The #1 Time Management Tool You Need
Drumroll, please.
The #1 time management tool you absolutely need…
Sticky notes!
Just kidding.
That’s definitely not it.
But I’m pretty sure I used to think it was.
I used those sticky notes like crazy.
Writing neat lists of every little thing I needed to get done.
I’d fill up a sticky note and attach it right to my computer monitor. Constantly in sight so I wouldn’t miss a thing.
But throughout the day, nothing would get marked off.
In fact, I’d usually end up filling up a few more sticky notes. Creating quite the collection dangling from my computer monitor.
While I thought I had a great system for keeping track of everything, I was falling further and further behind.
I knew what I needed to get done. But I could never figure out how to actually get it done. The input was always far greater than the output.
I was missing a key tool.
My calendar.
Use your Calendar to Get it All Done
The workload is piling up. The emails won’t stop. You have hobbies you actually want to have time for.
So you set your intentions. Align on priorities. And you even have it all written down. Setting yourself up to get it all done.
But your mornings are quickly derailed by the first email you open. You’re off on a wild goose chase before you’ve even had your first sip of coffee.
Open that time management toolbox and grab your calendar.
If you don’t have a plan for WHEN you’ll get something done, you’ll get distracted. You likely won’t feel like working on it so you’ll say you’ll “do it later”. But, “later” never comes. Or worst of all, you jump to whoever is screaming ‘ASAP’ the loudest instead. Regardless of where it fits on your own priority list.
This isn’t your fault.
Without a clear path and a clear plan, there’s nothing to hold yourself accountable to. Desperate to make traction on anything, it’s easy to jump to whatever bright shiny object is in front of you.
Scheduling makes it real.
When you lay out your to-do list directly on your calendar, it’s a promise to yourself you’ll get it done. You know when. You know where. You know how.
Your calendar also clarifies priorities and forces you to be honest and realistic with yourself.
Sometimes we think we can do a million things in one day. But your calendar helps you visually see what you can really fit into the day. It’s a reality check. If something won’t fit, you have to prioritize to make room for what will.
Use Your Calendar to Unsubscribe from Overwhelm
The feeling of overwhelm is all-consuming.
Overwhelm is staring at the pile of unread emails. It’s the mental list of all the things that MUST get done. It’s the paralysis of being unable to start because where would you even begin?
Ugh. Unsubscribe.
When consumed by overwhelm, there’s a final straw you think might just break you…the final task that will bring it all crashing down into oblivion leading you to the only possible outcome: jobless, homeless, and living under a bridge…
The final straw…making time to plan, right?
Wrong!
Making a plan will help make you feel less overwhelmed.
When all of the overwhelming things swirling in your head are scheduled, you see the exact “how” for getting them done.
You can breathe. You can give yourself the counterargument to your brain when it’s insisting there’s no way.
And do you want the best remedy for quitting the Sunday scaries?
Make a plan for Monday before you close your laptop on Friday afternoon.
Knowing there's a plan for exactly what you’ll do first thing Monday morning means you can enjoy those final moments of the weekend before tackling another week like a She Boss.
Use Your Calendar to Get More Time Freedom
Time freedom. At the end of the day, that’s what most of us are really looking for.
Time to travel and explore.
Time for hobbies and passions.
Freedom to just sit and be still. With no “have to dos” pulling at you.
When this is the goal, planning can just feel uptight.
Okay, maybe not for my fellow Type A’s out there…but I can hear the rest of you rolling your eyes at the thought of a structured plan.
Where’s the spontaneity? Where’s the actual freedom?!
But how often do you feel guilt when you “do nothing”?
When you try to take this spontaneous freedom, is your attention pulled to a towering list of undone tasks? Or wondering how you can be more productive while doing nothing?
When you use your calendar to schedule time to get things done AND time for doing nothing, you can create this freedom without the guilt.
You know your to-do list is covered. You know when and how. So you can be intentional with enjoying the time freedom of nothing without the hum of anxiety.
Conclusion
How we schedule our time is how we spend our lives.
We’ve let our calendars become the property of someone else (queue the never ending barrage of meeting invites.)
But your calendar is yours. It’s your tool to be in control of. Your tool to put together the puzzle of your days to make the most of your 168 hours every week.
This is exactly what I teach in Never Work Overtime Again. I help you figure out how to finally tackle that impossible workload. Stop feeling behind. And get rid of the stress for good. Using your #1 time management tool. Curious? Learn more.
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About Me
Hi, I’m Kara. I’m a former workaholic turned time-management expert. I help women stressed out in their 9-5 get more done, in less time, so they can get back in the driver’s seat and start living a life they love.
