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Daily Plans

A daily schedule gives you a way to translate your understanding of your capabilities and limits into a daily routine of activities and rest.

 
Each morning or, even better the night before, list possible activities for the day. (Be sure to include rest periods as part of your schedule.) Then evaluate your list, asking whether you will be able to do everything on it without intensifying your symptoms. 

One way to make the list realistic is by applying the 50% rule: prioritize the items on the list, then aim to do only the top half. Another approach is to look over the list and identify items that can be postponed, delegated or eliminated.
 
When you plan your day and live your plan, your symptoms are likely to come under better control and you may be tempted to do more. This temptation is part of the push and crash cycle that you are trying to break. 

The goal is to have a consistent level of activity that you can sustain over a week or more, a very different way of living than the cycle of push and crash.

The person featured in the success story for this page uses a daily schedule to maintain consistency in her life, with similar amounts of activity and rest each day. She reports that her efforts resulted in an increase in her activity level of about 50% over a two year period and that she now needs less rest. 
 
For further instructions on how to create a daily schedule and an example, see the chapter on planning in the the text for the self-help program’s introductory course. For another sample schedule, see below.
 

Weekly Plans >>

 

Daily Schedule
8  am  Get up, shower & dress
9   Breakfast
10   Morning activity
11   Rest
12  pm  Chore or errand
1   Lunch
2   Chore or errand
3   Chore or errand
4   Rest
5   Computer
6   Dinner
7   TV or Email
8   TV or Email
9   Prepare for bed
10   Bedtime