How to Create Structure Without Becoming Rigid
Most advice about structure falls into one of two extremes. Either it tells you to schedule every hour of your day, or it tells you to “go with the flow” and trust motivation to show up. Neither of these works particularly well in real life, especially in remote or hybrid roles.
What most people are actually looking for is something in between: enough structure to feel grounded, without turning their day into a rigid system they end up resenting.
Why People Push Back Against Structure
Structure can often feel controlling. You might plan the day carefully, then something unexpected happens and your rigid plan falls apart and feels like something you’ve failed to stick to. This sense of failure and guilt is what causes too much structure to feel associated with pressure. It is too hard to maintain and often you will end up completely losing structure altogether, taking days off where you do nothing at all or the bare minimum, drifting through the day with a fuzzy mind and lack of focus or discipline.
Think Anchors, Not Schedules
Implementing a few reliable anchors into your day, such as a clear routine that signals the start of your work day, one or two non-negotiable focus blocks in the day, and a consistent routine to signal the end of your work day, can help provide a structure that feels less pressured and more “softer”. Knowing clearly when your day begins and ends is a great, understated way of building a more disciplined and productive life.
You don’t need to implement all these anchors right away; it’s actually better to implement tiny changes slowly, so as not to get overwhelmed if you fail to stick to them.
Let Structure Respond to your Energy, Not Ignore It
A lot of systems fail because they assume your energy is consistent when it really isn’t. Some days you can think clearly for hours, whilst other days the smallest of tasks feel heavy.
Instead of assigning tasks to fixed times, assign them to how your energy levels are. This can look like lighter work for slower days, and heavier more thought-provoking tasks for when you’re sharper. This is the type of structure which adjusts to you, as opposed to the other way around.
Scratch the overly long to-do list
You don’t actually need a huge to-do list in order to live a productive life. It’s far better to have a smaller number of tasks which you genuinely follow through with.
Examples of things which may work better for you than a long, detailed plan for the day are:
One priority that must move forward
A rough cut-off time for work
A limit on how many things you actively work on at once
Simple rules are easier to keep. And when you stick to these rules, that’s what creates momentum, self-confidence and self-trust.
Give Yourself Permission to Change the Plan
If a task takes longer than expected on a particular day, or your energy levels unexpectedly drop and you find it hard to focus, you can always adjust your plan for the day accordingly. Remember, the moment you feel like changing the plan means you’ve “messed up”, is the moment that structure starts to feel rigid and suffocating again.
It can be hard to retrain our brains to not fall into this spiral. Our flowmote coaches and online free community offer extra support if you feel you need to talk through these feelings of “messing up” with someone, especially if you feel like it may signal a deeper rooted problem.
The Point Is Support, Not Control
Good structure should make your day feel lighter, not tighter and restricted. It should reduce the number of decisions you have to make, not add new ones. It should give you something to lean on when motivation is low.
If your current system feels restrictive, see it as a sign that it needs changing.
