# 13 - 7. Activity Scheduling

# 01 - 7. Activity Scheduling

# 7. Activity Scheduling

O
ne of the most important initial steps for depressed clients is scheduling activities (Cuijpers et al., 2007). Most have withdrawn from 
and are actively avoiding at least some activities that had previously 
given them a sense of achievement, control, pleasure, or connection—­
and that lifted their mood. Many stop following their daily routine 
and do less self-care. Like Abe, they eat less well, exercise less often 
(if at all), and sleep too much or too little. They frequently increase 
certain behaviors such as staying in bed, watching television, playing 
video games, looking at social media, or surfing the internet. This 
change in activities helps maintain or increase their current dysphoria 
and the sense that they’re at least somewhat out of control. We get 
across the following messages:
“It’s important to act according to your values, what’s really important to you, instead of what you feel like doing—­because depression 
makes you tired and then you’ll feel like avoiding. But avoidance 
just makes depression worse. Don’t wait until you feel energetic or 
motivated to start an activity or task. Do it first. You’ll probably 
find that you get more energized and motivated some time after 
you start.
“As you’re engaged in an activity, watch out for negative 
thoughts that can decrease your sense of competence, purpose, 
and connection to others. Because you’re depressed, at least some 
of these thoughts are likely to be inaccurate, or at least partially 
inaccurate. When you’re finished the task or activity, make sure to 
give yourself credit—­you can just say something like ‘good.’ Recognize that pushing yourself to do something means you’re taking 
control, even if in a small way, of your depression.”
ACTIVITY SCHEDULING

Clients often believe they can’t change how they feel emotionally. 
Helping them become more active and giving themselves credit for 
their efforts are essential parts of treatment. Doing so improves their 
mood and strengthens their sense of self-­efficacy—­they demonstrate to 
themselves that they can take more control of their mood and behavior than they had previously believed. We usually start collaboratively 
scheduling activities in the first or second therapy session. In this 
chapter, you’ll find answers to these questions:
How do you conceptualize inactivity?
How do you conceptualize lack of mastery and pleasure?
How do you schedule activities with clients?
How do you use an Activity Chart?
How do you help clients track and rate their activities?
What types of activities should depressed clients engage in?
How do you use an Activity Chart to assess predictions?
CONCEPTUALIZATION OF INACTIVITY
When considering engaging in activities, clients’ depressed automatic 
thoughts frequently get in the way.
 
[Common] Automatic Thought:
“I’m too tired.” “I won’t enjoy it.”
“My friends won’t want to spend time
with me.” “I won’t be able to do it.”
“Nothing can help me feel better.”
[Common] Emotional reactions:
Sadness, anxiety, hopelessness
[Common] Behavior:
Remain inactive
Situation:
Thinking about initiating
an activity.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

Clients’ relative inactivity then contributes to their low mood, as they 
have a paucity of opportunities to gain a sense of mastery, pleasure, 
or connection, which leads to more negative thinking, which leads to 
increased dysphoria and inactivity, in a vicious cycle.
Depressed Mood
Negative Thoughts
Behavior/Situation:
Inactivity/Recognizing Inactivity
On the other hand, becoming more active and recognizing that 
they deserve credit usually lifts their mood and makes it easier to continue being more active.
Increased Hopefulness
Positive Thoughts
Behavior/Situation:
Increased Activity/Recognition
of Increased Activity
 
Activity Scheduling

If you think it would be helpful, you can draw these diagrams for 
clients and add them to their Action Plans to review at home.
CONCEPTUALIZATION OF LACK OF MASTERY 
OR PLEASURE
Even when clients do engage in various activities, they often derive low 
levels of satisfaction and pleasure because of their self-­critical automatic thoughts.
 
[Common] Automatic Thought:
“There’s no point in doing this.”
“I’m doing a terrible job.” “I should have
done this long ago.” “There’s still
so much left to do.” “I can’t do this
as well as I used to.” “This used to be
more fun.” “I don’t deserve to be doing this.”
[Common] Emotional reactions:
Sadness, anxiety, guilt,
anger at self
[Common] Behavior:
Stop the activity. Fail to repeat
this activity in the future.
Situation:
Engaging in an activity.
 
