How to Take Control of Your Calendar
Too Busy? You’re not alone.
One of the hardest parts of life to simplify is our calendar. Let’s face it; life is busy. There is always more to do than hours in the day. To make it harder, our culture glorifies busyness. Productivity apps, books and planners show us how to squeeze more out of each day, helping us achieve more than the day before. The relentless pace of a busy life can suck the joy out of our lives—we simply hurry past the moments of delight.
Sometimes we are busy because we get ourselves stuck on the productivity rat wheel, working to support our lifestyle. But, there are seasons of life that are hectic by nature. I had three children close together in age, and the early years were busy simply because raising children is a 24/7 commitment. There are no weekends or days off from parenting!
But no matter what season of life you are in, there are things we can do to take control of your time and curb the relentless pace of a busy life. You can make your own schedule, and take control of your own life.
Here are some of my tips for learning to simplify your calendar, take control of your time, and turn a relentlessly busy life into one with space for rest and joy.
Decide First
What are the most important things for you? Is it your marriage, your children or your home? Your work, your church, or your garden? You get to decide. Often we jump highest for the loudest voice rather than honour our true values. Many of us have spent too many hours at the office and missed time with our kids, or spent time with a needy friend and neglected the garden that fills our lives with joy. Yes, we need to spend time at work, and we need to give time to friends who need our support, but we can be deliberate about how we decide to do this.
Make a list of the things that are important to you. Include everything you can think of: people, hobbies, passions, and responsibilities. When you have an extensive list, re-write it in order of priority. If you had just a short time left, what is the one thing/person you would spend time with?
Be Realistic
We often underestimate the time it takes for the essential tasks of making life work. Life is so much better when we are in a clean and organised home, have food in our fridge and clean laundry in our wardrobes, fuel in our car, and jeans that fit. These tasks take time and energy and are so much more fun when not done under pressure.
Next week, become more aware of these tasks, noting how long it takes to accomplish household tasks and all the non-negotiable responsibilities of life. You can make a note in your diary or planner or keep a running list on the fridge throughout the week.
Create an ‘Ideal Week’
Once you have a comprehensive list of the things you value most in your life and an idea of the time it takes to maintain your best life, it’s time to put it together and build an ideal week.
On a piece of paper, list the days of the week with a line for each waking hour of the day. Begin by blocking out your non-negotiable time, such as your morning and evening routines, commute and work time, church, and any other fixed commitments.
Now, working in pencil, look at your list of tasks that keep your life running and write them into your schedule.
Next, look at your list of values, and working down from the highest priorities ensure you have time blocked in for all the essential things in your life. You may include a regular date with your spouse, time with your kids or elderly parents, time to volunteer for a local charity, gardening and exercise.
How is your week looking? Now, I understand that the actual ‘ideal week’ doesn’t exist in real life, but we can get pretty close when we have a plan to aim for. Consider the week you have planned. If (when) it happens, would you love it? Is it full of the things that make you happy? Has it got lots of time doing something you love with people you love? If not, make some adjustments and add in more of the activities that bring you joy.
By now, your week is probably looking pretty full. It’s time to explore some shortcuts to give you some buffer time.
Take Shortcuts
Look at your lists of priorities and responsibilities and find shortcuts to help you simplify. This has looked different for me in different seasons. Often it has been in the moments of complete overwhelm and despair that I have reconsidered what’s not working and found new solutions to try and boundaries to put in place.
Some of the shortcuts I’ve used over the years include:
Car-pooling with other local families to and from school and other kids’ activities.
Planned out a cleaning schedule with daily, weekly & monthly tasks.
We hired a cleaning lady to come in for a few hours each fortnight to do the bathrooms, floors, and ironing.
Create a three-week rotating meal plan with corresponding online grocery lists.
Had ready-made meals delivered such as You Foodz
Set up a work ‘uniform’ of easy-care outfits to take the decision-making out of my morning routine.
Taught the kids to do their own laundry when they started high school. Call me lazy, but I call it teaching life skills!
This list is not exhaustive. There are endless shortcuts to take to make regular tasks simpler. They usually take some preparation to set up to work well, but they pay off in the long run.
This blog post has more time-saving hacks.
Make your calendar work
Now that you have a plan of what you would like your calendar to look like, make it work for you. When someone asks you to do something that isn’t a priority, you can simply reply, “Sorry, I already have an appointment at that time. How about next Tuesday?” Then go home and play Lego with your kids because that is what was on your calendar. Use your calendar as an alibi to defend your values and live your life on purpose.
If you are feeling busy and overwhelmed, I hope you have a few moments to go through the steps above so you can create a calendar that reflects your values and supports your best life.
