Capture More Time by Controlling Your Calendar
Can you change your life? Of course you can. And if you are to simplify your life, the best place to start is with your calendar, the place that creates the lifestyle you now live.
—Marcia Ramsland
Elaine ushered me into her office and closed the door. She began as soon as I sat down. “I used to be so organized. I had a clear desk, I returned phone calls and e-mails the same day, and I delivered projects on time. Last year I won all the top performance awards. But now I’ve been promoted, and I feel like my life is out of control. I can’t fall asleep at night because of all the unfinished tasks. I’m also in con-flict over how to balance work and my personal life. There must be a better way.”
Calendar Overload
Elaine was suffering from “calendar overload,” often a symptom of being a high achiever, an active volunteer, and a person struggling to keep home and work life in harmony.
She was especially anxious about having her coworkers over for an open house in two weeks. “I don’t know why I agreed to it, but I am totally stressed and ready to cancel. My car needs a brake job, and my checking account is askew. I signed up for your course, Simplify Your Time, but it seemed easier to hire you to bail me out than to attend class. What can I do?”
Elaine pulled out her calendar, and out flopped multiple to-do lists, expired coupons, and a sheaf of papers for work. Embarrassed, she picked them up off the floor. “I guess I need a better filing system,” she mumbled.
“OK,” I began. “We need to find out how you are scheduling things at work and home.”
“Frankly, I’ve given up writing it down. I’ve been much too busy. I’ve been out every night this week, and my house is a mess and the dishes are piled high on the kitchen counters. I haven’t put away laundry in weeks, so I’m ironing clean blouses every morning before work. Where do I begin to get control?”
Step-by-Step Move Back into Control
I did the same thing with Elaine that I do with many of my clients: I started with her calendar. Then I suggested the following steps and walked her through them.
1. Clean up your calendar and list all the events, appointments, and due dates you know you have coming up for the next three months.
2. Fill in all the birthdays, anniversaries, and vacation days for the rest of the year.
3. Limit the number of weekend nights out to one or two on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
4. Balance the number of weeknights out (Monday–Thursday) to no more than two, especially if you have demanding day responsibilities.
5. Plan time in the evenings or on the weekend to catch up at home or hire housekeepers to do it for you.
Say No When Things Are Out of Control
“My number one time principle is, ‘Say no when things are out of control.’ That’s where you are now. You need to schedule time to catch up at home and get the basics like your kitchen and laundry back together. That will take you about four hours but will immediately save thirty minutes each morning,” I told Elaine. “Can you do that this evening?”
Elaine agreed but was doubtful. “How will that help my work performance?”
“Personal order is a good basis for professional excellence. Try it, and you’ll see that it’s true: ‘When you work orderly, you think in an orderly way—all day.’ And that’s a great way to live.”
Calendar Users Are Easier to Work With
People who use their calendars regularly are more productive and easier to work with. They include everything in their life in one place and have a sense of which days of the week work best for certain activities.
One group I was a part of worked months to put together a team retreat for ten people, carefully choosing the dates and location so the majority of interested individuals could attend. When it came down to the week before, the retreat was canceled. Why? Because the leader forgot that her son’s birthday fell on one of the days. This one oversight resulted in even more time spent rescheduling the event.
All this wasted time could have been avoided if she had written in all the birthdays and anniversaries for the entire year at the beginning of the year. (But really, how could you forget your son’s birthday?) When the team finally did meet, everyone decided to shop together. Those members without a planner or calendar bought one so we could literally be on the same page! Soon events were planned and scheduled, time was saved, and relationships improved.
Get a Panoramic View of Your Month
I encourage you to commit to one monthly calendar for yourself—to hold all of your personal and professional events, dates, appointments, and so on. Train yourself to include everything there.
A monthly calendar will give you a panoramic view of your week and the weeks to come. When you preview the weekly page from Sunday through Saturday, you are doing what I call looking at time “horizontally.” By spreading out your to-do list over Monday through Friday for the coming week, you can balance your week.
You can take control of your calendar by following these steps:
1. Check your calendar to see if everything is up to date, neat, and inclusive.
2. Schedule “free choice” once or twice a week as an evening or weekend to spend as you wish––relaxing or enjoying a hobby.
3. Diagonally cross off days past this month while reflecting on whether it was time well spent.
4. Find your balance of work and personal events, and be sure to include both kinds of events on your evenings and weekends.
5. Stop the craziness by marking a big X to eliminate one commitment during a particularly busy week.
6. Circle times with friends and family that are highlights of your week.
7. Offer two time alternatives when turning down a commitment because of a prior engagement.
Elaine cleaned up her calendar and then counted the number of nights out per week. “Oh my. For the past ten days I have been out every night, and I have six more to go. Do you think that’s too much?”
She laughed before I could reply. “I get it. If I give my time away to other people, then I have no time left for myself. I want—no, I need—to take back time for myself right now! I’m going to call and postpone tonight’s dinner with a girlfriend and catch up on my life. That’s the only way I’ll be ready for the office party by Friday.”
Step Up Your Personal Growth
“Elaine,” I asked, “have you ever thought about using the upper margin to set some personal goals each month? That’s a good way to keep your sights from getting bogged down in the mundane.”
“Hmm. That sounds like more work. What do you mean?”
I showed her some examples, like these:
January
Join a gym to get back in shape.
Start a graduate school course.
Put away/downscale holiday decorations.
February
Earn As in graduate school.
Take a winter vacation in Florida.
Start tax return for an early refund.
I explained, “When you set three goals per month that mean something to you, your mind goes to work to achieve them. Then your personal growth is ensured even while life keeps you busy.”
“I like that,” said Elaine. “And I know that will keep me from getting buried in everyday life, like I used to. Right now I’ll finish the month with one goal: to have a successful open house. We all need some fun, and I’ll benefit by having a clean house when it’s over!”
That’s leveraging your time to simplify your life. Life gets complicated when you run out of time. But if you know your calendar is the basis for con-trol, you can find your way back to fix it anytime you need to. Start with con-trolling your calendar, and make it work for you!
It’s Your Time
Capture More Time with Your Calendar (Time Tool #1)
□ Check your calendar to see if everything is up to date, neat, and inclusive.
□ Diagonally cross off days that have passed this month.
□ Schedule “free choice” once every week for the next four weeks and pencil in what you would like to do.
Avoiding the phrase “I don’t have time . . .” will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to accomplish in life.
—Bo Bennett