It’s very easy to let your calendar run you, and end up overwhelmed, over scheduled and missing important things. To avoid that, here are 4 tips to help you make your calendar work for you rather than the opposite.
If you tend to wander, schedule your day.
That doesn’t mean you need to schedule every single task you have. Instead, set aside chunks of time for chunks of tasks. For example, 2 hours per day for week for financial tasks. In that time you might: pay invoices; invoice your clients; photograph your receipts for your accounting system; reconcile your accounts; study your financial reports. You don’t have to do all of them every week. Or, you might only get one done in the 2 hours. Maybe you get them all done in 1 hour, then have an hour up your sleeve.
Be realistic when you schedule.
If you have 2 meetings at opposite ends of the city, don’t schedule them to run on. You’ll either be in a hurry to leave the first, or late for the second. Best case, you’ll make the second on time but be rushed. It’s better to schedule 15-20 minutes in between meetings to give you time to get from one to the other. Then, if you have some extra time you can use it to check emails, make a few quick calls, run some personal errands etc.
If you have meetings that you need to travel to, schedule realistic travel time. Google Maps can give you a guesstimate of how long that might be if you’re unsure.
Also, be careful not to chunk too much, or to little time when you’re scheduling time to work on tasks. While it’s nice to regularly have an extra hour available when you finish up early. There’s a good chance you’ll be wasting that time. So if you often finish early, reduce the amount of time you schedule. Similarly, if you often don’t get finished working on something – you need to schedule more time.
Flexibility is important
If you want your calendar to work for you don’t be afraid to make changes when things aren’t working. If scheduling times for groups of tasks feels too restrictive or keeps getting bumped for more pressing issues. Then don’t be hesitant to change your practice. Whether that’s putting aside half an hour for “issues” between tasks. Or maybe it would work better if you just have time set aside for “client work” and “non-client work”. Just keep changing it up until you find what works for you. And keep in mind that what works for you today, may not still work for you in six months, a year, even next week.
Don’t forget the fun
If you’re scheduling your time heavily, don’t forget to set aside some time for non-work things. Put some time in your calendar for lunch, for regular breaks etc. If, like most of us you work outside traditional business hours, don’t feel bad about scheduling a trip to the gym or shopping or going to your kids school event. Just be sure to schedule your life into your calendar so you don’t end up working 24/7 in your quest to be more organised..
