensures you don’t get burnt out. Some of the best moments of my life were completely unplanned. We want our lives to allow for all of it.
Allow for flexibility
Know the difference between changing for an inspired thought versus urges and impulses. “I like to be spontaneous,” is not the same thing as, “I want the freedom to be able to succumb to urges that don’t align with who I am.”
With a schedule, we take time to consciously choose actions that align with who we are. We ensure that what we spend our time on aligns with who we choose to be. But we also allow for spontaneous synchronicity. We are not so rigid that we don’t allow life to flow around and through us.
I plan my time weekly. I consciously sit down and choose what I want to spend my time on. I make sure that it’s in alignment with what I value. If I want to stray from that schedule, I first bring awareness to it before making any decisions. I ask myself, Is this change a better reflection of who I am and what I really want? Is this an urge, an impulse, or an inspiration?
Don’t chain yourself back up by re-enslaving yourself to fleeting pleasures – which, by the way, usually only leave you feeling more helpless once they’ve gone.
Allow flexibility to contribute to your freedom by allowing the moment to serve you in its highest capacity.
Urges, Impulses, and Inspiration
I want to be very clear here – if you’re going to stray from your schedule, it has to be inspired. Urges and impulses are instinctual or emotional reactions that are made unconsciously – like the destructive desires Brooks was talking about.
You’ll know the difference between urges and impulses and inspired thought because one feels urgent and the other feels timeless. One demands immediate action; the other makes action effortless.
A good rule of thumb: if you’re not sure, it’s probably not an inspired thought.
Set Yourself Free
On the second mountain it is your chains that set you free.
David Brooks
Brooks’ second mountain is all about aligning your life with meaning and purpose. Chain yourself to your passions. Demonstrate to the Universe who you are and what you want by how you allocate your most precious resource: time. Exercise discipline by honoring your commitments to yourself, and by default, the world.
Schedules are tools that help the everyday life student like you and me stay the course. They keep us honest. They have our backs when we’re in the thick of it and the going is tough. They help us to stay the course.
So unless you have achieved the clarity and flow that marks the life of a zen master… my friend, you need a schedule.