Time 9 - Scheduling

Scheduling and planning are two terms often used in time management; however, these two terms can be confused easily. Planning primarily refers to what and how much must be done, whereas scheduling refers to when operations will be performed and by whom. While they are both different processes, understanding the differences and what makes each term itself helps ensure more efficiency in your time productivity in all situations. 

Planning is creating a plan. In a commercial sense, ensuring time and resources are appropriately allocated is crucial. In simple terms, planning looks at the what and how of a project. In comparison, scheduling is timing and establishing when to do something is the best time. To look at it in simple terms again, it is the when of a project. 

These terms, planning and scheduling, are not stand-alone, though. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they intertwine to create an attack plan. When beginning a project, you should write down what you need to get done and look at what resources you will need, such as people, materials, etcetera and how long it will take to complete the project, including hard deadlines for particular stages of the project. Any discrepancy or significant gaps in a project in terms of planning and scheduling can cause substantial losses. For example, if you are waiting for some materials to come in so that you can continue to work on a piece of your project and you have nothing else to do in that time, then you are losing out on that valuable time that could be spent elsewhere. Therefore careful planning and scheduling of every project will cut down on lost time and ensure your projects are always on track to succeed.