OVERSCHEDULING: THE REAL PROBLEM BEHIND STUDYING

James Klusener

@jamesklusener

 

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” That’s a familiar quote to most of us. While it holds some truth, organisation skills and over-scheduling can sometimes do more harm than good.

 

Planning is important for staying on track. Without a plan, it’s easy to fall behind, miss deadlines, and feel overwhelmed. However, planning can become so rigid that it restricts creativity, spontaneity, and even progress when things don’t go according to schedule.

 

For example, if you plan to complete a certain number of chapters in a set time but don’t finish, you may spend more energy worrying about unfinished work than actually completing it.

 

The real issue lies in the schedule itself. When our focus shifts from understanding to simply finishing tasks, we lose the exploration and creativity that lead to deeper insight. Planning can become a mechanical act of ticking items off a list, rather than an engaging process of learning or creating. This rigid approach can also foster procrastination. Anxiety about not staying on schedule can prevent us from making progress, creating a cycle where stress compounds rather than diminishes.

 

Perhaps the real skill isn’t just making a plan, but knowing when to deviate from it. An effective plan is less a rigid itinerary and more a compass, guiding us in the right direction while allowing for detours. It can take the form of a simple list of tasks for the day or week, leaving room for adjustments when unexpected events arise.

 

Ultimately, a plan should reduce stress, not increase it. Finding the balance between structure and flexibility is the true secret to being effectively organised.

 

 

Edited by Isabel Burgers