How to Use Your Calendar Without Losing the Will to Live.
As of today it’s official…Your Calendar Works for You Now. Not the Other Way Around
I have worked with several business owners that had challenges over their calendar management. Effectively their calendars were disablers not enablers.
Ranging from double booking, prioritising non-urgent tasks and missing the ‘Must Do’ meetings at the same time. Double bookings, mystery entries, old recurring meetings still clogging up time…. I’ve seen it all.
But good news: you don’t need a total makeover. You just need to make a few small, sensible changes, with an assertive but pleasant attitude.
1. Name Your Events Like You Actually Care.
Spend some time and care when you are scheduling meetings to actually give yourself a chance of knowing what the meeting is for. Having a “Meeting” on Tuesday at 11am and having no idea what it’s about? You can blame one person and only one person….that’s you a few weeks ago when you booked it in.
The Solution Give your calendar events titles that Future You can actually understand: For example: Call: could/should be Call Paul to discuss the invoice debacle, remember to stay calm, they will be angry still. Think of it as a message in a bottle, the message to bring all the information back.
2. Use “Holds” to buy yourself time to actually do ‘stuff’.I
f your calendar is only filled with other people’s ‘stuff’, you’re not managing your time, it’s managing you. Add holds for your actual work:
- Admin Hour (maybe untangle your web of receipts that are cluttering your desk)
- Thinking Time (maybe step off the hamster wheel to reflect, review and inspire)
- Lunch (keep yourself fed and watered for several reasons…one being ‘surviving’) Think of it like having your own bouncer that is only allowing the ‘stuff’ you want to come in. They can also throw ‘stuff’ out too if they are unruly.
3. Colour-Code like it’s going out of fashion This isn’t about visual beauty — it’s about damage control. Once you have started doing this you will be able to see how effective you are at a glance. This could light up your working week like a rainbow with a pot of gold. Suggested Codes:
- Blue = Client chaos
- Green = Money matters
- Orange = Self-care (watered and fed)
- Red = “Move this and I am in total bother” life events A quick scan will keep your properly on track.
4. Stop Saying Yes when it should clearly be a no.
When your schedule’s jam packed with no space, it’s time to slap on your “Not Today” hat and take control.
The today you ‘Can you do Thursday at 10am?’ – yeah sure (you can’t by the way, we both know that..)
The tomorrow you ‘Can you do Thursday at 10am?’ – I am booked then, how is Friday at 11am or 2pm? (not rude is it…and you have offered alternatives) You are not a 24/7 scheduling hotline. Control the no’s and you can start saying yes to the yeses.
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