Clients may also have similar negative thoughts after engaging in an 
activity (“I should have done that better”; “Doing that was just a drop 
in the bucket”). When scheduling activities, therefore, it’s important 
to anticipate automatic thoughts that could interfere with clients’ initiation or continuation of activities and thoughts that could diminish 
their sense of pleasure, achievement, or connection during or after 
the activity.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

SCHEDULING ACTIVITIES
Most clients who are depressed have changed their daily or weekly 
activities to some degree. It’s important to help them reengage more 
fully in life. Some therapists ask depressed clients to fill out an Activity 
Chart (Figure 7.1) early in treatment, noting the activities they do each 
hour and, if they’re willing, rating their sense of mastery and pleasure.
Then they use the information to guide clients in scheduling activities. But not all clients are willing to fill out the chart. And I prefer 
to have them schedule activities even at the evaluation. That’s why I 
ask them to describe their activities on a typical day, which gives me 
enough information to discover which kinds of activities they have 
been avoiding. Ideally, you’d have enough time in the evaluation and 
first session to elicit potential activities from clients. If there’s not 
enough time, you can suggest activities that are in line with your client’s aspirations and values. In subsequent sessions, you might do a 
combination of suggesting and eliciting ideas.
Here’s what I discuss with Abe in our first therapy session.
Judith: [being collaborative] Could we talk about how you’ve been 
spending your time? Are you still sitting on the couch, watching 
TV, or using your computer a lot?
Abe: Yeah, too much.
Judith: [collecting data to motivate Abe] What’s your mood usually 
like after you’ve done that for a couple of hours?
Abe: (Thinks.) Pretty bad, I guess. I always feel like I should have been 
doing something more productive.
Judith: Can we talk about some other things you might be able to do 
this week? I think it’ll be an important step in taking control.
Abe: Okay.
Judith: [providing the rationale] First, you should know that research 
shows that if you want to get over depression, you need to become 
more active. We don’t have a lot of time today, but I wonder if you 
could think of some things you could do this week.
Abe: I’m not sure. [expressing an automatic thought that could be an 
obstacle] I’m pretty tired most of the time.
Judith: Would you be willing to try some things as an experiment? To 
see whether you’re actually too tired?
Abe: Yeah.
Judith: For example, what would you think of trying to get out of your 
apartment, even if just for a few minutes, most days this week?
 
Activity Scheduling

Aspirations, values, or goals:  Be a better father, husband. Work in the music business. Take better care of my physical and mental 
 
health. Find a spiritual home. Get involved in the community. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MON.
TUE.
WED.
THU.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
Name:  Eric L. 
 
 
 
 
  Date:  October 24 
 
Activity Chart, Side One
See reverse side for optional rating scales.
  7:00 A.M.
Sleep
  8:00 A.M.
  6:00– 
  8:00– 
  7:00– 
11:00 A.M.– 
12:00 P.M.
Breakfast, kitchen 
cleanup (10 min)—3
  9:00–
10:00 A.M.
Doze off and on—2
  1:00 P.M.
TV/computer/video 
games—2
  2:00 P.M.
TV/computer/video 
games—2
10:00–
11:00 A.M.
Get up/shower/
dress—3
  3:00 P.M.
Nap—2
  9:00 A.M.
  2:00– 
12:00– 
  1:00– 
Morning
Afternoon

9:00 P.M.
Walk around mall—4
  5:00 P.M.
Call Natasha—6 
Laundry (10 min)—4
  4:00 P.M.
Lunch, kitchen 
cleanup (10 min)—3
  8:00 P.M.
Dinner, kitchen 
cleanup (10 min)—3
  7:00 P.M.
TV/computer/video 
games—2
Laundry (10 
mins)—3
  6:00 P.M.
Errands or take a 
walk—5
  6:00– 
  8:00– 
  3:00– 
  5:00– 
  4:00– 
  7:00– 
FIGURE 7.1.  Partially completed Activity Chart, side 1: Tracking and rating activities. Overall mood ratings on a 0–10 scale.
  9:00–
10:00 P.M.
TV/computer/video 
games—2
10:00–
11:00 P.M.
TV/computer/video 
games—2
11:00 P.M.– 
12:00 A.M.
Get in bed, try to 
sleep—2
  1:00 A.M.
Sleep
12:00– 
Evening

