Activity Scheduling: What It Is, Examples, & Techniques

“Think positive and positive things will happen!” heard this before? For years we’ve been reading about the importance of positive thinking and it can change our perspective. Did you know there is a physical manifestation of positive thinking?

Just like positive thinking, there is also a thing called positive acting. When you engage in a positive action or pleasant action it can give you similar results as that of positive thinking. Activity scheduling works on a similar principle.

According to various research, it was found that engaging in pleasant activities can improve and boost mood. In fact, activity scheduling requires you to schedule pleasant activities throughout the day so that you’re always doing something that elevates your mood.

Let’s understand activity scheduling better…

What Is Activity Scheduling?

Activity scheduling is a technique commonly used by cognitive behavioral therapists. It is known to help people boost their moods and improve symptoms of conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc.

Activity scheduling basically works on the concept that engaging in pleasant activities can boost your mood. Therefore, an activity schedule is a very clever technique where your therapist will schedule some pleasant activities throughout the day or when your mood is too low.

Scheduling such activities, especially when you are feeling low, helps you instantly elevate your mood. The main purpose is to make you feel better, the better you feel the more your symptoms should improve.

For example, because of your mental health condition, you feel really down upon waking up. You add a pleasant activity right after waking up (eg: waking up to some music or reading your favorite book or anything that makes you feel good). Adding this activity to your morning routine gives you something to look forward to.

Also read: Is It Just Boredom Or Is It Depression? | Can They Be Related?

How Does Activity Scheduling Work?

An activity schedule is a simple psychological trick to help people elevate their mood. There is not that goes around here, the process takes advantage of the fact that some activities make you feel good. Those activities that make you feel good are placed or scheduled in such a way that it leaves no room for sadness.

For example, you have a mental health condition like bipolar disorder and you feel extremely sad, disheartened, and lonely especially in the evening because there is no one to talk to you. To fight that loneliness and sadness, through activity scheduling you will schedule some pleasant activities in the evening. You take a Tango class in the evening or make cooking videos in the evening or go for a walk on the beach in the evening.

You basically are supposed to schedule activities according to your liking. In fact, research suggests that the simple act of scheduling pleasant activities can also boost one’s mood. These activities give you something to look forward to. Therefore, instead of fearing the evening time, you might begin loving that hour of the day.

Techniques Used In Activity Scheduling

All the techniques that are used in the activity schedule have the main aim of reducing loneliness & sadness and improving overall mood. The key to successful activity scheduling is identifying the activities that bring joy and pleasant feelings to the patient.

There is no one technique that can be pinpointed, the target is to make the suffering individual feel better. The only technique that is used is identifying pleasant activities and scheduling them in such a way that they always have something positive and pleasant to do.

Let’s have a look at pleasant activities that can be scheduled daily that ensures that one never has a dull moment and is looking forward to the future;

• Engaging in some physical activity and exercises (For Example, playing tennis, golf, or basketball, going to the gym, or getting out for a hike)
• Engaging in social connection and nurturing relationships (For Example, Going out to dinner, seeing a movie, or attending a play with friends or family)
• Engage in self-education or self-improvement (For Example, taking a class, going to the library, reading)
• Participating in hobbies in your free time (For Example, taking a cooking class, learning how to knit or paint, or learning to play an instrument)
• Engaging in self-care and learning new ways to take care of yourself (For Example, Learning mindfulness techniques, practicing relaxation therapy, visualizing, or doing yoga)

That’s All Folks!

I hope you found this blog about activity scheduling helpful, informative, and thought-provoking. Do share this blog with your friends and family so that we all know how pleasant activities can help in improving the mood and when we should schedule such activities.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe.