Astrology and Time Management: How to Create a Weekly Schedule Based on Your Birth Chart
Have you tried all the productivity hacks to no avail? Or maybe you have a huge stack of cute planners, all partially used. (Takes one to know one.) The hunt for the ideal schedule is an old one, but one we never seem to tire of.
That time management strategy didn’t fail because it’s inherently flawed. (And it certainly didn’t fail because of you.) It failed because it’s not the right time management strategy for you. More specifically, it’s not the right time management strategy for your astrology chart—the map of how your brain and body work.
In this blog post, you’ll find a collection of tips to help you start managing your time via your astrology chart.
Creating a weekly schedule based on your astrology chart is an extremely personal and holistic practice, and it depends on a lot of different factors in your chart. So keep in mind, everything in this blog post is a simplification. Come see me privately if you really want to personalize this.
Tip 1: Respect Your Moon
An ideal schedule is one that matches your natural energetic flow. Right away, that makes me think of your natal Moon—the planet in astrology that represents how your energy ebbs and flows. Some Moons thrive on higher structure, and some are “allergic” to it. Knowing this is an essential place to start.
Moons that thrive on higher structure (remember, this is a generalization) are the fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius), the other earth Moons (Virgo, Capricorn), and sometimes Aries.
These people tend to feel nourished when they know exactly what's going to happen when, and they may do better with more traditional time management techniques and calendars.
The opposite is often true for the mutable Moons (minus Virgo), which are Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces, as well as Libra and Cancer.
These Moons tend to thrive on flexible structure. One small example of a flexible structure is having a to-do list but allowing yourself to go with the one task you feel like doing in the moment. Or, having a to-do list but allowing yourself to do the tasks at any time and in any order.
The mode (cardinal, fixed, mutable) of your Moon can give you a few more timing pointers.
Cardinal Moons (Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Cancer) tend to start strong but then fizzle out. So, they might work best with short work sprints, such as 20-minute sprints, followed by a break.
Fixed Moons (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius) might have a hard time starting a task, but they’re equally hard to stop. In fact, they may go for too long. They often need mandatory breaks built in.
Fixed Moons also don't tend to task switch well. They like to go deep with one thing, and once they're in that thing, they're in it.
Mutable Moons (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces) tend to get distracted and hop from one thing to the next. Instead of doing that, I recommend working with a piece of paper next to you. Every time you have an idea, just write it down and go back to the task at hand.
Mutable Moons might also need more variety during their workday than the other Moons do, including frequent changes of scenery.
Tip 2: Know Your Sixth House
In modern astrology, the sixth house represents your daily routine and how you organize your time. The zodiac sign that occupies your sixth house may hold some time management tips for you.
Fire Signs on the Sixth (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
If you have a fire sign occupying the sixth house, your routine needs to have an energy-first focus. Let me explain. Fire tends to go out hot and then fizzle. To leverage that, I recommend doing your heaviest lift first. Do the task that's most important right away, and then stack the rest of the tasks after that.
Air Signs on the Sixth (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
If you have an air sign on the sixth house, you need to be mentally stimulated. I would do what's most interesting first, or put social connection on the calendar first. For example, maybe you start your day with appointments.
Earth Signs on the Sixth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)
If you have an earth sign on the sixth house, you need some warm-up time, aka some time for your brain to wake up. You might need to ease into your tasks, but once you ease in, you're locked in.
I have Taurus on the sixth house. I like to start my day with thirty minutes of “warm-up time” where I drink my coffee, journal, and just connect with my to-do list and my calendar.
Earth signs on the sixth house can multitask, but it’s not usually preferred. Minimize task switching if you can by stacking similar tasks together.
Water Signs on the Sixth (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
If you have a water sign on the sixth house, you need warm-up time too, but it’s for different reasons. Those reasons are usually more emotional.
