Review your schedule and identify improvement points for making your day less hectic e.g if your meetings are scattered through out the day, consider moving all your meetings to a specific time of the day and free yourself up for longer periods of concentration and deep work

To regain control over a chaotic schedule using calendar apps, start by creating specific time blocks for tasks or projects, helping you stay focused and organized. Use reminders and alerts to keep you on track with important deadlines or appointments—these notifications can serve as gentle nudges, so nothing slips through the cracks. Lastly, make sure to sync your calendar across all devices to access your schedule anytime, anywhere, avoiding missed events. By setting up these small systems, you can bring order to your day and make your schedule work for you instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

Start by blocking out your core work hours and setting recurring slots for key tasks. The clarity of a digital schedule, visible at a glance, reduces the mental load of trying to remember everything, helping you focus on one task at a time. Notifications can prompt you to switch gears smoothly, while color-coding lets you identify personal, team, and project commitments at a glance. The result is a streamlined day where every hour has a purpose, allowing you to regain a sense of control and alignment.

To truly harness a calendar app, I treat it less as a time manager and more as an energy guide. Rather than just setting blocks for tasks, I categorize them based on the energy they demand—deep work, meetings, creative time, recovery. This way, I’m not just assigning time, I’m ensuring the tasks align with my mental and physical capacity throughout the day. Another layer that helps maintain control is buffer zones—small, dedicated windows between blocks that absorb inevitable overruns or quick resets. This approach keeps the day structured, but flexible enough to handle real-life demands without disrupting flow.

Time blocks only work when you keep them solid and don't try to schedule over them. Also, be realistic about how many tasks you can realistically accomplish in one day, because it's not that many. Prioritize the most important tasks and make sure you block time for them.