Abe: I guess I could do that.
Judith: You could take a 5-minute walk. Or you could go someplace 
in the car.
Abe: Okay.
Judith: [making the step more specific] Where could you go?
Abe: (Thinks, sighs.) Well, I have to go to the grocery store today.
Judith: That’s good. How about the other days?
Abe: I suppose I could go to the hardware store. I have to get some 
light bulbs.
Judith: That sounds good. Could you go to other places even if you 
don’t need anything? The important thing is to demonstrate to 
yourself that you can start to take more control of your life, that 
even though you’re tired, you can start reengaging with the world.
Abe: Yeah. I understand.
Next, I want to make sure that Abe is prepared for the possibility that getting out doesn’t make him feel better. I also reinforce the 
cognitive model.
Judith: Now, I don’t know whether getting out will affect your mood or 
not. It will depend on what you’re thinking. If you think, “What’s 
the point of doing this?” or “This is just a drop in the bucket,” how 
do you think you’ll feel?
Abe: Depressed.
Judith: I think you’re right. And if you think, “Hey, this is really good. 
Even though I’m tired, I’m taking control. It’s a really important 
step,” then how do you think you’d feel?
Abe: Better.
Judith: Okay. But I don’t want to promise you that getting out will 
definitely improve your mood. Some people do feel better right 
away. But for others, it’s like a jack-in-the-box; you know, that toy 
that you wind up (motions with a circular hand movement) and the 
clown pops out?
Abe: Yeah. My kids had one.
Judith: Some people can crank the level only once and the clown pops 
out—they feel better. Other people need to crank it around and 
around and around. It can take weeks for the clown to pop out 
and for them to feel better. But you have to start someplace.
Abe: Should I get out of the apartment every day?
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

I don’t want to set an Action Plan item that Abe might have difficulty 
with (and then blame himself), so I propose a range.
Judith: Maybe we should say four times this week? So, four times is 
great, and if you do more than that, so much the better.
Abe: Okay.
Judith: Should I write this down, or do you want to?
Abe: You can.
Judith: (Writes it down on Abe’s Action Plan.)
Next, I elicit the rationale from Abe and help him respond to 
automatic thoughts that could pose an obstacle to taking these steps 
by tying these activities to his aspirations and values.
Judith: Now let’s write down why it would be good to do this.
Abe: You said it’s a first step, to take control.
Judith: Exactly. (Writes that down; then looks for potential obstacles.) Now, 
what could get in the way?
Abe: (Sighs.) If I’m too tired.
Judith: You might be really tired. What would you like to say to yourself if you’re feeling really tired? [I ask this question because I 
sense that Abe would have a good response. With other clients, 
Socratic questioning might have been important.]
Abe: I guess, “Go anyway”?
Judith: Good. Go anyway because . . .
Abe: Because I need to get back in the world.
Judith: How important is it to you to get back in the world?
Abe: Very important.
Judith: [eliciting his values and aspirations] Why is it important?
Abe: So I can get back to work. So I’ll feel useful. So I can be productive.
Judith: Anything else?
Abe: Yeah, so I can be a better father and grandfather.
Judith: Should we write something down about this too? “If I’m feeling really tired and feel like staying on the couch instead of going 
out—or, I suppose, doing something else—­remind myself . . .
Abe: I have to get back in the world. It’s important to go. Not going will 
probably keep me depressed.
Judith: And you want to get back in the world so you can . . .
 
Activity Scheduling

Abe: Be productive, be better to my family.
Judith: When you’re back in the world, will you feel more useful and 
competent? In control? Have a sense of purpose?
Abe: Yeah, all those things.
Judith: That’s good. Let me get that down on your Action Plan. 
(pause) And should we add that going out may or may not affect 
your mood right away? And if it doesn’t, it just means you need to 
crank up the jack-in-the-box?
Abe: Yeah.
Judith: (Writes it down.) Now how likely are you to get out of your 
apartment—­even if it’s just for a 5-minute walk or a fast trip to a 
store—at least four times this week?
Abe: I’ll definitely do that.
Judith: Okay! Now, if you find you just can’t, that’s all right. It just 
means we probably need to start with something easier. But do try 
to keep track of the thoughts that get in the way.
Abe: Okay.
Judith: I’ll add that to the Action Plan too. (Does so.)
CLINICAL TIPS
If the discussion above isn’t persuasive, you can try the following, as 
I did with Maria.
When Clients Resist Scheduling Activities
When I tried to schedule activities with Maria in the first session, she 
didn’t want to commit to anything specific. I thought pressing the 
point would impair the therapeutic relationship, so we agreed that 
she would try to become more active in general. During our review of 
the Action Plan in the following session, it turns out that Maria hasn’t 
been able to be more active, so we add that goal to the agenda. I start 
off by reminding her of the rationale for activity scheduling.
Judith: Is it okay if we talk about scheduling some activities this week?
Maria: Okay.
Judith: Do you remember what we said last week about why that’s 
important?
Maria: Not entirely.
Judith: First, research show that an essential part of getting over 
depression is becoming more active. Second, it doesn’t sound as 
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

