Secret to Getting More Out Your Calendar
When it comes to scheduling appointments, we are usually more than eager to give everybody else the most convenient slot – most convenient for them that is. Inconveniencing ourselves in the process, we feverishly move things around, scrap our own plans, or forget to take care of ourselves altogether.
Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar? It’s beginning of the year and you’ve made a resolution (once and for all) to get back into the gym. You’ve even discovered a class that you really like and swore to yourself that you’ll go every week. Then, usually after a few weeks, “life happens” and other commitments start creeping up: from a deadline on a project to a phone call from a customer. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been guilty of this a lot!
Until I discovered a secret to productively managing my calendar, while still being responsive to and of service to my clients.
The secret is to CALENDAR your own appointments FIRST, then everyone else’s – second.
In the beginning of the year, before any other commitments take over, sit down with your calendar, and write in all the recurring commitments you have with yourself. Here are mine:
1. Gym (yes, I also made that infamous resolution)
2. Hair appointments
3. I don’t get my nails done, but if you do, it should go here
4. Dermatologist
5. OB/GYN
6. Dentist
7. Anton’s (my son) appointments
After you’ve calendared your personal commitments, then write down all recurring professional commitments. For me, they are:
1. IFDA – International Furnishings and Design Association
2. WCAA – Window Coverings Association of America
3. GKIC – Glazer Kennedy Insider Circle
The key is to put it down on your calendar those things that tend to go by the way-side, once you get busy with your day-to-day dealings. It seems to be ‘human nature’ to keep pushing off those things that ultimately make us healthier, more beautiful, and more energized – all in the name of a short-term gain.
One easy way to combat the human nature is to pre-empt it. We pre-empt it by scheduling ourselves first, then everything else second. It’s called honoring our needs instead of shoving them to the back burner. And when we do that, our productivity soars!
