Owning Our Schedule

If I don’t intentionally schedule time to do what I want, then someone else often fills my schedule with what they want me to do. For years, I often took pride in having a full calendar. I used activity to judge my productivity. And while that may have helped me then, I don’t feel as though it helps me now. Busyness and productivity are not the same thing. How can we approach our calendars in a more productive way? Here are some ideas.

Fill our cup first so we can pour into others with the overflow.

What fills your cup? It could be exercise, meditation, reading, family time, etc. Are you starting your day filling your cup or filling up others’? Yes, if you are a parent, this could get interrupted by elements that are out of your control. But what can you do to reset yourself to ensure that you are at least creating space for yourself at some point in the day? If it doesn’t get prioritized, it often won’t get done.

Create hard stops.

Instead of doing an hour-long meeting, cut it off at 50 minutes. Be intentional about when you start your day and when you end it. Carve out time for short 15 or 20 minute meetings to be efficient with your time. Overcommunicate these times with others so they know the purpose of the meeting and ensure it still is an effective use of time.

Schedule important but not urgent items far out.

I’ve started to schedule stuff that is important but not urgent at least a month out, regardless of my availability that week. We often overestimate what needs to be done immediately and what can wait. Have someone who wants to “pick your brain?” Schedule it for down the road. These items often won’t get done if you are always fire-drilling, but they are important to do! Make time for them.

Create Times Blocks

Take a look at your calendar. Where can you put time blocks on there to prioritize yourself? Can they be daily? Weekly? Monthly? For many of us, we live and die by our calendar, so if that’s the case, let’s make sure we are LIVING in our calendar.

Some have more autonomy than others. It’s the nature of work. Yet, we all have the capacity to find time to own our schedule in some way. What will you do going forward to have more ownership over your schedule?