Time Ladder

When I need some hyper-organisation to my day, and a task list just doesn’t cut it, I’ve been using a “time ladder.” I didn’t coin the term ‘time ladder’ and this is an idea inspired by the likes of Bill Westerman and DIYFish.

I use the next available page, rule two lines down the middle of the page, write the times in between the two lines, and then assign meetings, appointments, etc. to the right of the page, and tasks and notes to the left side of the page.

For meetings/appointments, I block off using a dot along the time ladder and rule a line to the meeting/appointment entry.

You’ll notice that there are notes assigned to a time on the ladder (i.e. the box with a ruled line to a dot on the ladder), and there are arrows from boxes to link tasks with notes (e.g. the task where I rescheduled a therapy (Rx) session).

At the bottom of the page, I mark an ‘X; to signify when I finish work for the day, then I list tasks on either side with “before next visit” and “to do next visit”.

I found that as a visual person, this really lays out how I manage and assign my time. There is no exact science to this, and I’m always finding ways to capture bits of my day.

Happy planning, everyone!