One of the first things I talk about with a coaching client is their calendar. You’ve got to take control of your time in order to be successful, and too many cede that control to others because they don’t manage their calendar proactively. If you have a block open, chances are that someone will fill it with a meeting or task. I encourage people to get in the habit of routinely scheduling time in ways that allow them to sanely accomplish the responsibilities of their job which often means claiming blocks (or slivers) that allow you to be in your office instead of meetings.
Examples:
- Blocking out time for vacations months (a year) in advance when the time is still free and not full of other obligations that are hard to reschedule
- Scheduling a half-day after being out of the office (for vacation, conferences, etc.) in order to catch up on administrative duties
- Holding meetings you control for only 25 or 50 minutes so you can do follow-up (or use the restroom!) in the minutes before the next one
- Scheduling blocks for administrative tasks rather than letting your whole day become subsumed by meetings (aka other people’s priorities)
- Blocking time for a real lunch break instead of lunch-a-la-vending-machine
- Including ample travel time to and from appointments, even if it’s walking time
- Holding deep dive days when you know major obligations are nearing (budget submission, board meetings, EOY reconciliations, etc.)
In some organizations, people won’t respect “administrative time” if they see it on your calendar and will instead double-book you. Circumvent this by giving your time blocks more creative names, like “Meeting with Mable” to cause people to think twice before they ignore your hold.
It’s soooooo much easier to schedule time months ahead than to find an open block in the near term. Leverage that to your advantage and create a schedule that is more productive — and humane — by taking ownership of your time and managing your calendar wisely.
