How a calendar experiment is improving my well-being — and can boost yours too
DeAnne M. Aussem NBC-HWC, PCC, CHIC
Founder, CEO | Leadership Alchemist | Mindset, Resilience & Lifestyle Medicine Coach | Culture Champion and Wellbeing Leader | Keynote Speaker / Emcee | Positive Deviant | Proud LGBTQ+ Wife and Mom | CHIEF Member
In an earlier blog post, I shared my experiment to streamline my calendar
With a large team of colleagues, my calendar tends to fill up quickly and can get a bit tangled with reschedule requests and other unexpected disruptions – both on my part and my colleagues’. My new calendar simplifies my schedule and helps me to be accessible to my team.?
In a nutshell: I’ve set up dedicated daily office hours — open to all — and blocked off time for answering emails and heads-down, focused work
To be clear, the experiment hasn’t been without a few hiccups. But overall, I’ll call it a win. The most meaningful outcome for me: I feel more present — both for my colleagues and for my family. And for the first time in a long while, I start my days with a peaceful feeling rather than anxiety about getting work done amid an avalanche of meetings. Even when urgent projects pop up, as they can do, I can feel the difference in my well-being.
Here’s how my new cadence of consistency came about:?
I started with my word for 2022: Simplify.?
What can I stop doing, or combine with other things to streamline and simplify my life? This year, that’s the question I constantly ask myself, which keeps me grounded and focused.?
The catalyst for my strategy was a brutal 2021. Beyond the challenges we’ve all faced during the pandemic and massive disruption, my mother died in October. Losing her rocked my entire being. It also catapulted my mindset toward intentionality.?
I’ve always been conscious of spending my time and energy wisely, but I now have an even deeper devotion to making every moment meaningful
I ditched hyper-responsiveness for flexibility and balance.
Over the holiday break last year, I read an article in the Harvard Business Review about asynchronous work and the importance of creating space for innovation to bloom. The stats the story cited were shocking — and familiar. According to research, the average person:
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It was a revelation. In the past, when someone reached out to request time on my calendar, I would generally schedule some time out in the future — or need to squeeze a renewal break (often my much needed time away from screens!). I immediately decided to make a change in how I approach my day-to-day organization.?
So, armed with that information, I formulated a new calendar strategy to move away from the feeling of constantly working and not accomplishing enough state of reflexiveness and back-to-back recurring meetings — and toward better effectiveness and energy management
Here’s how I set up my calendar:
Change is hard. Change is good.?
I admit I wasn’t sure how it would turn out because it was drastically different from how I typically structure my days. Not long into the experiment though did I discover how energized I feel knowing I have dedicated focus time
And, now that I’ve stopped responding to emails first thing in the morning, I am more present with my kids as they get ready for their summer activities (and school), and it’s a smoother and more positive transition for all. ?
The experiment is officially over but the improvement in my day-to-day life remains! I’m hopeful that as people become more accustomed to the approach, they’ll recognize the benefits — and perhaps adopt the strategy for themselves. I invite you to try it for yourself and let me know how it goes!
In the meantime, Be Well, Work Well.?
I love this strategy for time and calendar management. Thank you for sharing!
Director, PwC Technology Consulting - Passionate about innovation, people, and processes to drive transformation.
2 年Great approach! I'd love to hear tactically how you set up office hours - do you block your calendar and then have a separate Google Sheet to sign up for the 20 minute time slots, or how does that work?
Recruitment I Talent Acquisition | Strategic Sourcing | Vendor Management
2 年DeAnne Aussem, NBC-HWC, PCC, CHIC ~ Thank you for sharing! Great Tips!
PwC People Analytics & Insights Senior Director | Strategist | Innovator | Transformation & Intent-based Leader | Change Catalyst | Agile Enthusiast | Finance Innovation Trailblazer | CPA
2 年I ???????? that you experimented and as a result experienced such awesome results. Bravo! I was encouraged years ago by a mentor of mine to block my calendar for heads down time. I remember being shocked because the 'story I had told myself' was that not being available at all times for OTHERS was considered selfish. I haven't looked back since though and have found incredible peace in knowing I have time to get work DONE. Thanks for sharing this!
Senior Mgr, PwC US CDO Consults & Data Products | Point Foundation Board of Directors
2 年This is a fantastic approach!