Neutralize Runaway Calendars for Good – By Jessica Frank Harrison

You run your calendar. Your calendar does not run you.

It sounds simple enough in theory. But, we all know what happens as the week becomes a runaway train, and somehow the weekend, which is supposed to be for you to relax and recharge is filled before it’s even begun.

There are 52 weeks in a year. The beginning of each week is an opportunity for a fresh slate, to grab the reins, and do whatever you can to make sure as many parts as possible of the 7 days ahead serve YOU.

Here are the TOP FIVE ways to take control of your calendar and live your best life.

1. TAKE 20 MINUTES TO PLAN YOUR WEEK AHEAD Take time each week to plan your calendar for the week ahead. This is the absolute most important item as it puts YOU in the driver’s seat of your calendar and your life. Be proactive – give yourself the time each week to sit down and do calendar planning. Just 20 minutes will make a tremendous difference in your life. This is a gift to yourself and an act of self care and self preservation. This is your chance to make time for the things that are important to you whether scheduling exercise classes or walks, or giving yourself an hour to browse the bookstore, or it could be 1:1 time with someone special to you.  It’s also seeing if you’re double booked and making changes so that your calendar is realistic and humanly possible. This is your chance to take control of the Sunday scaries because you know exactly what to expect in your week ahead. You’re not letting Sunday scare you!
2. LEARN TO SAY NO  – Saying no is not easy. You may be worried you are hurting someone’s feelings or you may feel like it will make you look bad at work. Some of the most successful people know their boundaries and have learned the art of no. There are so many ways to graciously say no to things that you don’t want or need to do. If it’s a request from a peer at work for which you simply do not have the bandwidth, see if you can suggest someone else to help, or modify and help with a portion that will make an impact but not take you from what you’re working on.
3. ELIMINATE FOMO –  Understanding there are certain things on your calendar that can’t be shifted, follow this process when invited or asked to do things in your precious free time or to take part in an optional project or volunteer opportunity that you don’t want to do. If your first instinct is ‘Hooray!!! I’ve been wanting to do that, and am SO glad you asked!’ then, see if you can fit it in. If not, then please reference #2 on the list – simply say no. If you look at your week and see that this invitation coincides with your only window of free time all weekend, think hard about what will serve YOU best. It may be that you’re invited for a full afternoon activity on your weekend, and you really want to see the people, but for a more brief period of time. It is up to YOU to decide how much time you spend. You can join the group for the first hour, and let them know you have to leave early.
4. CREATE A CALENDAR SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR YOU! This may mean you have more than one calendar. You may have to include everything on your digital calendar for work or for a family member who needs to reference. There are countless apps, google calendar remains an option that works great for so many. It’s helpful to see your whole week laid out to get a sense of what is coming. For those who like to write things down, the happy planner is designed for you. In the horizontal view, you have versions with hourly entries, and others designed with each day broken out in three parts for morning, afternoon and evening.
5. LOOK AT YOUR CALENDAR AS A PIECE OF CLAY THAT CAN CHANGE SHAPE- Look at the standing items on your calendar and determine if the volume is sustainable and if anything could be modified or outsourced. If you are the owner of the meeting or activity, try out a change and see how it goes. If you are a participant of a meeting where you have a very small role, reach out to your supervisor to see if you could come on the call for just a portion of the time. If your workday calendar is jam-packed from Monday to Friday with standing calls and meetings during working hours with no time for doing your work, take a step back and see if anything can change. Could an hour-long conference call be 30 or 45 minutes instead? If you have open times on your calendar that get gobbled up by last minute meetings, block out time for planning. Is there a weekly call or meeting that could be bi-weekly? If you have open times on your calendar that get gobbled up by last minute meetings, block out time for planning. Is there a weekly call or meeting that could be bi-weekly? Is there someone else who could help with driving a carpool or dropping a child at an activity on a given day?

Calendar planning is an act of self love and self care. Give yourself the gift. Remember, YOU run your calendar. It does not run you.

Ready, set, go – make it YOUR week!