We’ve all heard it before… schedule everything. There’s a school of thought that recommends that every task becomes an appointment with yourself and belongs on your calendar. Guess what… I don’t agree (with a few exceptions.)
The theory behind this approach to productivity is that tasks take time so you reserve the needed time on your calendar. However, there are several problems that I’ve seen this approach creates.
First, many of us are pretty crappy at estimating how long a task will take. We either assume it will be 3 hours when it was really about 45 minutes, or we think we can whip out in 10 minutes something that really takes over an hour. Which means that almost immediately whatever you put on your calendar becomes wrong.
The second major issue is that tasks are often much more fluid than appointments. If you agree to meet with someone on x day at y time, then that’s a commitment. However, even if you must get that proposal written by Tuesday whether you choose to do it at 10am, 2pm, 6pm, or 10pm typically is a matter of personal preference.
Therefore, when we start combining solid appointments and fluid tasks on our calendars we create a very mushy experience in looking at our calendars. It can imply that what’s written there is a “good idea,” but not a commitment. I find this leads people to treat actual appointments with less attachment and contributes to patterns of last-minute cancellations and other very… pardon me for the strong opinion… disrespectful behavior.
So, what can we do instead? How can we create a plan for the day that we can “stick to,” and how can we feel less frustration and confusion about navigating our choices and priorities. Let me offer 4 best practices that might make a big difference in helping you both create and “stick” to your plan for the day.
Creating an effective plan for your day
I know this frustration of creating a plan for your day and “not sticking to it” is really challenging for many entrepreneurs (and almost everyone else too). Therefore, I’ve collected 4 best practices (2 Dos and 2 Don’ts) that might give you a better handle on how you plan your days. With these guidelines you will feel like you “get things done” more consistently and without feeling constantly frustrated when your reality goes off-course from your plan.
1. Don’t Schedule Every Task on Your To-Do List
First of all, if you’re creating a good Master List so that you can get all those tasks out of your head, then there would just be WAY too many items to fit on your calendar. Even more, our priorities and energy levels change far too frequently. How can you know days or weeks in advance whether you’re really going to have the time and energy to make that call to the attorney to start your will or finish reconciling last month’s bank account statements.
That’s why I believe that everyone needs both a reliable calendar and a Master Task List which work together to help you decide what’s most important each day. The calendar is where all your appointment information lives, and the Master List is where all your tasks live. These two tools work hand-in-hand to help you set your priorities.
When you’re creating your plan for the day, you start by reviewing your calendar and seeing how committed your day already is. After all, some days we’re mostly booked up perhaps attending a conference, while other days may be more open and fluid.
With a sense of your existing commitments, then you review your Master List to choose the one Inspired Action and 3 bonus tasks that would be both beneficial and possible for you to get done that day. That’s your plan; that’s your Today List. You might have sections of time in mind when you’ll knock out certain tasks, but preferably you’re keeping that “Today List” of four items front and center so they don’t need to be written into your calendar to get the attention they deserve.
Try writing them on a post-it note or index card. Maybe you put them at the top of your digital task list? Whatever works and allows you to know your top priorities and tick them off one at a time. (And remember, your Inspired Action is a commitment you’re making to yourself, so that’s the one thing that you are committed to getting done beyond your appointments.)
2. Do Schedule Projects That Need More Than an Hour of Continuous Time
There are some projects in our lives that are better accomplished in a larger block of time rather than 30 minutes here and there. If that’s the case for something on your Master List, then those are the items that do benefit from scheduling blocks on your calendar. With all the demands on our time and attention, finding a large block of focused work time for a big project can be a real challenge.
So, if it’s “bigger than a bread box,” as I like to say, and will need a dedicated block of time to really make effective progress, then that’s when putting it onto your schedule and protecting that chunk of time becomes important. Need to spend a solid morning prepping for your upcoming webinar or speaking event? Then, schedule the time on your calendar. Need a day for a seasonal retreat to do some “big think work?” Then, schedule the time on your calendar. These are completely appropriate situations to use your calendar to remind yourself of important priorities and protect the needed time for bigger work.
After all, if you don’t dedicate that time for these larger projects… then you might get into some massive procrastination, right?
3. Do Block Personal Rhythm Time
Many of us look at that wide open calendar day and feel like we’ve got all the time in the world to do stuff (particularly as entrepreneurs, when we control our own schedules.) However, often we forget that our normal daily rhythms already claim a large section of every day. That’s why it’s a good idea to put time blocks on your calendar for your regular personal and family care time. At minimum, insert blocks for your morning ritual, evening ritual, lunch & dinner breaks, and commute or travel time.
Particularly for entrepreneurs who can feel like every day is a mushy, unstructured, blur, visually creating this structure on your calendar can really shift how you perceive your time and allow you to recognize that you probably still only have about 5-6 solid work hours in the middle of your day… just like everyone else who’s living the corporate life. Acknowledging your existing structure can bring greater focus to the remaining time, reduce procrastination, and help you feel more energy and excitement for your day. In many ways, it’s a mental hack, but having used it myself for years… it can work!
4. Don’t over-schedule or over-plan
I think the biggest challenge that almost everyone experiences at some point is trying to shove too much into a day. Whether that’s having too many meetings scheduled and you’re running late by 10am. Or, when you’re planning to get 10 tasks done today and then feeling terrible frustration when you only got through 3 or 4 of them.
We frequently create completely unrealistic plans for ourselves, which sets us up for trouble from the start. That’s why I recommend a Today List of tasks with no more than 4 items on it. If you get all four done and still have time and energy, then go back to your Master List and knock out another… that’s great! But, getting four planned tasks done in a day is EXCELLENT!
Remember, rarely are you only doing four things in a day because most of us also get another 3-10 unplanned tasks done simply because someone asked, an email landed in our inbox, or we got a call from a client. We need a certain level of fluidity in our daily plan to be able to respond appropriately to what shows up in our world each day, while we ensure that we are consistently getting our priorities done.
Similarly, I would encourage you to find your personal sweet spot between committed appointments and “open” task time each day. In other words, limit how many meetings you commit to in any given day. Personally, my max is about 4 appointments per day. It might be a combination of client sessions, staff meetings, or coffee with a colleague or friend, but generally unless it’s really important I push people further into the future rather than overcrowd my days.
Doing this gives me two specific benefits:
1) Time to work on other important tasks and projects (like writing this blog post).
2) A better energy flow to my day that ensures I don’t feel like I’m exhausted and running from one meeting to the next.
Over the years, 4 appointments has become my sweet spot, but yours might be 3 or 6… only you will know.
Next Actions
Take a look at your calendar. Have you already been doing some of these best practices? If not, then would you like to give them a try? You might want to start by figuring out what your ideal week would look like using our Free Life Rhythm Map template.
If you take the time to figure out your preferred rhythm, then you can translate that into action on your personal calendar. No matter what, give yourself permission to stop scheduling every task, and start creating a bit more flow and energy in your life.
More than anything… remember this: Create the shape, but hold it loosely. Sometime even the best plan needs to get changed.
I’ve loved getting all your emails, but this one was especially helpful. And I’m going to forward it to many clients, friends and sons who have time mgt difficulties. I hope things are going well with you. A big hug, Mike
Thank you for this post, It was a huge help and I think it finally helped me to see breathing space. This was fantastic!
Good tips. At the beginning of each day, I block out my schedule, but I think the key for me is not being too strict with it and getting annoyed when I can’t stick to it. It generally changes as the day goes on, I move things around, extend time to work on some things, and I just generally view it as a fluid thing. I do however keep my daily plan updated as the day goes along — it’s always nice to see a history of what I worked on on any given day.