Fill Up Your Calendar Before Others Do

We all dread that overloaded view of our calendar with overlapping meetings, double (and triple) bookings, and more.

If you find yourself running from one meeting to the next, you need to re-evaluate your calendar.

And ironically, the reason your calendar is overloaded is because you didn’t fill it up in the first place.

Too Many Appointments or Not Enough?

When you look at your calendar does it look like a bad game of Tetris? Filled up with dozens of colored appointment tiles covering your calendar?

It can be very stressful. And it’s not fun trying to juggle all of those obligations once they are on your calendar.

However, the answer to this problem is not to clear your calendar, but rather to fill it up.

“It’s your time. Make sure you fill up your calendar before others do.”

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Rather than let others crowd your calendar with their requests, appointments, and meetings… you need to fill your calendar with the things that are important to you.

After all, it is your calendar and your time. Why would you let others have it before you’ve planned your own activities?

Here are 5 Tips to Help You Better Manage Your Calendar:

1. Fill Up Your Calendar – Always fill your calendar before you let others schedule on it. Block your time out two weeks for your goals, projects, and more.
2. Say No When Appropriate – Don’t be afraid to decline or say no to a meeting request. Just because someone has sent you a meeting invite doesn’t mean you have to accept it. It’s your time after all.
3. You Can Always Change it Later – Some people are afraid to fill their calendar up because they think it makes them inflexible. Quite to the contrary, it’s easy to open up time on your calendar when you control the blocks.
4. Put Tasks on Your Calendar – Your calendar and todo list should work together. Put important todos right on your calendar. By scheduling appointments with your tasks you will ensure you have time to get them done.
5. Defend Key Times – Another great calendar tactic is to defend your most important time windows. What times of day are most important to you? Maybe it is early morning for planning. Or lunch time for a quick workout. Or evening to spend with your family. Whichever is most important to you protect that time by continuously blocking it.

Take Control of Your Calendar

Rather, that leaving an empty calendar to the mercy of others, keep your calendar blocked out with your important activities.

Put your time first, before you let others have it. This is not a selfish attitude, but rather one that lets you get your priorities done in order that you can help others.

It’s your calendar. Keep it filled up.

Question: Is your calendar filled with your own priorities or covered by meetings set by others? You can leave a comment by clicking here.