I have a love-hate relationship with my calendar.

When my calendar works well, it tells me where I should be and what I should be doing.

Unfortunately, I’m terrible at filling in calendar appointments correctly. I’m always setting them up for AM when they should be PM or putting them on the wrong day or week…thankfully, Carmen saves me from myself!

A change for the better

In the last year, I’ve started to hijack the good part of calendars to help me stay focused and productive when I’m at my desk all day.

Each morning I make a little calendar listing every half-hour of the day. Then I plan exactly what I’m doing for each of those half-hour blocks.

I decide ahead of time what my priorities are and how I’m going to spend my time!

Then when I finish one task, I know right away what my next task is, and I get started working on it with minimal friction!

What a difference

I’m no longer spending time figuring out what to do – I know what I’m doing, and I do it!

Those “free times” used to get filled up with email or looking at news or Twitter. But now I go right from one important task to another! As a result, I’m getting way more done.

One other benefit is that I’m more realistic about what I can get done, so on most days, I feel good at the end of the day! I got done what I had planned to do – success!

It’s also starting to make me more realistic about what I can accomplish in a week or month, so I’m more careful about what I say yes to.

Want to try it?

If this sounds like something you’d like to explore, check out Cal Newport’s helpful video describing the process.

If you give it a try, let me know how it’s going. I want to hear if it’s helpful to you as well!