How important is it to have a dependable structure to your day? For me it's very important; it allows me the time needed for a cup of coffee in the morning and to get my toddler in her pajamas in the evening, and most everything in between. Structure doesn't just give shape to my day, it also lets me confine any unforeseen minor emergencies into manageable sections of my schedule.
To some, the word "structure" implies constriction or monotony, but when used to your advantage, structuring your time frees you up so you can get done what you want to do. For example, the author John Cheever would dress in his suit every morning, get in his apartment building's elevator with everyone leaving for work, and keep going to the basement where he wrote all day in a storage room.
Whichever way you build your structure, it can organize not only your time but also your view of your work – its reliability helps you mark goals and know where you are in your process. It can give your day a good rhythm to move by, and that's especially helpful when certain jobs feel open-ended.
This is something I wish I'd learned years ago, but I really hadn't given it much thought until working with MDprospects. Helping clients customize their work structure with this software is always satisfying, just as checking off to-do items is satisfying. The way it ensures that the right tasks are coming back to your view at the right intervals can be so beneficial to planning your workflow. It keeps your view uncluttered, and keeps you on top of everything. I think this is exactly why I often hear my colleague call MDprospects more of an assistant than a program – you don't have to go hunting for what you need to do, what you need to do comes to you.