Activity Scheduling

Goal

To increase engagement in positive activities

Activity Scheduling (Greenberger & Padesky, pp. 163-164, 172)

When we do activities that are enjoyable or activities that accomplish something, we usually feel better. By scheduling and doing activities that are enjoyable or accomplish something, you will be making behavioral changes that can reduce your depression. Doing 10 enjoyable activities in a week should help you more than doing only 5. Additionally, doing activities that are highly enjoyable should help you more than doing activities that are mildly enjoyable. Pleasurable activities need not be expensive or time consuming. They are everyday, enjoyable events. However, do not expect to find the activities as enjoyable or as satisfying as you did before you became depressed.

Here are some reasons why people often feel better after they start doing more activities:

• Some types of activities, like exercise, increase the brain chemicals that can help us feel better.
• When we are doing nothing, we are often thinking about negative things over and over again. Activity helps distract us from negative thoughts.
• Activities can give us the opportunity to succeed (e.g., organize a room or desk), to do something enjoyable (e.g., talk with someone we like), or to solve a problem (begin working on something that has to get done). Each of these experiences-success, joy, solving a problem-can help us feel a little better for awhile.

Activity Scheduling Exercise (Greenberger & Padesky, pp. 164-169)

Instructions: The purpose of this exercise is to help you identify what you are doing when you feel most depressed. It can also serve as a guide to see what changes in your behavior might help you feel better. Fill in the activity scheduling table on the next page for one week. For each hour, write in the activity(s) you were doing and rate your mood on a scale from 0 to 100.

Tips: You may forget to do it for some hours, but the more hours you fill in for the week, the more you will have a chance to learn about the mood you are rating. Therefore, if you forget to do it one day, don’t give up-just continue the ratings when you remember. To help you remember to fill it out, carry a copy with you. It is not necessary to fill it out every hour. Most people can remember their moods for several hours, so you may be able to fill it out several times a day rather than hourly. For example, at lunch time you might write in all your morning activities and your mood ratings. At dinner time you might do the afternoon hours, at bedtime fill in the evening hours.

	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
Not at all		A little		Medium		A lot		Most I’ve ever felt

Activity Scheduling
Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
6-7 a.m.
7-8 a.m.
8-9 a.m.
9-10 a.m.
10-11 a.m.
11-12 p.m.
12-1 p.m.
1-2 p.m.
2-3 p.m.
3-4 p.m.
4-5 p.m.
5-6 p.m.
6-7 p.m.
7-8 p.m.
8-9 p.m.
9-10 p.m.
10-11 p.m.
11-12 a.m.
12-1 a.m.

Analyzing Activities Exercise (Greenberger & Padesky, p. 170)

Instructions: Now that you have charted your moods and activities for one week, analyze your activity scheduling table to look for patterns. Answer the following questions to help you do the analysis. Your answers can help you identify activities you might need to change in order to feel better.

1. Did my mood change during the week? How? What patterns do I notice?
2. Did my activities affect my mood? How?
3. What activities helped me feel better? Why? Are these activities in my best long-term interest? What other activities could I do that might also make me feel better?
4. What activities helped me feel worse? Why? Are these activities in my best interest to do?
5. Were there certain times of the day (e.g., mornings) or week (e.g., weekends) when I felt worse?
6. Can I think of anything I could do to feel better during these times?
7. Were there certain times of the day or week when I felt better?
8. Looking at my answers to questions 3 and 4, what activities can I plan in the coming week to increase the chances that I will feel better this week? Over the next few months?

Next Step

Complete the activity scheduling table each week until you notice a significant improvement in your mood.