I suggest doing the task that will give you a feeling of success first. Give yourself a quick win, something that will make you say, I’ve got this. That might look like doing something easy first, and then transitioning to the harder tasks.
When Your Moon & Your Sixth House Don’t Mix
What if your natal Moon and your sixth house are at odds? For example, let's say you have the Moon in Scorpio, but you have Pisces on the sixth house. We have a fixed Moon and a mutable sixth house. What do you do with that?
My suggestion is to prioritize the needs of the Moon over the needs of the sixth house. But you can also mash some of the recommendations together.
For example, maybe this person's day is mostly scheduled except for the morning. Perhaps they give themselves ample warm-up time to journal and connect with their feelings. They follow that up with their easiest task, and then the rest of their day is very Scorpio structured.
Tip 3: Adjust with the Real-Time Moon
I encourage you to play with increasing and decreasing the number of items on your to-do list based on the current lunar phase. If the current lunar phase is more dark than it is light (new, waxing crescent, last quarter, balsamic), I would err on the side of removing things from your to-do list instead of adding things.
The opposite is true for the really bright phases. If the current lunar phase is full of light (first quarter, gibbous, full, disseminating), you can probably add a little bit more oomph to your to-do list.
For reference, I usually only have three things on my to-do list every day, but if the Moon is really bright, I might bump that up to four. And if the Moon is really dark, I might take that down to two.
Void-of-Course Moons
I also recommend creating what I call a void-of-course Moon task bucket. A void-of-course Moon is a Moon that’s not making any aspects to other planets, and it's a classically meandering time.
You tend to either get lost in a task, or you get tired. During a void Moon, I encourage you to prioritize tasks that don't take a lot of brain power. It's a time of wandering and sometimes less energy and decreased focus.
In order to still be somewhat productive and move forward during a void-of-course Moon, I recommend making a task list of things that you can easily do when the Moon is void. These are things that you can do on autopilot.
For example, a bunch of tiny tasks that just be checked off may be done during a void Moon, but I wouldn't recommend starting anything brand new, or doing anything that requires a lot of energy and focus.
Eclipses
When we're talking about adjusting your schedule with the real-time Moon, we must include the eclipses. Eclipses happen about every six months and they come in pairs. There's a New Moon eclipse and a Full Moon eclipse, and they tend to act like power surges or power outages.
Now, this is not always the case, but New Moon eclipses tend to act more like power outages, and Full Moon eclipses tends to act more like power surges. But there are other components to take into account too, such as if it’s a South Node eclipse or a North Node eclipse.
Essentially, eclipse season is a time where you feel like you can get everything done or nothing done. It's really important to create buffers in your schedule during this handful of weeks. Something unexpected inevitably pops up.
Tip 4: Play with the Planetary Days
The planetary days is an ancient concept where each day of the week is associated with one of the seven traditional planets.
Monday = Moon
Tuesday = Mars
Wednesday = Mercury
Thursday = Jupiter
Friday = Venus
Saturday = Saturn
Sunday = Sun
Roughly assigning your weekly tasks based on the planetary days is a fun and easy way to incorporate astrological flow into your schedule.
For example, if we think about the characteristics of the Moon, which is about rest and replenishment, Monday is actually best for easing into your workweek. Ideally, this would be a day of business self-care, such as some light planning or organizing.
Tuesday, which is ruled by Mars, is best for your heaviest work. On Tuesdays, I try to do what's most important in my business—the tasks that will move the needle the most.
Mercury day is great for Mercury things like content creation, social media engagement, or other forms of communication. Maybe you want to do all of your Zoom meetings on a Wednesday.
Thursday is Jupiter's day. Jupiter is all about learning and growth. Thursday is a fantastic choice for continuing your education and/or working on business projects that are going to help expand your reach.
Venus is all about enjoyment. Venus day (Friday) is a great easing-out day. I like to keep my Fridays as open as possible and leave room for fun. It could also be a day of more client connection, or goofing around on Instagram stories.