My calendar wears many hats. It’s a client management tool, a project management platform, and my insurance policy for a healthy work−life balance. It serves all these purposes, because that’s how I designed it. Suffice it to say, if it’s not on my calendar, it’s not happening. If you can relate, you’re in luck! Today, I’m sharing my calendar secrets. Not into DIY? Partner with Creative Planher. We’ll do it for you.
What’s my secret to this magical calendar system? Block scheduling.
If you’ve read my blog, you know that I’m a block schedule believer. Block scheduling, or time blocking, simply means dedicating specific blocks of time on your calendar for tasks and responsibilities. It’s designed to help you focus and guard against distractions. The power of time blocking comes in choosing when you do tasks instead of letting them infiltrate every moment of your day. Doesn’t that sound like a great New Year’s resolution for 2022?
Take the first step by setting priorities aligned to what you want to change about how you currently manage your time.
Want more time for focused work? Want to rebalance the amount of time you spend checking and responding to emails or taking meetings? Is it difficult to end your day on time?
Bring your whole self to your calendar.
Include your morning and evening routines, as well as tasks related to your personal priorities, obligations, and interests outside work.
Identify your power hours.
As described in this recent article, power hours are the blocks of time when you’re most productive. Reserve other times in the day for smaller, more mundane tasks or for lower-energy meetings like checking in with your dedicated virtual assistant at Creative Planher.
Now, it’s time to get blocking. Here’s a checklist:
Add morning and evening routines as recurring events
Add standing personal commitments
Insert longer blocks within your power hours that allow you to settle in and be productive
Identify a few times a day where you can commit a chunk of time to email, calls, or even meetings
Establish dedicated blocks when people can book you
An important caveat about block scheduling—it won’t work if it isn’t flexible.
Take time every month to look ahead and make adjustments based on what worked and what didn’t the month before. It’s something we do at Creative Planher with all our clients as part of our goal to take the monotonous but necessary tasks off your plate so you can focus on growing and scaling your business.