7 Steps to Take Control of Your Schedule

How often do you hear somebody refer to themselves as a “hot mess”? Or they complain of feeling overwhelmed and stressed because they have too much to do? It is probably a daily occurrence, and if you are being honest with yourself, you may hear yourself saying those exact words.

I want to share a thought with you: There is nothing on your calendar that you have not allowed to be there! 📆

That is a sobering thought. So what I’m hearing is that I can complain all I want about being too busy, not having a single moment to spare for myself, feeling stressed and overwhelmed, but it’s my own fault? 

Exactly! If you are anything like me, and keep yourself organized with a paper planner, then this concept becomes even clearer. I WROTE ALL THE ACTIVITIES IN MY PLANNER, IN MY OWN HANDWRITING, so how can I honestly blame anybody else? 

Sure, I know that there are some commitments you simply have no control over: work meetings and calls, doctor’s appointments for yourself and family members, but you have a say in most things on your calendar. 

SEVEN STEPS TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CALENDAR (and perhaps your sanity):

1️⃣ Examine Your Values – When you take an honest look at what is truly important to you, not what is expected of you or what you think is expected of you, you can use that set of values as a barometer for what you’d like to say “yes” to and what you would prefer to say “no” to.

2️⃣ Quit Accepting Responsibilities out of Obligation – But what would everybody think if you didn’t show up, or didn’t volunteer for, or didn’t attend a particular event? If there is an activity or event that you’ve always shown up for, this can prove even more difficult.

Hear me out, people are not giving you as much thought as you think they are! They are too worried about themselves, their lives, their commitments, their crazy schedules.

3️⃣ Identify What Lights You Up – What activities fill you with joy and happiness?  You want to purposely schedule some of these activities weekly. That walk on the beach, extra-long phone call to a girlfriend, coffee date with a friend, isn’t going to magically appear on your schedule. You need to put it there.

4️⃣ Identify What Activities (and People) Drain You – You need to be honest here. What’s on your weekly “to do list” that you absolutely dread? What are the things that you are doing out of obligation or simply because you’ve always done them? Are there people that you interact with that drain your positive energy or make you feel bad about yourself when you interact with them?

5️⃣ Delegate or Outsource – Is there anything on the list from Step 4 that you can easily get rid of? Perhaps it’s as simple as swapping out a chore you despise with a family member. They probably have something they equally detest. Or can you outsource the task? Believe it or not, there is probably somebody who enjoys doing it! And if it’s their profession, you are blessing them by providing them with work they excel at and enjoy.

6️⃣ Write Down Your “To Do List” – Electronic planners are increasing in popularity, but there is much to be said about taking pen to paper. It’s way too easy to click on a link and accept a meeting or an additional commitment. When you write them down, you are making a more conscious decision.

I prefer to use a “week-at-a-glance” planner, which makes it easy to monitor what types of, and how many, weekly commitments you have. This also helps to determine if you’ve been successful at scheduling any activities just for you. You’ll be able to readily determine if you need to course correct.

7️⃣ Take Baby Steps – Don’t expect to rectify an over-committed schedule overnight. Work on getting one activity, that you dread, off your calendar weekly, and replacing it with something that makes you happy.