if there’s much you’re currently able to do that brings you much 
pleasure or helps you feel competent and effective and in control. 
Is that right?
Maria: I guess not.
Judith: You know, most people who are depressed think they’ll feel 
better if they stay in bed. Can I ask you this? Haven’t you already 
done the experiment of staying in bed, actually for months and 
months? Has it helped you recover from your depression? [referring to Maria’s aspirations] Has it helped you get to where you 
want to be in life—­having more friends, working and earning 
money, having a better apartment, finding a romantic relationship . . . ?
Maria: No, it hasn’t.
Judith: And if you keep staying in bed, do you think it will suddenly 
work?
Maria: I suppose not.
Judith: Would you like to try a different experiment this week?
Maria: (Sighs.) I guess so.
Judith: We could talk about activities you feel you could do that would 
be either meaningful or easy. Which do you think would be better?
Maria: Maybe both?
Judith: Good idea. Okay, here are some categories: self-care, like showering, getting dressed, eating well, and getting exercise. Another 
category is connecting with people. A third category is managing 
better at home. A fourth category is recreation or entertainment. 
So that’s self-care, connecting with people, managing better, and 
recreation/entertainment. (pause) Which category do you think 
would be easy and also meaningful?
Maria: I don’t see how scheduling activities will help. (a little angrily) 
My whole life is a disaster.
Judith: It’s good you told me that. I probably should have explained 
some more. You’re absolutely right. You have big problems that 
you need help in solving. But here’s what I’ve found. When people 
are as depressed as you are, trying to solve really big problems 
becomes overwhelming. That’s why it’s better to start with small 
things and build up your confidence by showing you that you can 
take control of parts of your life and that you can be effective. 
That’s why the small steps are important.
Maria: (Sighs.) Oh.
 
Activity Scheduling

Next, I remind Maria about her aspirations and how achieving 
those aspirations would make her feel good and change her view of 
herself and how others viewed her. We also make a chart showing her 
how her actions could make her mood better or worse:
Things that make me feel better
Things that make me feel worse
Meeting up with friends
Looking for things to do with friends 
(concerts, etc.)
Baking
Looking at photographs
Working on my scrapbook
Having a clean apartment
Calling Hillary
Doing a crafts project
Planning a trip
Staying in bed
Taking long naps
Watching too much TV
Sitting around (not being productive)
Staying on phone with Mom when she’s 
mad
Dwelling on the past
Drinking too much
Listening to sad songs
Then she is more motivated to continue with activity scheduling.
Judith: Can I review the four categories again? Self-care, connecting 
with others, managing at home, and fun. Do you want to pick a 
category?
Maria: Managing better at home, I guess.
Judith: Good. What are three things you could do this week that 
would be meaningful and relatively easy?
Maria: I’m not sure. I don’t know if I have the energy to do any more 
than I’m already doing.
Judith: Would you be willing to try some things as an experiment? 
To see whether you might possibly have more energy than you 
predict?
Maria: Yeah, I guess so.
Judith: Okay, so three things that wouldn’t be overly tiring?
Maria: I could throw out the newspapers and take the trash out.
Judith: Good. What else?
Maria: Change the sheets on my bed.
Judith: Good. What else?
Maria: (Thinks.) Throw out some food from the refrigerator.
Judith: All good things. What would it mean if you can do those 
things?
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

Maria: I’m not sure.
Judith: Might it mean that you can do things even if you’re tired? That 
you can start to take control of your life? That you can take steps 
toward getting a better life?
Maria: Yes. I think so.
Judith: Can we write some of this down on your Action Plan?
Next, Maria and I talk about obstacles that could get in her way 
or that could interfere with her feeling good about doing these activities. We discuss unhelpful thoughts she might have before, during, 
and after the activities. We review the importance of giving herself 
credit and set up a reminder system. We also discuss how she would 
feel when she accomplished these tasks and what that would signify 
about herself and her future. Finally, we make this a no-lose proposition: Either she would do the activities or she would keep track of the 
thoughts or practical problems that got in the way.
USING AN ACTIVITY CHART
Some clients, like Abe, are likely to follow through with activities they 
committed to in session without discussing precisely when to do them. 
Other clients benefit from committing to do certain activities on certain days at certain times. You and the client can collaboratively schedule these activities on their Action Plan or using an Activity Chart 
(Figure 7.1). Make sure to help clients list their aspirations at the top 
of the chart to help motivate them.
It’s useful for some clients to use the Activity Chart to collaboratively plan an entire day, hour by hour. Clients can use this schedule as a template, making a more specific schedule each morning or 
previous evening. Make sure that the schedule is on the easy side, 
especially when clients are more severely depressed. It’s unreasonable 
to expect that they can go from being almost completely inactive to 
being active every hour of the day. They may need to schedule periods of relative inactivity interspersed with activities that require more 
effort.
RATING ACTIVITIES
When clients use the Activity Chart to schedule activities, they can 
later use the same chart to circle or check off which of the activities 
they had actually completed. Some clients are willing to fill in the 
 
