After I graduated, I was glad to have more free time to do what I wanted. But I missed having a schedule and inflexible deadlines for assignments and exams. Deadlines motivated me to work and study. You might have had a similar experience after your own graduation. Do you struggle to organize your time without that class schedule? How can you build structure in your life to maximize productivity?
A major life event can change the amount of free time that you have. For example, when you’re in college, everything in your life is organized into blocks of time: the class syllabus is divided into modules, and each module ends with an exam. What happens when you graduate and you don’t have that structure? How do you be more disciplined and build a routine into your daily schedule?
The trick is to be held accountable for your time. For example, make use of a weekly planner and plan your week ahead and stick to it. Giving yourself deadlines will help you accomplish more tasks. If you don’t stick to a schedule, you will wonder what happened to all that free time that you had. Structure can make you more efficient and achieve your goals more quickly. Below are some ideas on how to build structure into your life after graduation.
Table of Contents:
- Put timed alerts on your phone
- Sign up for classes, preferably one with homework assignments
- Plan your week using an agenda or planner
- Join a community or group to hold you accountable
- Have three meals a day at regular intervals
- Exercise, take a walk, a yoga class or journal in the morning
- Get up in the morning and go to sleep at the same time
- Do something that advances your career or business
- Block off time for leisure activities to reward yourself for your hard work
1. Put timed alerts on your phone
Make good use of the timer on your phone. The timed alerts will remind you to stay on schedule. It’s like the school bell signaling the end of the class and the start of the next.
Some apps have motivational quotes that will pop up on your phone screen to keep you motivated throughout the day. These can act like cues to start and finish tasks, building more structure in your life. It can also give you an idea about whether you are spending too much or too little time on specific tasks.
2. Sign up for classes, preferably one with homework assignments
A virtual class or webinar that is given live will give more structure to your day. If the class is done at your own pace, make sure you have the discipline to work on the class at the same time every week.
Pick a class that interests you. There are a ton of free or low-cost options that you can choose from. You can also check if your alumni association has free classes for recent graduates, so take advantage of these offerings.
If you try a class for one session and don’t think it’s for you, move on to the next class on your list but don’t go hopping from one class to another without finishing it or else you won’t get the full value of the class. You can also read reviews first before spending time on the first session. If your class has a forum where students can gather, take advantage of this and be active in your class groups. This can be a good way to meet new people who have the same interests as you.
Taking a weekly class will help build structure into your life and maximize your productivity.
3. Plan your week using an agenda or planner
Planners are handy and a lifesaver. I use mine everyday to jot down the items on my to-do list, and reminders and deadlines. Invest in a good planner. It could be one that is visually pleasing with extra pages and all the bells and whistles. Or it can be simple with a minimal design.
If after graduation, your weekly planner is looking empty, think of ways to fill up all those chunks of time to stay productive. If you don’t stick to your schedule, log in that activity in your planner anyway, so you can look back at it at the end of the week to determine if you need to adjust how you spend your time. This also shows that you’ve maximized your productivity.
4. Join a community or group to hold you accountable
One of the nice things about college is the camaraderie and study groups. Maybe you met every evening at the library or café to study and quizzed each other to prepare for an exam. Your classmates kept you focused and made studying fun.
Joining a community is the same thing. Just showing up to a community or group is half the battle. Keep in touch with your classmates and meet up even if it’s not to study. It can be lonely without seeing your former classmates everyday, so make sure that you check in with your friends as often as you can and let them know you want to continue the friendship. The good friendships that you worked on building in school are valuable. Even though you are not studying for exams anymore, meet to exchange how your career planning is going. You can feel isolated after graduating if your social life evolved around your college friends and you don’t have that buffer anymore.
Showing up to a class at the same time every week builds structure in your life and makes you more productive.
5. Have three meals a day at set times, at your dining table
Don’t skip breakfast! Food fuels your energy for the day. If this was something you neglected during your chaotic busy schedule at school, and you skipped meals, now is the time to correct that. It is difficult to perform your best on an empty stomach. A healthy body translates into a healthy mind that operates more efficiently and is better equipped to weather and recover from stress.
Getting the proper nutrition is key to bringing your “A game.” You’ll perform better if the right nutrients are being carried in your blood circulation to your body, and it also improves your sleep and memory. Having regular meals builds the needed structure in your life.
6. Exercise, take a walk, yoga class or journal in the morning
The exercise will improve your blood circulation and give you more energy. The morning is the best time to get exercise because once you get your blood flowing, your heart pumping, you will find it easier to focus the rest of the day. You need energy to achieve all of the goals that you’ve dreamed of. I cannot stress enough the benefits of exercise. You’ve probably heard fitness experts touting all the health benefits of exercise, and they are not exaggerating. Exercise boosts longevity so you can live longer and have more time to accomplish all those goals you set for yourself.
Getting into a regular exercise routine will help build structure in your life and give you the motivation to be more productive.
7. Get up in the morning and go to sleep at the same time
This is good for sleep hygiene. Your circadian rhythm is your “inner clock” that tells you when to wake up and when it is time to sleep. After you graduate and have more leisure time, you may be tempted to sleep during the day to catch up on the sleep you lost pulling all-nighters. Work on resetting your circadian clock so that you wake up and go to sleep at the same time each day. A bit of caffeine in the morning to boost your energy. Whether it’s brewing a cup of your favorite tea or coffee, it can help you feel more alert during the day.
Why is it important to wake up and sleep at the same time? You train your body to wake up with the sunrise and to sleep when it’s dark and this allows you to get the right amount of sleep each day. Poor sleep hygiene has been linked to a whole gamut of diseases. Sleep gives you the strength to fight off diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Just like getting three meals a day, good sleep hygiene lets you perform at your optimal level. It improves your mood, memory and makes it easier to be motivated. If you have bad sleep habits, work on resetting your circadian rhythm. Get as much sunshine as you can during the day, and avoid looking at the bright light from your computer or phone at night.
Having a regular sleep cycle improves energy, and hence, productivity, and builds more structure in your everyday life.
8. Do something that advances your career each day
Whether it’s reading a book about entrepreneurship at the library or on your tablet, networking, or attending a virtual class, it only takes a few minutes each day. You can accomplish a lot even if you put in only fifteen minutes each day because all your efforts will add up by the end of the week. Block off this time in your weekly planner, and keep track of your efforts in a journal, your goal, what you did, and what you accomplished for that day. Don’t forget to set a goal for the next week. It can be to network with another acquaintance or finish reading another chapter in the book on entrepreneurship.
9. Block off time for leisure activities to reward yourself for your hard work
You’ve made it through a week, and checked off all the items in the to-do list in your weekly planner. Good job! Now is the time to reward yourself with a treat, whether it’s visiting a friend and going for dinner or reading that sci-fi novel that’s been on your reading list. Taking some leisure time will reset your energy store and refresh your mind for the upcoming week. You deserve it!
The Final Word
After graduation, take some time to enjoy your free time. Once you are refreshed and energized with the extra leisure time, now’s the time to focus and plan ahead to achieve your career goals. Sit down at your desk with your weekly planner and jot down your to-do list and block off chunks of time so you can keep on track with your goals. Don’t forget to block off time for self-care and physical exercise. If you’re feeling lost after graduation, and don’t know how to organize your time without an everyday schedule, implementing structure in your life can go a long way in making you feel more in control of your time and bring you closer to your career goals.