You've heard of yo-yo dieting.  It's when a person follows a strict diet very carefully and loses weight.  Then, he or she gets tired of the strictness, goes off the wagon, and regains all the weight lost and more.

Many of us do the same thing with our schedules.  We overload and work incredibly hard for a period and we are extremely productive.  Then, once exhaustion sets in, we crash and do nothing for a period — getting behind once again and repeatng the cycle.

The remedy is very similar to the remedy for yo-yo dieting.  No strict diet — just eating healty, small meals periodically through the day, balanced with exercise.

With scheduling, it's important to find a balance between work and play.  Overall, we need to cut back on how much we are doing.  But more than that, it's about doing reasonable amounts of work and play each day.  Doing one or two chores or errands each day means not having to spend a whole weekend doing it.  Getting a bit of relaxation every day instead of denying yourself rest and refreshment and then binging on it.

Tomorrow, we'll look at some basic strategies for managing your schedule.  But for now, ask yourself:  Am I a yo-yo scheduler?