Activity Scheduling

Activity Chart with all their activities, prescheduled or not. You’ll collect a lot of important data if clients are willing to rate how much of a 
sense of pleasure and/or mastery they got from each activity. Or they 
can just rate their overall mood during the activity on a scale of 0–10. 
Clients can create scales with their own sample activities at anchor 
points such as 1, 5, and 10 or 2, 5, and 8. (See Figure 7.2 for two kinds 
of rating scales.)
When people are depressed, their memories are often more negative than their actual experience. They may believe that an entire day 
or week was bad. Doing ratings immediately after an activity (or at 
lunch, dinner, and bedtime) helps them recognize the parts that were 
better. And it allows the two of you to figure out whether they need 
to schedule more pleasure, mastery, social, or self-care activities—­and 
whether to decrease other activities.
But here’s a caveat. Some clients dislike rating scales. Others may 
lack the motivation to track their experiences. Make sure clients are 
highly likely to rate their activities—­if not, it may be better to make the 
ratings optional. On the other hand, clients who tend to be organized 
and detail oriented may be willing to keep track of all their activities 
during the week and rate them.
FIGURE 7.2.  Activity Chart, side 2: Rating scales.
Activity Chart Rating Scales
Name:  Eric L. 
 
 
 
  Date:  October 24 
 
 
Directions (optional): Use either the top or bottom scale and fill in activities.
PLEASURE
MASTERY
Arguing with partner
Thinking about my credit card debt
Watching hockey on TV
Raking leaves last year
Finding out about my promotion
Finishing the 5K race
OVERALL RATING SCALE
Very distressed/depressed
When my girlfriend broke up with me 
Neutral mood
Running errands
Feeling great 
Going to a football game
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

TYPES OF ACTIVITIES
If you don’t know which activities to suggest to clients, you can review 
their typical day (pp. 121–123). Then ask yourself these questions:
“Given my client’s aspirations . . .
Which activities is the client doing too much of?
Which activities is she doing too little of or avoiding altogether?
Does he have a good balance of mastery, pleasure, self-care, 
and social experiences?
What can she do that will be meaningful and lead to positive 
emotion, connection, and empowerment?
What can he do that will help him draw positive conclusions, 
especially about himself?”
Also ask yourself, “Which new activities is the client most likely to 
engage in?”
When relevant, you can suggest that clients search online for 
pleasurable activities or hobbies or interview other people to find out 
what they do. When appropriate, you might suggest engaging in some 
activities with family members, friends, neighbors, or others in the 
community. In any case, when reviewing their Action Plans in subsequent sessions, make sure to help clients draw conclusions about these 
experiences and especially what it means about them that they did 
these things. In the next chapter, you’ll read more about setting and 
reviewing Action Plans and what to do when clients have difficulty following through with Action Plans.
CLINICAL TIPS
When Clients Have a Problematic Behavior or Habit
Clients who binge eat, smoke, use substances, overspend, gamble, or 
act angrily or aggressively might record all their activities to investigate patterns of occurrence, or they might just record the occurrence of maladaptive behaviors.
USING THE ACTIVITY CHART TO ASSESS PREDICTIONS
When clients are skeptical that scheduling activities can help, you can 
ask them to predict levels of mastery and pleasure and connection, 
 
