Recreating the Joy of Canceled Meetings
The end of the year is my favorite time of year to not take time off.
It seems that more leadership responsibilities also come with an increase of meeting invitations. So, during this time of year while others are away, I revel in the spaciousness of my calendar with all its canceled meetings. For once, I feel in control of my time.
A few years ago, when I was really at the tipping point of feeling overwhelmed by my calendar, I had to take a step back to figure out how to make spaciousness and a sense of control more than a once a year treat.
These are the main techniques I used to become more disciplined in my calendar management.
Audit each meeting’s purpose
Meeting series are usually scheduled with a purpose and so often they outlive their usefulness. Review all your existing meetings to see if they still serve their original purpose and/or have ongoing value. If not, either consciously redesign the purpose with the other attendees, delegate attendance to a better-suited team member, or decline.
Hot tip: The end of a meeting series is a great reminder to review its usefulness. So, instead of using whatever default your organization has set, create meetings with a recurrence of no longer than 3 months (quarterly) to prompt a review.
Time block for strategic & creative thinking
Consistently preserve time and space for strategic and creative thinking. While it feels hard to schedule this kind of thinking, what I’ve learned is that giving myself permission to shut down messaging and close email helps set the tone. Also, specifically labeling what each time block will be used for (“draft project plan” or “finalize article”) helps me protect and utilize the time.
My challenge is for you to redesign your calendar from a blank page, starting with your intention for the coming quarter.
Stuck or overwhelmed about how to perform your calendar audit? In the Make Time for Meaning workshop, we’ll walk through a whole system for how to understand what’s being prioritized, how time is being spent, and the impact on your energy so that you can immediately start to take back control of your calendar.