Calendar Cleanup Week: 4 Days to a Fresh Calendar Slate

Want to jump start the new year with a fresh calendar slate? Join Clockwise for a week-long challenge to simplify your schedule and reclaim your workday.

It’s a new year, but that doesn’t mean you must stay committed to the calendar practices that no longer serve you. Whether you frequently manage double bookings, less than productive back-to-backs, or sacrifice your lunch break at the expense of another meeting—it’s time for a refresh, and we’ve got you covered.

What is Calendar Cleanup Week?

Calendar Cleanup Week delivers four days’ worth of quick checklists and tips, brought to you by seasoned experts, to get your calendar in tip-top shape for the new year. We’re running Calendar Cleanup Week January 27-30, 2025, and we hope you’ll join us!

Time is a company’s greatest shared resource. But it’s finite. We simply cannot create more of it in an 8-hour workday (no matter how hard we try by adding more to our calendars).?

And yet, day after day, we hear…

I have too many meetings.

I’m constantly double-booked.

I’m just too busy to take breaks.?

Busy-ness is no good for business (or your sanity). So, what better way to start a new year with a clean slate?

For four days, we’ll help you focus on different areas to improve your calendar habits in 20 minutes or less. Choose the topics that matter most to you, or complete all four days for maximum impact!

Here’s a look at what we’ll cover:

Day 1: (Re)set calendar habits

First, Brian Elliott, the CEO of Work Forward, a leadership advisor, best-selling author, and future of work expert, will teach you how to establish meeting strategies to maximize productivity for yourself and your team. At the end of day one, you’ll understand how to:?

• Create your personal calendar user manual (aka your personal calendar, meeting, and collaboration preferences)
• Align your calendar with your user manual (with tips for individuals and managers)?
• Foster transparency team-wide through sharing user manuals and team norms?
• Define async workflows for better collaboration?

Day 2: Fix your 1:1s

Lorraine K. Lee, a keynote speaker, instructor for LinkedIn Learning and Stanford CSP, and the author of Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career, will help you rethink your 1:1s with actionable tips and simple tools for effective meetings so you can beat unproductive patterns. At the end of day two, you’ll know how to:?

• Review the frequency of your 1:1s (and understand which cadences make the most sense for your reports)
• Consider small group meetings when necessary
• Determine the right length & format for your 1:1s?
• Schedule your meetings at the best time?
• Prep for the meeting, then document your convos for shared success going forward

Day 3: Audit recurring meetings?

Manuela Bárcenas, Head of Marketing at AI notetaker Fellow, will guide you through eliminating time-wasting recurring meetings and implementing strategies to make the meetings you keep more impactful. At the end of day three, you’ll feel better equipped to:

• Review your calendar & consolidate meetings after conducting an audit
• Communicate “rules of engagement” for each meeting?
• Leverage AI to automate intelligently?
• Revisit and refine recurring meetings regularly for ongoing success

Day 4: Automate with Clockwise?

Matt Martin, CEO and co-founder at Clockwise, will run you through how to automate and optimize using Clockwise. At the end of day four, you’ll be able to sit back and relax because you’ll know how to:

• Confirm Clockwise preferences and basic calendar settings to help you plan your ideal day every day
• Review flexible events and set guidelines for how they move
• Create custom meeting link templates to streamline your scheduling efforts