Activity Scheduling

or what their overall mood will be on an Activity Chart and then 
record their actual ratings. These comparisons can be a useful source 
of data. If they find their predictions are inaccurate, they usually 
become more motivated to continue scheduling activities. If their predictions turn out to be accurate, you’ll ask questions to conceptualize the problem, and then likely do problem solving and respond to 
unhelpful thinking.
Judith: Can we take a look at your predictions on the Activity Chart 
and what actually happened?
Maria: (Nods.)
Judith: (Looks at the first chart.) Let’s see . . . It looks as if you predicted 
very low scores, mostly 0’s and 1’s for the three times you scheduled to meet your friends, but you actually rated your pleasure 
and sense of connection as 4’s and 5’s. (pause) What do you make 
of that?
Maria: I guess I was wrong. I thought I wouldn’t enjoy myself, but I 
did, at least some.
Judith: What do you think it says about you that you were willing 
to get together with your friends even though you predicted you 
wouldn’t have a good time?
Maria: I guess it shows I’m willing to give things a try.
Judith: Absolutely! That’s such a good sign. (pause) Would you like to 
schedule more social activities for this coming week?
Maria: Yeah.
Judith: Good. Do you see what could have happened—­and, in fact, 
what was happening before you came to therapy? You kept predicting that you’d have a bad time with your friends so you didn’t 
make any plans. In fact, you turned down their invitations. It 
sounds as if this Action Plan helped you test your ideas. You found 
it was wrong that you’d have a bad time, and now it sounds as if 
you’re more willing to schedule more. Is that right?
Maria: Yes. But that reminds me, I wanted to talk about one prediction that actually turned out worse.
Judith: Okay, when was that?
Maria: I predicted that I’d get a 5 in pleasure when I went to the community garden over the weekend. But I got a 2.
Judith: Do you have any idea why?
Maria: Not really.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

Judith: How were you feeling when you were at the garden?
Maria: Kind of sad.
Judith: What was going through your mind?
Maria: I don’t know. I mean, going to the garden used to be one of my 
favorite things to do. But I didn’t enjoy it. I just felt tired.
Judith: Did you have thoughts like that—“Going to the garden used to 
be one of my favorites. I’m not enjoying this. I’m so tired”?
Maria: Yeah, I think so.
Judith: Anything else go through your mind?
Maria: I remembered this time when I went with my ex-­boyfriend. It 
was soon after we met. I was so hopeful about our relationship.
Judith: Did you have a picture in your mind of that occasion?
Maria: Yeah. We were walking around, holding hands. I was telling 
him the names of all the flowers I knew. But he eventually broke 
up with me.
Judith: Okay, let me see if I understand. [summarizing] Here in my 
office you thought you’d get a moderate sense of pleasure when 
you went to the garden. But, instead, you got very little. It sounds 
as if you were thinking of how it used to be and then you had some 
negative thoughts like “Going to the garden used to be one of my 
favorites; I’m not enjoying this; I’m so tired.” And you also had an 
image in your mind of a specific time when you first went there 
with Roger but then you remembered he broke up with you. And 
these thoughts and the memory made you feel sad. (pause) Does 
that sound right?
Maria: Yeah.
In this last part, I use the Activity Chart to identify automatic thoughts 
that are undermining Maria’s enjoyment of an activity. Next, we 
come up with responses to these thoughts and to the memory so 
she can enjoy the garden more in the future.
CLINICAL TIPS
When Clients Aren’t in the Moment
It’s important for clients to give their full attention to the activity they’re engaged in. If they engage in depressive rumination or 
obsessive thinking, mindfulness (Chapter 16) can help them let the 
thoughts come and go as they focus their attention on their immediate experience.
 
Activity Scheduling

SUMMARY
Scheduling activities is essential for most depressed clients. Many clients need a rationale, a reminder of their aspirations, guidance in 
selecting and scheduling activities, instruction in how to focus their 
attention fully on the experience (and how to bring their focus back 
to it when their mind strays), and responses to predicted automatic 
thoughts that might interfere with initiating activities or gaining a 
sense of pleasure, mastery, or connection. Therapists often need to be 
gently persistent in helping clients become more active. Clients who 
are quite inactive initially benefit from learning how to create and 
adhere to a daily schedule with increasing degrees of activity. Clients 
who are skeptical about scheduling activities may benefit from doing 
behavioral experiments to test their ideas and/or checking the accuracy of their automatic thoughts by comparing their predictions to 
what actually occurs.
REFLECTION QUES TIONS
Why is scheduling activities so important for most clients with 
depression? How might you conceptualize a client’s relative inactivity and 
lack of mastery or pleasure?
PRACTICE EXERCISE
Using an Activity Chart, schedule for the coming week some worthwhile 
activities, in line with your aspirations, that you might have difficulty committing to. Create scales to predict the sense of pleasure, mastery, and/or 
connection you’ll get from doing each activity. Use the same scales to write 
your actual ratings after engaging in these activities.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond