I'm usually a great schedule maker, but my follow through is non-existent. Nowadays I'm more realistic, I don't make certain schedules since I don't intend to follow through. I always make a mental list, or perhaps more correctly, I write randomly on my chalk board's mind, things I ought to do in the day. Yet frequently little gets done in this way. Here and there I will write a list, even just 3 or 4 things, such as clean the bathroom, finish writing this document, write one more section on this paper, send an email to this person, edit this poem etc., and I find I am so much more productive this way.
Supposedly in one of his songs, Bon Joni says: "write your plans, but write them in pencil." I write mine in pen, but metaphorically in pencil, since I'm resigned to my little list being thrown to the wind if the day goes differently than how I thought. Still, with a short and achievable list, with an intention to carry them out as though a duty, I can be rather productive. Indeed, a list helps to ground me and help me make better use of my time.