What’s on your calendar?

Do you keep your appointments with yourself?

Working with so many clients I get to see all kinds of different systems for how people manage their time. What strikes me most though is the most effective systems are often the most simple. Most people don’t need elaborate planners, complex scheduling systems, or a personal assistant to keep them on track. Many people find success with just their calendar and a commitment to using it consistently.

I’ve written before about the importance of time management, but this is such an important issue I think it warrants a few more words written about it. Most of us have a calendar with us all the time on our phones, some people prefer pen & paper. When a client asks for my recommendation I always say whatever system is simplest is the one they are most likely to use. I like having my digital calendar (I use the Google ecosystem) because it syncs across all my devices, so I don’t miss out on things when I’m away from my computer. It also allows me to share my availability with my wife so we can plan things together. And we have a shared calendar where our family activities are listed so I can have everything in one place. If you’re more analog and can keep up with a physical calendar then that is the system you should use. The details don’t really matter, using the system is what counts.

The next question often asked is “what goes on my calendar?” and my answer is - everything! My calendar is filled with all of my client calls, time blocks to do entrepreneurial work, reminders of any actions I need to take on a particular day - both personal and professional, times I will be spending with my son, appointments outside of work, plans with my wife, I even scheduled time to write this post today and have another reminder for my publishing deadline. Anything that you need to remember ends up on the calendar - I love using calendar reminders to reconnect with people I met through my networking group, or to schedule a few minutes to call and reschedule a doctor’s appointment. I might only be scratching the surface of what my calendar app can really do, but my system works for me, and I’m religious about using it, so it does everything I need it to do.

The other point I always need to make is - if it’s on the calendar, it has to get done. You have to treat every scheduled block of work as an appointment that you have to keep. It’s an appointment with yourself and you have to give it the same importance you would any other appointment on your calendar. You wouldn’t skip a dentist appointment or a meeting with a vendor would you? You might have to reshuffle your day, certain tasks might get pushed off until next week, but if it goes on the calendar it has to get done. The human brain is wired to get pleasure from checking things off lists, and I’ll admit I get a great deal of satisfaction marking my reminders as DONE. The appointments you make with yourself, are the most important thing you have on your calendar. These are the times you set aside to your critical work as a business owner, and if you’re neglecting that work, or skipping those times altogether, you’re never going to make real progress.

To borrow a few other pieces of advice from my previous article I think there are a couple of other ideas that make any time management system more effective:

• Define what you want your day to look like - If you’re not consciously deciding how you’re going to spend your time, you’re guaranteed to be on the back foot from the start. You have to be conscious and intentional about what you want to do and when you’re going to do it. The rub here is you have to be grounded in your current reality - if you have to pick your kids up at 3:00pm each day, you can’t realistically schedule client meetings all afternoon. You have to design your ideal day, the things you’re going to do and when you’re going to do them.
• Be intentional - Some people like to set aside certain parts of the day to do certain work. Often they try and tackle their most challenging work first thing in the morning and leave more service-oriented tasks (like responding to emails) for later in the day. This is the opposite of how most people actually spend their time when they come in each day and just wing it. You might have a sense of what schedule would work best for you or you might not, either way I’d encourage you to pick something that you think will work, try it for a week, and track it to see how it goes. Don’t give up on it if you’re not perfect off the bat, but look at what got in the way and where you can make adjustments to help you moving forward.
• Leave white space - As much as we’d love each day to feel flawless and totally in the groove that is rarely the case. Leave yourself some buffer times throughout the day so that if something comes up that absolutely requires your attention you have space to deal with it. Leave gaps for transition or travel time between appointments on your calendar. Don’t hesitate to block out time to deal with whatever personal things might need your attention. If you already have open times on the calendar it’s much easier to deal with those things that might pop up.

Since I still see these issues coming up with clients I’m going to continue to think about them and write about them for you here. I hope you’re finding value and enjoying the content. Is there something you’d like to read more about - let me know!